Something's Fishy Here

Authors

  • Kate Comer

Keywords:

Disney, The Little Mermaid, narrative theory, fairy tales

Abstract

I wrote this piece as a sort of Harlot test run. When we began talking about the need for public-oriented rhetorical criticism, Jim Fredal challenged me to figure out what that might look like. I'd recently written a rather academic analysis of Hans Christian Andersen's original "Little Mermaid" and was hoping to make it relevant/current; Disney's version had just been re-released in a "Platinum Edition" DVD and was being adapted into a Broadway show. So it made sense to put it all together, using my sister as my ideal audience: smart, fun, feminist. . . and concerned about her new baby's exposure to the dangers of Disney rhetoric. This has been the most enjoyable writing experience I've ever had.

Author Biography

Kate Comer

Kate Comer is a PhD student in rhetoric, composition, and literacy studies at Ohio State University and a founding editor of Harlot.

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Published

2008-09-30

Issue

No. 1 (2008)

Section

In This Issue

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