Papers by Zsófia Anna Tóth
“Choose Your Weapon, Ladies: The Fighter Heroines of Disney/Pixar” in Topics in American Studies:... more “Choose Your Weapon, Ladies: The Fighter Heroines of Disney/Pixar” in Topics in American Studies: History, Literature and Culture 1. Irén Annus, Zsófia Anna Tóth and Zoltán Vajda (eds). Szeged: AMERICANA e-Books. 2025, 159-178. (ISBN: 978-615-6872-11-1 (.epub); 978-615-6872-10-4 (PoD)), available: https://ebook.ek.szte.hu/index.php/americanaebooks/catalog/book/429
The paper discusses how Turning Red (2022) works out various crises that center on the identity c... more The paper discusses how Turning Red (2022) works out various crises that center on the identity crisis of the female protagonist, Meilin Lee (Mei). At the core of conflicts lies the question of which identity and which way of life to choose: the "ancestral" Eastern, Chinese one or the moder n Western, North-American one. This analysis presents how this Disney/Pixar animated film addresses the questions of multicultural, dual, hyphenated, diasporic identities as well as cross-generational conflicts through displacement. Mei Mei has to decide i f she keeps her red panda (her Chinese part) or cuts herself off of it enclosing it into a talisman while leading an entirely American/Canadian way of life. Her choice is both, a decision that none of the women in her family made before her. Turning into a red panda can both be a curse and a blessing for the female family members and it seems that all of these women viewed it as a curse and a burden before Mei Mei reinterpreted it. While fighting her red panda, all of the female family members have to revis it their own 'red pandas' thus solving not only Mei Mei's identity problems but also questions of agency, including those of her mother, which affects all female family members leading finally to reconciliations. The solution to this identity struggle and to the cross-and transgenerational/cross-and transcultural fights over meanings and identities is resolved with the help of humor and peer support.
The pa per in ve sti ga tes how Cin de rel la’s clas sic fa iry
tale was transformed into a postm... more The pa per in ve sti ga tes how Cin de rel la’s clas sic fa iry
tale was transformed into a postmodern comic rendering
in the 2021 film ver sion. It is di scus sed how the co mic
re in ter pre ta tion of this clas sic fa iry ta le fun da men tally
chan ged the pro ta go nist’s cha rac te ri stics as well as the
en ti re arch of the nar ra ti ve. Due to this co mic ap pro ach
Cin de rel la was tran sfor med in to an in de pen dent wo man
who stood up for her self and li be ra ted her self whi le re -
fu sing to be vic ti mi zed and did not al low anybody to ma -
ke de ci si ons for her. It is ar gued that it is qu i te li kely that
the un fa vo ra ble re cep tion of the film is gre atly due to
this co mic ta ke as vi e wers are typi cally ac cu sto med to the
tra di ti o nal con cept that Cin de rel la is a vic tim and that
we are sup po sed to feel so rry for her. This film is a ra di -
cal de par tu re from the cu sto mary ap pro ach to the Cin -
de rel la story pri ma rily thro ugh hu mor use. It is a re mar -
ka ble film be ca u se thro ugh hu mor not only Cin de rel la
but the ot her fe ma le cha rac ters are al so gi ven agency and
po wer, yet, pro bably this is what ca u sed a shoc king ef -
fect for audi en ces. Ne vert he less, it is a pa ra mo unt ac hi -
e ve ment wit hin the Cin de rel la oeuvre sin ce it da red to
lo ok at Cin de rel la as so me body fun da men tally dif fe rent
and sho wed that it is high ti me to ac know led ge wo men’s
hu mor pro duc tion.
Keywords: Cin de rel la (2021), folk ta le, fa iry ta le, film
adap ta tion, hu mor, co mic, post mo dern
Szegedi Tudományegyetem eBooks, Mar 22, 2023
„A feminista humor lehetőségei”(“The Possibilities of Feminist Humor”)in "So Far So Good" Festsch... more „A feminista humor lehetőségei”(“The Possibilities of Feminist Humor”)in "So Far So Good" Festschrift in Honour of Erzsébet Barát / Tanulmányok Barát Erzsébet köszöntésére. Edited by Anna Kérchy and Irén Annus. Szeged: TNT eBooks, 2023, 217-226.ISSN 2939-7952ISBN (pdf) 978-963-306-916-5 ISBN (print) 978-963-306-915-8 DOI: 10.14232/tntebooks.1.2023
https://ebook.ek.szte.hu/index.php/btk-tnt-kutatocsoport/catalog/view/131/267/805
“Sisu(datu), the Funny Female Dragon of the Disney Universe” in
AMERICANA, E-Journal of American ... more “Sisu(datu), the Funny Female Dragon of the Disney Universe” in
AMERICANA, E-Journal of American Studies in Hungary, Special Issue on American Humor, Volume XIX, Number 1, 2023, available: https://americanaejournal.hu/vol19no1/tzsa
Abstract: In the Disney movie Raya and the Last Dragon (2021, hence mentioned as Raya) Sisu(datu) or simply just Sisu, the dragon, is a unique character, as she represents a merger of both the West and the East, constituting a bridge and playing a major role in cultural diplomacy while she is one of the first female Disney characters actively producing humor. The paper reveals what critics have so far thought about humor in Disney in general by highlighting that even if Sisu is not the first positive dragon character in a Western animated film, she stands out as a complex figure. She is sacred with her dragon abilities and magical status while also being sacrilegious with her use of humor and occasional clumsiness at the same time. At the height of the tension between the USA and China (due to the COVID-19 pandemic), this character appeared as a regenerative gesture of cultural diplomacy and a positive point of reference for Asian Americans especially, since Sisu was voiced by Awkwafina. In sum, the paper examines the use of humor in this animated film from various points of view taking account of Asian American identities, Asian and American cultural differences as well as the questions of women’s humor and that of how the Disney Company is currently rethinking its humor strategies.
