Papers by Zsófia Anna Tóth
“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.
HUSSE10-LitCult, 2011
Page 313. JANE AUSTEN RELOADED ZSÓFIA ANNA TÓTH In this paper, I intend to examine the diachronic... more Page 313. JANE AUSTEN RELOADED ZSÓFIA ANNA TÓTH In this paper, I intend to examine the diachronic inter/cultural interpretation and dialogue concerning Jane Austen and her works within information society. One of ...
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
Studies in American Humor, 2018
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
A női humor vetületei, 2018
“Boys will be Boys – but what about Girls? Girls in a Boy Status in Jane Austen’s Fiction” in Ágn... more “Boys will be Boys – but what about Girls? Girls in a Boy Status in Jane Austen’s Fiction” in Ágnes Zsófia Kovács and László Sári (ed). Space, Gender and the Gaze in Literature and Art. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2017, 86-106.
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Papers by Zsófia Anna Tóth
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
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