Woke Cinderella

Suzy Woltmann received her PhD in Literature from the University of California, San Diego, where she teaches literature and writing courses.

Woltmann has assembled an intriguing collection of essays that explore contemporary progressive and/or problematic adaptations of the Cinderella narrative. Using the perspective of “wokeness,” contributors describe how the characters and story lines of modern Cinderella-like tales (e.g., films such as The Devil Wears Prada, Sex and the City, The Princess and the Frog, Deaf Cinderella, The Lost Heir, Inglourious Basterds; television series such as Once upon a Time, Grimm, Game of Thrones) attempt to promote an awareness of female empowerment and social injustice and challenge canonical gendered scripts and expectations. Throughout, contributors also demonstrate how these tales offer novel portrayals of agency and forgiveness; reframe narratives about (step)families; reinforce problematic, regressive, and "un-woke" messages; espouse pro-, post-, and anti-feminist values; and make reference to past Cinderella-like texts (e.g., Chance the Rapper’s track “Zanies and Fools” makes reference to Rodgers and Hammerstein’s 1957 production of Cinderella—a production that, with its themes of longing, possibility, and fantasy, espouses queer orientations to time). A well-written and well-researched book for those interested in literature and popular culture, mythology and folklore, and how stories can inspire, or inhibit, cultural change. Highly recommended.

• Preface: Cinderella and Wokeness by Suzy WoltmannPart I: Girl Power: Feminist and Queer ReadingsChapter 1: Gen Z Cinder(f)ellas: Girl Powered Gender Adaptations in the A Cinderella Story Films by Sarah E. Maier and Jessica RavenChapter 2: "With this Shoe I Thee Wed”: Cinderella as Agent of the Backlash in The Devil Wears Prada (2006) and Sex and the City (2008) by Aoileann Ni 'EigeartaighChapter 3: “Have Courage and be Kind”: The Emancipatory Potential of 21st Century Fairy Tale Adaptations of “Cinderella” by Svea HundertmarkChapter 4: Two Centuries of Queer Horizon: Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella by Christine CasePart II: (Re)Production: A Classic Tale Told AnewChapter 5: Queen of the Ashes: Daenerys Targaryen, Cinderella of the Apocalypse, and Her Mirror Prince, in Game of Thrones by Loraine HaywoodChapter 6: Forgive me Mother for I have Sinned: Cinderella’s Stepmother meets Derrida’s Forgiveness by Brittany EldridgeChapter 7: Tiana Just Isn’t Woke: Reassessing the “Cinderella” Narr