This paper examines the reception of women’s use and capability of humor with a specific focus on... more This paper examines the reception of women’s use and capability of humor with a specific focus on the Hungarian culture scene. In spite of the understanding that men and women do not differ concerning the production, recognition, or appreciation of humor; there are still relatively few female artists (especially in Hungary) in literature, comics, theater, or stand-up comedy. This marginalization is mostly due to patriarchal cultural preconceptions and expectations in the art-culture system. It is the gendering of humor that entails assumptions to the effect that women should have mediocre capability of humor and that men should be funnier than women. Due to their inferior positioning, women are provided with less scope, opportunity, and recognition in humorous interactions. Although the Hungarian cultural scene is beginning to change in a positive direction for women, as demonstrated, for instance, by an encreasing number of female stand-up comedians; Hungarian studies of humor cons...
The paper discusses three works written by Sandra Cisneros, namely Woman Hollering Creek, The Hou... more The paper discusses three works written by Sandra Cisneros, namely Woman Hollering Creek, The House on Mango Street and Caramelo, from the point of view of women’s humor. With the help of these works, it is argued that Cisneros uses Latina humor in order to highlight intersectional problems concerning her identity and to reveal important facts and features about/of Latino/a existence. The point is made that Cisneros uses comedy and humor to redeem the pain and suffering through laughter instead of utilizing the tragic mode of artistic expression, hence she is able to secure survival and solutions to problems instead of a tragic wallowing in negativity (which interpretive way could also have validity concerning the occurrences which are
Brno studies in English, 2017
This paper discusses the violent female characters in the Disney World and argues that although t... more This paper discusses the violent female characters in the Disney World and argues that although the Disney Studio seems to be a rather unlikely candidate for giving us some of the most memorable and complex violent women in Hollywood, it still seems to be the case. From the Wicked Queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) to Merida in Brave (2012), Elsa and Anna in Frozen (2013), Maleficent in Maleficent (2014), Judy Hopps and Bellwether in Zootopia (2016) or Moana and Te Fiti in Moana (2016), Disney created 'fully real' violent women who are well-rounded figures, and mostly, but not exclusively, femmes fatales. After definitions of the femme fatale and the discussion of how these violent female characters/Disney femmes fatales were/are represented in the Disney(/Pixar) animated (as well as some live action) films, a cultural-historical overview and analysis follows by focusing on the most outstanding violent woman characters in Disney history from the beginnings up until the latest productions.
Chicago in Its Doubles
phil.muni.cz
Page 1. SBORNíK PRACí FILOZOFICKÉ FAKULTY BRNëNSKÉ UNIVERZITY STUDIA MINORA FACULTATIS PHILOSOPHI... more Page 1. SBORNíK PRACí FILOZOFICKÉ FAKULTY BRNëNSKÉ UNIVERZITY STUDIA MINORA FACULTATIS PHILOSOPHICAE UNIVERSITATIS BRUNENSIS S 12, 2006 2 BRNO STUDIES IN ENGLISH 32 ZSÓFIA ANNA TÓTH CHICAGO IN ITS DOUBLES ...
