Type of Submission
Podium Presentation
Keywords
Narrative, Literature, Film, Christianity, Feminism
Proposal
Our presentation offers three critical feminist interpretations of Felix Salten's 1923 novel Bambi: The Story of a Life in the Forest. As Christian theorists, we explore oppressive influences in societal structures as represented in the novel, as well as in Walt Disney's 1942 film adaptation of Salten's work. The Bambi narrative proposes a unique perspective on 20th century interwar Europe and its implications for today's culture. We invite the audience to consider a Christian understanding of the story as we also rely on scholar Lois Tyson’s instructional presentations in Critical Theory Today on the uses of feminism to help us arrive at a Biblical view on human equality, dignity, and diversity. These Biblical tenets applied to the Bambi narrative help us see how women have often been disregarded or mistreated historically, views which should inform Christians seeking to minister to marginalized women, children, and men. We hope to encourage the audience to honor the dignity of women and value them in social structures with our interpretation of the Bambi narrative.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Publication Date
2023
Exploring Felix Stalten’s Bambi Narrative: Biblical Tenets and Lois Tyson in Dialogue
Our presentation offers three critical feminist interpretations of Felix Salten's 1923 novel Bambi: The Story of a Life in the Forest. As Christian theorists, we explore oppressive influences in societal structures as represented in the novel, as well as in Walt Disney's 1942 film adaptation of Salten's work. The Bambi narrative proposes a unique perspective on 20th century interwar Europe and its implications for today's culture. We invite the audience to consider a Christian understanding of the story as we also rely on scholar Lois Tyson’s instructional presentations in Critical Theory Today on the uses of feminism to help us arrive at a Biblical view on human equality, dignity, and diversity. These Biblical tenets applied to the Bambi narrative help us see how women have often been disregarded or mistreated historically, views which should inform Christians seeking to minister to marginalized women, children, and men. We hope to encourage the audience to honor the dignity of women and value them in social structures with our interpretation of the Bambi narrative.
