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Amy Jenney
English 2367-W12
Professor Dilbeck
April 18, y
In the fairy tale The Emperors New Clothes written in 1837, author Hans
Christian Anderson provides a message to both children and adults that is still relevant in
todays world. This ever-popular fairy tale illustrates the human condition of ego, vanity,
and foolishness that can come from following the crowd. The lessons in this story can be

recognized in todays culture in a variety of political, social, and educational settings. The
Emperors New Clothes is a timeless fairy tale that brings to life the failings of human
beings. People often do not speak the truth or use flattery because they are afraid of
looking foolish to powerful people and organizations.
The story in The Emperors New Clothes can be used as a backdrop to discuss
the risks on the economy when large financial institutions ignore good business
strategies. Rather than allowing vanity to limit making the necessary changes to promote
a healthy global economy, the emphasis needs to be on the importance of being able to
give and receive honest feedback in order to operate successfully in the business. The
banking industry is the most obvious example of how reluctance to change can have a
huge economic impact. Admati and Hellwig state, We can have a safer and healthier
banking system without sacrificing any of its benefits, and at essentially no cost to
society. They challenge is for leaders to cut through all of the jargon of banking and
clear away the confusion felt by many people. This would then create a more simple and
accessible system of banking that is convenient to use and supportive of economic
development.

Amy Jenney
English 2367-W12
Professor Dilbeck
April 18, y
Many businesses find it difficult to create a culture of openness and transparency
allowing for sharing of information. Asefeso et al, state, As in the tale The Emperors
New Clothes, what people know and what people share is often quite different. In many
organizations, there is often a tendency for people not to share (p. 56). This is often a
result of employees desire to protect their self-interest and the fear of change. Within
every organization is a motivation to act but often this is inhibited to a point that people

only say what they believe management wants to hear. Much like in the fairy tale, people
will use flattery or simply say what they think their supervisors want to hear. In the book,
Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action. Sinek states, Great
leaders inspire others to work towards the greater good of the organization, not because
they have to but because they want to (43). In other words, these leaders inspire others
to be open and honest in order to improve the organization, even if it causes a personal
set back or challenge.
From a humanities perspective there are many sociological and educational
concerns masked by adult beliefs. Gender, ethnicity, and social class still create powerful
differences among students and adults, limiting the human potential. The first example
comes from the educational setting in which the Response to Intervention model was
introduced as a means for assisting students to overcome challenges in their learning. The
idea behind the Response To Intervention model if for students to begin to receive
support and intervention as soon as they show difficulty in their learning rather than
waiting until large learning gaps occur. There research suggests that this model will

Amy Jenney
English 2367-W12
Professor Dilbeck
April 18, y
reduce the over-identification of students identified for special education services. The

challenge is that many students mask their learning disabilities as a means to fit in and be
a part of what is perceived as normal students. Carrecker and Joshi give examples of how
schools tend to allow egos and foolishness to get in the way of supporting students. For
example, they state, Foolishly when evaluating the performance of poor readers, there is
a perception by the evaluators that all poor readers are alike, hat the cause of their
struggle is the same. When, in reality, the causes can be multidimensional and different
from one student to the next (946). While the hope was that RTI would improve reading
achievement, the system currently falls short. Carrecker and Joshi describe it as, The
Emperor is without clothes! Because the promise that RTI would reduce or at least
mainstay the over identification of students will not fulfill its promise (947).
Disney provides a further example of this concept of how gender and social class
can limit human potential in their film, The Emperors New Groove. In this animated
film, Kuzco is a self-centered teenaged emperor who acted rudely towards those of a
different social class and puts his own interest and desires ahead of Pacha, a king man
who lives on a property in which Kuzco wants to over take to build a summer home.
Pacha tries to advocate for himself but is quickly dismissed by Kuzco, and in return
Pacha tells him, Someday youre gonna wind up alone, and all youll have no one to
blame but yourself (The Emperors New Groove). Kuzco is turned into a llama and
through this experience he learns that he has treated people in his kingdom badly,
especially Pacha. The movie ends with Pacha and Kuzco become friends and a