A dolgozat azt tárgyalja, hogy Jane Austen, Emma című regényében, melyet a legtökéletesebb és leg... more A dolgozat azt tárgyalja, hogy Jane Austen, Emma című regényében, melyet a legtökéletesebb és legelismertebb munkájának tartanak, a legtökéletlenebb és mégis legtökéletesebb hősnőjét alkotta meg. Austen sokáig kísérletezett azzal, hogy hogyan formáljon meg egy tökéletlen, hibás, de mégis szerethető hősnőt/karaktert, és végül ilyen komplexitást csak Emma Woodhouse alakjában sikerült (vagy szándékozott) létrehozni, aki egy kivételes elegye a jónak és a rossznak, és aki valahogy meg tudja találni azt a bizonyos egyensúlyt, ezáltal pedig valami emlékezeteset és páratlant hívva életr
“Persuasion on Screen: an Authentic Aural Evocation of Jane Austen’s Early 19th Century England?”... more “Persuasion on Screen: an Authentic Aural Evocation of Jane Austen’s Early 19th Century England?” in Ágnes Zsófia Kovács (ed.) Sentiment, History, and Intermediality. Essays in English and American Studies, Students and Supervisors. Szeged: JATEPress, 2021, 107-113. ISBN: 978-963-315-470-0
Comedy Begins with Our Simplest Gestures: Levinas, Ethics, and Humor ed. by Brian Bergen-Aurand (review)
Studies in American Humor, 2018
The representation of aggressive women in various adaptations of Maurine Dallas Watkins's Chicago
in Réka M. Cristian and Zoltán Dragon (ed). AMERICANA, E-Journal of American Studies in Hungary, ... more in Réka M. Cristian and Zoltán Dragon (ed). AMERICANA, E-Journal of American Studies in Hungary, Volume IV, Number 1, Spring 2008. (ISSN: 1787-4637), available: http://americanaejournal.hu/vol4no1/toth
In my paper, I aim to discuss the question of the virtual body in S1m0ne (2002). The focus will b... more In my paper, I aim to discuss the question of the virtual body in S1m0ne (2002). The focus will be on how the ever-present, yet, non-existent body of S1m0ne is represented and how her nonmaterial being constitutes the central locus of the people’s lives in the film while creating and forming the virtual reality of their existence. The central point of my analysis will be that S1m0ne’s lack of corporeal body is not a reality for the people in the film who are not capable of realizing and accepting it, thus, S1m0ne incorporates the human beings around her into her virtual reality without their being aware of it. In my discussion, I will treat the question of simulacra and simulation as a starting point, and I will connect it to debates about the virtual body, which will be combined by further considerations such as post-humanity, the double, Plato’s ideas about Ideas, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and the story of Pygmalion and Galatea. I would like to begin my discussion with French th...
The paper discusses Greta Garbo’s contribution to US film history. It argues that Garbo’s role in... more The paper discusses Greta Garbo’s contribution to US film history. It argues that Garbo’s role in American cinema is unique from various points of view but most of all because she was an unconventional, sometimes even transgressing (intentionally acting against what is expected or customary), filmic persona. This stance is argued for and is backed by an overview of her most outstanding cinematic performances and (some of) her most-acknowledged films with allusions to her other works as well. It is claimed that Greta Garbo’s roles were mostly of a transgressing sort and the characters she impersonated were mostly unconventional or even “deviant”, thus, she represented a quite specific cinematic persona through these roles of transgression such as being a prostitute, a (female) spy, a queen of ambiguous sexuality and gender etc. while she herself and her life were and still are a subject of a lot of controversies likewise.
The paper discusses how Emily Dickinson, with the help of humor and catachresis – both of which w... more The paper discusses how Emily Dickinson, with the help of humor and catachresis – both of which work with the logic of defamiliarization/refamiliarization –, tries to reinterpret death as an experience, as a state of being or as an E/entity that we all encounter inevitably. The paper argues that Dickinson refused to be intimidated by the traditional concepts of death/Death and she consciously approached it/It with humor as well as through catachresis to shake our notions and force us to see the whole issue from a new perspective. For Dickinson, death was never a final destination, it was always a door and a new avenue for greater knowledge, wisdom and exciting adventures. The paper analyzes some of her most unorthodox (and well-known) poems about death and dying to support these claims after overviewing the scholarly research on her death poetry (that traditionally also treated it as tragic and there were only occasional instances when her humor was pointed out) as well as some theoretical arguments about the workings of humor, catachresis and some reflections on the relationship between women and humor.
“Humor and Catachresis in Emily Dickinson’s Death Poetry” in AMERICANA, E-Journal of American Studies in Hungary, Volume XV, Number 1, 2019, available: http://americanaejournal.hu/vol15no1/toth
The paper discusses three works written by Sandra Cisneros, namely Woman Hollering Creek, The Hou... more The paper discusses three works written by Sandra Cisneros, namely Woman Hollering Creek, The House on Mango Street and Caramelo, from the point of view of women's humor. With the help of these works, it is argued that Cisneros uses Latina humor in order to highlight intersectional problems concerning her identity and to reveal important facts and features about/of Latino/a existence. The point is made that Cisneros uses comedy and humor to redeem the pain and suffering through laughter instead of utilizing the tragic mode of artistic expression, hence she is able to secure survival and solutions to problems instead of a tragic wallowing in negativity (which interpretive way could also have validity concerning the occurrences which are narrated).
