FINAL PROJECT PROPOSAL 1. TOPIC ADULT FANTASY AS A RESULT OF BOURGEOIS CULTURAL HEGEMONY IN CINDERELLA FAIRY TALE BY CHARLES PERAULT 2. BACKGROUND OF THE TOPIC As a bed time story, fairy tale is so familiar to children, so does Cinderella. Almost all children in the world had already known this story. Cinderella is a fantasy story, which is one of the most ambiguous notions in literary criticism. It is often especially within the children’s literature, used to denote anything that is not straight realistic prose. Fantasy story is so interesting for children and sometimes teenagers as it serves amazing story which make them as readers or listeners are like in another world. They have freedom to see the visions with the author, going far away from the real world’s limit. A
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FINAL PROJECT PROPOSAL
1. TOPIC
ADULT FANTASY AS A RESULT OF BOURGEOIS CULTURAL
HEGEMONY IN CINDERELLA FAIRY TALE BY CHARLES PERAULT
2. BACKGROUND OF THE TOPIC
As a bed time story, fairy tale is so familiar to children, so does Cinderella.
Almost all children in the world had already known this story. Cinderella is a
fantasy story, which is one of the most ambiguous notions in literary criticism. It
is often especially within the children’s literature, used to denote anything that is
not straight realistic prose.
Fantasy story is so interesting for children and sometimes teenagers as it
serves amazing story which make them as readers or listeners are like in another
world. They have freedom to see the visions with the author, going far away from
the real world’s limit. A fantasy story maker should be expert in assigning himself
as a child, thinking like child, having child’s vision, and creating a world where
there is nothing impossible. That another fancy world, fantasy creatures, massive
characterization, heroism and magic are magnet of fantasy story for fans. They
interest in going far away from the real world, admiring the author’s fantasy. It
generates readers who mostly children to set their fantasy. They dream as free as
possible to be the character in the story, wondering all the wonderful things served
in.
It is what felt by the fantasy fans, they are all illogic. That is why fantasy fiction is
created to children. But sometimes parents do not notice what notions from the
story were implied to the children’s mind and become their fantasy. As children
have awful imagination, they will not ask whether an event is logic or not, they
only get focused on their fantasy world which is so wonderful.
In Cinderella story, it was clearly seen that she was a very beautiful and
kind-hearted woman. She never did evil things to her stepmother and stepsisters
though they always did evil to her. One day because of her goodness, a fairy
Godmother came and helped with her magical power so that Cinderella could
meet the charming prince and they lived happily ever after.
This plot drives the children’s mind to imagine, creating fantasy. Since
Cinderella is listened enthusiastically by boys and girls, so they have different
point of view in expectation, “Fantasy”. Girls are dreaming that they must be
beautiful, kind-hearted, get charming prince who is so wealthy for their future.
Besides, the boys have fantasy that they must be handsome and wealthy so that
girls compete to get him and he can just select the best one without takes too long
time to find. This fantasy comes from Bourgeois cultural hegemony in France in
Louis XIV era and commonly other nations in Europe that differ the role of man
and woman at that time.
In this story written by Charles Perault, almost all settings placed in the
Kingdom. They portray the high class as the group who has power to conquer the
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colony. The choosing of “A pair of Glass Slipper” is a symbol that claims the
existence of luxury. This kingdom-centric setting and plot delivers a cultural
hegemony of Bourgeois that are implied.
It is not trivia, as the condition is not appropriate to the real life by now.
Unfortunately, gender bias still exists when the doctrine of Cinderella story
applied by the children, the new generation. It is worrying when this effect is
massively planted on the children’s mind that is not logic yet. Parent’s role is very
important to guide them to choose and take the positive lessons of the story they
read or they listen to. But the reality is many parents have not opened their eyes
widely, they do not realize about the danger happens to their children after reading
or listening the story. It conveys an important essential which needs to be
analyzed.
3. REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE TOPIC
The topic had been chosen by the writer based on the explanation above is
intended to analyze the influence of cultural hegemony built by the Bourgeois that
given to the readers who mostly children throughout characterization composed
by the author. The writer chose “Cinderella” because the story is familiar to
children, they do not read novel at the age and this research is focused on
children’s psychology. The writer wants to explain children and parents not to
take the story for granted, it needs comprehension to accept the values.
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4. RESEARCH PROBLEM
In this final project, the writer limits the discussion of the story by focusing on the
following problems:
1. What contribution can fairy tale give toward readers’ personality and the
effects to the society?
