Don't forget! After the class responses are posted to the Message Board, read what everybody has to say about the discussion topic and respond to any or all of them, and feel free to respond to responses :)

Also remember that this is not an opinion question; you are not showcasing your personal beliefs here; we are looking at the literature as literature.

This week you have been asked to consider pairings (versions of "Little Red Riding Hood" and the movie A Company of Wolves, for example; check the Schedule for some more suggestions, but you are not limited by that short list). The task is to analyze some of the basic stories many of us grew up with, and discover what implications, symbols, patterns, suggestions, ideas, issues are in the stories and/or their re-inventions as movies.

Note: this is not plot summary, and it is not a list of likes and dislikes (there should be no "Good" or "Better" or "Awful" sorts of statements).

Answer any one of the questions below:

  1. Compare / contrast a folk tale with a film that is either a direct re-make ("Little Red Riding Hood"--the story and the recent film) or a variation of the story ("Cinderella" and Pretty Woman or Ever After). Discuss how the movie actually draws out some of the subtler ideas suggested by the story. As always, be very specific. Quote or describe scenes from the story and movie and explain what subtler ideas are suggested in each.

  2. This is a variation of question 1. Compare / contrast a folk tale with a poem, story, novel that is a modern re-telling of the tale. A poem such as Anne Sexton's "Cinderella," "Little Red Riding Hood" and one of the stories from Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber, "Snow White" and the novel Snow White by Donald Bartheleme (a big undertaking if you've not already read the book) all work for this topic. Discuss how the modern version actually draws out some of the subtler ideas suggested by the story. As always, be very specific. Quote or describe scenes from the works and explain what subtler ideas are suggested in each.

  3. Look at a film folk-tale-like movie (such as Pan's Labyrinth), and discuss how the work uses basic storytelling elements common to folk tales while exploring deeper ideas and/ or issues.

    A possible variation of this is to look at a satire of folk literature in movies such as Shrek or The Princess Bride; discuss how the movie is actually true to the original folk tale elements while sneaking in contemporary or more-adult ideas suggested by the folk tales they are making fun of. A series called Shelly Duvall's Fairy Tale Theatre or episodes of Fractured Fairy Tales (many available on YouTube) from The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show could also be used for this topic.