Amy Jenney
English 2367-W12
Professor Dilbeck
April 18, y
recognition that happiness comes from respecting one another not material differences

among social classes. More evidence can be found in the educational setting at the middle
school level. Whether school officials, politicians, or social researcher many claim that
gender equity work in todays public schools has been accomplished. In her research,
Niemi challenges this thinking and instead draws from the fable believing that these
commentaries are simply saying what the public wants to hear rather than recognizing
gender differences remain a strong factor in the discrepancy between gender groups and
academic achievement. Niemi states, schools function as a social mask for the reality
that gender differences still exist and that there are still differing expectations for boys
and girls (491-492).
There is consilience on the concept that how vanity, professional
accomplishments, and pride drives people to act in a certain manner. Maharshak,
Moshinski, et al bring forth both anecdotal and scientific evidence of this in a study about
poets and poetry. They explored the manner in which a poets name affects the
perception of their work and overall experience of the poems message. Their research
concluded that, the name of a highly regarded poet seems to prime quality, and the poem
becomes somehow better (149). It is interesting to ponder the reaction one might have
to a poem if they had no idea who was the author and removed the influence of the poets
professional accomplishments. Reputation clearly feeds on itself can snowball the
reaction of others into both an overly generous or understated evaluation of their work.
Skaerbaek, a researcher in Health and Social Studies puts The Emperors New Clothes in

Amy Jenney
English 2367-W12
Professor Dilbeck
April 18, y
to modern day context in her study of ethical dilemmas of hierarchical knowledge. She
challenges that, Hierarchies of power dominate what we see and how we act our
ethical interaction (579). In other words, her research challenges the notion that
institutional framework in health and social services limits their ability to be responsive
to patient needs. When, instead the goal should be to use the collective knowledge of
everyone in the institution to evaluate and adjust policies so that radical changes bring
real improvement to the organizations worldwide.

There is consilience in scientific as well that can often confirm or rebukes the root
causes for why people react in certain ways to everything from sports to political,
religious and intellectual debates. In his work on race theories, Graves suggest that race
has no biological origin and does not serve as a basis for differentiation. Graves views are
rather radically opposed in suggesting that race is often used as a method for explaining
way human perceptions and does not have a scientific basis. Graves pushes for
abandoning the racial concept in science and instead uses an approach in which all races
are equal in biological research rather than allowing human perceptions to differentiate
between them. Graves stance is clear, Biological races do not exist. Scholars who

believe that biologically based racial differences may exist in behavioral traits can
be labeled as 'racists' limiting their research through personal judgment and
perceptions (132). Many times music can also capture relevant observations about
how people interact in relationships. Elton John captures this in song The Emperors New
Clothes found on his West Coast Album. Elton John has used his music to champion

Amy Jenney
English 2367-W12
Professor Dilbeck
April 18, y
many causes and this song captures the way in which people often hide behind different
personas in order to satisfy and advance their own agenda.

Less radical and easier to process the concept that there is a scientific basis
for what motivates the behaviors and perceptions of sports fans. While sports are
the basis of much attention in the media there is little research on what motivates
sport fans and their behavior. Psychologists who have focused research in this
area have identified several motivational factors that guide fan behavior. Simons
states, There is no single reason why people watch sports because the answer
doesnt lie into eh game, it les inside the individual. (20). Therefore, it is
complication to understand the relationship between sports and the reactions or
behaviors of fans. It is a fascinating idea to consider that sports can provide insight
into the human condition and the fact that the work of athletes is not judged by
statistics but instead by the reaction of their fans. Simons also suggest that,
Because the human condition influences ones perception of the sport, there is no
collective narrative about he reaction that the sport will cause. Lumping them all
together and suggesting otherwise would obscure the passion they bring to the
sport (21).
From a scientific perspective technology can serve as a further example that many
social reactions are drive by a desire to gain popularity and acceptance. Bekkers draws
attention to the idea that technological innovation has been inhibited by one-sidedness

Amy Jenney
English 2367-W12
Professor Dilbeck

April 18, y
and internal limitations in organizations throughout the world. He suggest that the biggest
challenge in innovating new technologies is the resistance to change that is inherit in topdown managed organizations. Bekkers states, Employees are fearful to step too far out
of organizational norms, even in companies that are perceived as technological
innovators. (105). He goes on to discuss that change occurs in two pathways. The first
is evolutionary which is slow, small adjustments that are more readily accepted by people
in the organization. Oppositely there are revolutionary changes in which there is a radical
overhaul of systems or processes that often leave people fearful and uncertain. The latter
leads to people resisting change and a desire to hold on to what others feel is needed to
keep the status quo.
This idea is further exemplified by Utz, Tanis et. al in their work about the effects
of the need for popularity on social networking sites. While Hans Christian Anderson had
no idea there were implications in his fairytale with regard to worldwide social media
networks, the reality is the story may never ring truer. In the fairytale, characters agreed
with the Emperor in order to gain popularity. Social media is much the same. In their
research, Utz and others identify how personality characteristics influence human
behaviors on social media. Utz states, The motivation to do certain things in order to
appear popular can be steadily observed in social media. Social media can be rich source
for studying and analyzing the effects of popularity as a driving force for human
interaction (41).