2. How does Cinderella fairy tale influence the children about Bourgeois cultural
hegemony?
3. Why did Bourgeois transmit their cultural hegemony to the new generation
with Cinderella story?
5. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of this study is as follows:
1. To find out what contribution given by Cinderella fairy tale towards
readers’ personality and the effects to the society.
2. To identify the way Bourgeois set their cultural hegemony into the readers
mind through Cinderella fairy tale which belongs to children.
3. To analyze why Bourgeois transmit their cultural hegemony to the new
generation with Cinderella story.
6. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The significance of this study is as follows:
1) This study is expected to reveal the role of Bourgeois cultural hegemony
in constructing adult fantasy from Cinderella fairy tale.
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2) The result of the study is to encourage people to think critically about
values in stories.
3) The study report can be used as reference for those who are interested in
conducting further research in the same topic.
7. REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE
a. Review of the Previous Study
After reading Cinderella story, the writer finds an explicit important thing
hidden from the story. It is reader’s fantasy that comes out from hegemony
attached by the author. According to the study entitled Adult Fantasy as The
Result of Bourgeois Political Hegemony in Cinderella Fairy Tale, here below
some related studies which can support the success indicator for this research.
The research was conducted by Karen E. Dill (OXFORD, 2009). Her research is
How Fantasy Becomes Reality: Seeing Through Media Influence. The focus of
this research is the correlation between media and fantasy which could affect the
society. She explained that “reading an author’s thoughts means looking out at the
world through that person’s eyes for a short time while still using your own head
to filter the author’s perspective” (2009, 7). Though have different subject, but
these both research have similarity in purpose, theory and object.
Another statement from Lucy Marie Cutchew emphasized this research
that “Fantasy, it has been shown, is a genre which invariably comments upon
reality and contemporary issues; this is despite its necessary escape from the
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real world through creating an alternative fantasy world” (2006, 94). It is
entitled Fantasy, Morality and Ideology: A Comparative Study of C. S. Lewis'
The Chronicles of Narnia And Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials.
Based on the studies above, it can be concluded that analysis on fantasy
and Bourgeois political hegemony is important and it can be in various ways. In
this study, the writer will analyze Cinderella in Charles Perault’s version. The
research above will be used as the reference in designing this study.
b. Review of the Theoretical Study
1. Fairy Tale
Fairy tale is a fiction story tells anything about miracle which ends
with happy ending. According to Jack D. Zipes (1994), fairy tales serve a
meaningful social function, not just for compensation but for revelation: the
worlds projected by the best of our fairy tales reveal the gap between truth and
falsehood in our immediate society. Fairy tales remains people about what
problems come to the society so that readers are considered to analyze the
incidents well and solve the problem. Fairy tales teaches children morals or
lessons usually by example. They teach the difference between good and evil, that
life can be very unfair, but one can find happiness regardless. Fairy tales teach us
lessons, and they entertain us with tales of mystical wonder.
What distinguishes the fairy tale is that it speaks to the very heart and soul of the
child. It admits to the child what so many parents and teachers spend hours trying
to cover up or avoid. The fairy tale confirms what the child has been thinking all
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along, like that it is a cold, cruel world out there and it’s waiting to eat him alive
so he begins to reach his fantasy world.
2. Fantasy
Fantasy commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a
primary plot element, theme, or setting. It is a popular genre, having found a home
for itself, moreover the fantasy stories were filmed and accepted as the interest of
society is high. Todorov stated “the fantastic . . . implies an integration of the
reader into the world of the characters; that world is defined by the reader’s own
ambiguous perception of the events narrated” (1975, 31). Mostly, “seeing is
believing” is being practiced by people. Seeing here does not always mean
visually using eyes right away, but imagination as well. Todorov here tries to
solve this problem by assigning the hesitation to an implied reader.
3. Hegemony
Gramsci used the term hegemony to denote the predominance of one
social class over others (e.g. bourgeois hegemony). This represents not only
political and economic control, but also the ability of the dominant class to project
its own way of seeing the world so that those who are subordinated by it accept it
as 'common sense' and 'natural'. So, it can be underlined that hegemony is the
dominance of one group or class in society. It achieved as other groups gave the
consent. Consent is achieved through the dominant group associating itself with
moral and intellectual leadership in a society. Gramsci greatly expanded this
concept by giving analysis about how the ruling capitalist class (the bourgeoisie)