“Latina Humor in the Works of Sandra Cisneros” in Acta Hispanica, Supplementum II: América Latina y el Mundo: Espacios de Encuentro y Cooperación. Actas del XIX Congreso de la FIEALC. Editora: Zsuzsanna Csikós. 2020, 609-616. ISSN: 1416-7263. https://doi.org/10.14232/actahisp.2020.0.609-616. available: https://ojs.bibl.u-szeged.hu/index.php/acthisp/article/view/33033
in Réka M. Cristian, Zoltán Dragon and András Lénárt (ed.) Transnational Americas: Home(s), Borde... more in Réka M. Cristian, Zoltán Dragon and András Lénárt (ed.) Transnational Americas: Home(s), Borders and Transgressions. Szeged: AMERICANA eBooks, 2019, 93-104. ISBN: 978-963-306-612-6 (.mobi), available: http://ebooks.americanaejournal.hu/books/transnational-americas/
Uploads
Papers by Zsófia Anna Tóth
tale was transformed into a postmodern comic rendering
in the 2021 film ver sion. It is di scus sed how the co mic
re in ter pre ta tion of this clas sic fa iry ta le fun da men tally
chan ged the pro ta go nist’s cha rac te ri stics as well as the
en ti re arch of the nar ra ti ve. Due to this co mic ap pro ach
Cin de rel la was tran sfor med in to an in de pen dent wo man
who stood up for her self and li be ra ted her self whi le re -
fu sing to be vic ti mi zed and did not al low anybody to ma -
ke de ci si ons for her. It is ar gued that it is qu i te li kely that
the un fa vo ra ble re cep tion of the film is gre atly due to
this co mic ta ke as vi e wers are typi cally ac cu sto med to the
tra di ti o nal con cept that Cin de rel la is a vic tim and that
we are sup po sed to feel so rry for her. This film is a ra di -
cal de par tu re from the cu sto mary ap pro ach to the Cin -
de rel la story pri ma rily thro ugh hu mor use. It is a re mar -
ka ble film be ca u se thro ugh hu mor not only Cin de rel la
but the ot her fe ma le cha rac ters are al so gi ven agency and
po wer, yet, pro bably this is what ca u sed a shoc king ef -
fect for audi en ces. Ne vert he less, it is a pa ra mo unt ac hi -
e ve ment wit hin the Cin de rel la oeuvre sin ce it da red to
lo ok at Cin de rel la as so me body fun da men tally dif fe rent
and sho wed that it is high ti me to ac know led ge wo men’s
hu mor pro duc tion.
Keywords: Cin de rel la (2021), folk ta le, fa iry ta le, film
adap ta tion, hu mor, co mic, post mo dern
https://ebook.ek.szte.hu/index.php/btk-tnt-kutatocsoport/catalog/view/131/267/805
AMERICANA, E-Journal of American Studies in Hungary, Special Issue on American Humor, Volume XIX, Number 1, 2023, available: https://americanaejournal.hu/vol19no1/tzsa
Abstract: In the Disney movie Raya and the Last Dragon (2021, hence mentioned as Raya) Sisu(datu) or simply just Sisu, the dragon, is a unique character, as she represents a merger of both the West and the East, constituting a bridge and playing a major role in cultural diplomacy while she is one of the first female Disney characters actively producing humor. The paper reveals what critics have so far thought about humor in Disney in general by highlighting that even if Sisu is not the first positive dragon character in a Western animated film, she stands out as a complex figure. She is sacred with her dragon abilities and magical status while also being sacrilegious with her use of humor and occasional clumsiness at the same time. At the height of the tension between the USA and China (due to the COVID-19 pandemic), this character appeared as a regenerative gesture of cultural diplomacy and a positive point of reference for Asian Americans especially, since Sisu was voiced by Awkwafina. In sum, the paper examines the use of humor in this animated film from various points of view taking account of Asian American identities, Asian and American cultural differences as well as the questions of women’s humor and that of how the Disney Company is currently rethinking its humor strategies.
“Humor and Catachresis in Emily Dickinson’s Death Poetry” in AMERICANA, E-Journal of American Studies in Hungary, Volume XV, Number 1, 2019, available: http://americanaejournal.hu/vol15no1/toth
“Latina Humor in the Works of Sandra Cisneros” in Acta Hispanica, Supplementum II: América Latina y el Mundo: Espacios de Encuentro y Cooperación. Actas del XIX Congreso de la FIEALC. Editora: Zsuzsanna Csikós. 2020, 609-616. ISSN: 1416-7263. https://doi.org/10.14232/actahisp.2020.0.609-616. available: https://ojs.bibl.u-szeged.hu/index.php/acthisp/article/view/33033