Amy Jenney
English 2367-W12
Professor Dilbeck
April 18, y
There are a variety of sources that provide consilience towards the conclusion that
The Emperors New Clothes is a timeless fairy tale that brings to life the failings of
human beings. The research interacts to demonstrate how the lessons in this story are
clearly recognizable in todays culture in a variety of political, social and religious
settings. The challenge is enabling people to use the theories of crucial conversations in

which there is enough trust and understanding that people can speak the truth in a manner
that is respectful and caring. Rather than responding in the way that others suggest one
should, the idea is to set aside pride, ego and foolishness and replace it with the genuine
ability to listen. The concept of truth telling in a way that brings about real and
sustainable changes seems to be the challenge for centuries.

Amy Jenney
English 2367-W12
Professor Dilbeck
April 18, y
Works Cited
Admati, Anat R., and Martin F. Hellwig. The Bankers' New Clothes: What's Wrong with
Banking and What to Do about It. Princeton: Princeton UP, 2013. Print.
Asefeso, Ade, Steffen Brygger Lund, and Hadrian Perry. The Emperor's New Clothes: A
Contemporary Business Life Edition. Scotts Valley, CA: On Demand, 2013. Print.

Bekkers, Victor. "Modernization, Public Innovation and Information and Communication


Technologies: The Emperors New Clothes?" Information Policy 12 (2007): 103-07.
Academic Search Complete. Web. 15 Feb. 2015.
Carreker, Susan, and Joshi, R. Malatesha. "Response to Intervention: Are the Emperor's
Clothes Really New?" Psicothema 22.4 (2010): 943-48. Academic Search Complete.
Web. 15 Feb. 2015.
The Emperors New Clothes. London. Usborne, 2005. Print.
The Emperors New Clothes Live 2009 Nantes. Dir. Ray Cooper. Perf. Elton John,
YouTube, 2009.
Emperors New Groove. Director Mark Dindal. Lead Actors David Spade, John Goodman
and Ertha Kitt. Disney, 2000. Film.
Graves, Jr, Joseph. The Emperor's New Clothes: Biological Theories of Race at the
Millennium (Biological Theories of Race at the Millennium). Vol. 2. New Brunswick:
Rutgers UP, 2002. Print.

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Amy Jenney
English 2367-W12
Professor Dilbeck

April 18, y
Maharshak, Alon, Avital Moshinski, Maya Bar-Hillel, and Ruth Nofech. "A Rose by Any
Other Name: A Social-cognitive Perspective on Poets and Poetry." Judgment and
Decision Making 7.2 (2012): 149-64. Ebsco. Web.
Niemi, Nancy S. "The Emperor Has No Clothes: Examining the Impossible Relationship
between Gendered and Academic Identities in Middle School Students." Gender and
Education 17.5 (2005): 483-97. Ebsco. Web. 20 Feb. 2015.
Simons,Eric."AboutThatThrillofVictory...WhatScienceCanTellSportswritersabout
WhyWeLoveSports."ColumbiaJournalReview(2014):1921.AcademicSearch
Complete.Web.15Feb.2015.
SimonSinek."SimonSinek.TedTalk,Sept.2009.Web.11Mar.2015.
Skaerbaek,Eva."UndressingtheEmperor?OntheEthicalDilemmasofHierarchical
Knowledge." Journal of Interprofessional Care 24.5 (2010): 579-86. EBSCO. Web.
15 Feb. 2015.
Utz, Sonja, Martin Tanis, and Ivar Vermeulen. "It Is All About Being Popular: The Effects
of Need for Popularity on Social Network Site Use." Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and
Social Networking 15.1 (2012): 37-42. Academic Search Complete. Web. 15 Feb.
2015.

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