The Nightingale Song
"The spirit of the ring obeys the one who has the ring whether he is Aladdin or a Noureddin, and he who has the wealth has it regardless of how he got it. It is different in the world of the spirit."
Johannes de Silento
Of all the characters in film perhaps the hardest to understand is that noble, young woman Cinderella. The more I study her - how she hoped against hope while enduring the malice of her step-family - the more amazed I am. The film is very difficult for me to watch.
Walt Disney was surely a student of the Copenhagen school ... studying the works of Anderson and Kierkegaard. He certainly had an eye for subtlety and the many ways the spirit expresses itself.
Perhaps the highest point of the animation is the Nightingale song. We are taken to the music room to hear the singing of the step-sisters. They are poor singers, yes, even to a comic extreme. However Disney is trying to show us something deeper and more profound, and it is here one finds his mastery of story-telling.
"Sing sweet Nightingale ... Ah ah ah ah Aaaah!"
The half-smile ... the affectation of the flute player ... the closed eyes ... the smugness ... these girls are singing for an audience. They are singing not because they find their song meaningful. They are trying to find meaning in the eyes of others. The mother emphasizes practice to make them sound better to others as the real problem gets worse.
Trouble is brewing. The flutist catches her finger on a note. She pulls hard on her hand - sending the flute into her sister's face. The conflict escalates: the flute is stolen and becomes a weapon. Whatever control these girls have over their music, they have little control over themselves. Only the external intervention of the mother can bring the argument to rest while the girls remain ... restless.
The scene changes to the downstairs entry where Cinderella is scrubbing the floors. She is singing Sweet Nightingale - the same song her sisters were singing. And yet the song is completely different.
Oh sing sweet nightingale ...
Sing sweet nightingale.
Sing sweet nightingale ... to me !
The bubbles begin to lift and fall with the melody. We see reflections of the young girl floating around her. Reflections of a woman alone, abused by her family. Just as in every reflection, Cinderella gains the chance of seeing herself. And the woman she sees reflected in the music and the work upon herself is ... glad and at peace.
Beautiful.
As in the music room above, trouble is not far away. Lucifer the cat has spread dirt around the tile floor. Cinderella is angry and chases the cat away. But she is not defeated precisely because she does not despair.
In both scenes we find work, trouble, and the nightingale song. And could anything be more different!
Johannes de Silento
Of all the characters in film perhaps the hardest to understand is that noble, young woman Cinderella. The more I study her - how she hoped against hope while enduring the malice of her step-family - the more amazed I am. The film is very difficult for me to watch.
Walt Disney was surely a student of the Copenhagen school ... studying the works of Anderson and Kierkegaard. He certainly had an eye for subtlety and the many ways the spirit expresses itself.
Perhaps the highest point of the animation is the Nightingale song. We are taken to the music room to hear the singing of the step-sisters. They are poor singers, yes, even to a comic extreme. However Disney is trying to show us something deeper and more profound, and it is here one finds his mastery of story-telling.
"Sing sweet Nightingale ... Ah ah ah ah Aaaah!"
The half-smile ... the affectation of the flute player ... the closed eyes ... the smugness ... these girls are singing for an audience. They are singing not because they find their song meaningful. They are trying to find meaning in the eyes of others. The mother emphasizes practice to make them sound better to others as the real problem gets worse.
Trouble is brewing. The flutist catches her finger on a note. She pulls hard on her hand - sending the flute into her sister's face. The conflict escalates: the flute is stolen and becomes a weapon. Whatever control these girls have over their music, they have little control over themselves. Only the external intervention of the mother can bring the argument to rest while the girls remain ... restless.
The scene changes to the downstairs entry where Cinderella is scrubbing the floors. She is singing Sweet Nightingale - the same song her sisters were singing. And yet the song is completely different.
Oh sing sweet nightingale ...
Sing sweet nightingale.
Sing sweet nightingale ... to me !
The bubbles begin to lift and fall with the melody. We see reflections of the young girl floating around her. Reflections of a woman alone, abused by her family. Just as in every reflection, Cinderella gains the chance of seeing herself. And the woman she sees reflected in the music and the work upon herself is ... glad and at peace.
Beautiful.
As in the music room above, trouble is not far away. Lucifer the cat has spread dirt around the tile floor. Cinderella is angry and chases the cat away. But she is not defeated precisely because she does not despair.
In both scenes we find work, trouble, and the nightingale song. And could anything be more different!
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