Fairy Tale Salon : Event on October 20!

We will be having a wonderful event next week in 4101 JFSB where we hope to have some cool conversations about fairy tales and television and their interesting relationship. It’s a salon, so there will be great discussion and some refreshments and we hope that you all come and contribute and join in! From 5 to 6 pm on Thursday, October 20th, we will be on the fourth floor of the JFSB having a great time! Below is an interview …

Cinderella’s Sidekicks and their Choices, or Lack Thereof

When Cinderella is adapted into other mediums, especially when these adaptations are intended for children or families, the animals barely in the original tale become sidekicks with a lot more screen-time. So what happens when you take a plot point and turn it into a character? You give it the ability to make choices within the story — you give it agency. Betty Boop’s Poor Cinderella is, for my purposes, the first time these animals are given any characterization. And …

But HOW are the Fairy Tales Mashed-up in Children’s Television?

Fairy Tale Mashups. We all know about them. We’ve all seen them in many forms, from books to movies to TV. Fairy tale narratives are so short, simple, and familiar that it’s easy to combine them to make something new and fun out of these old stories. Studying the ‘why’ of fairy tale mashups gets to the heart of what we do at the FTTV project, but this particular post is about the ‘how’. HOW are these fairy tales mashed …

Fairy Tale Mash-ups in Children’s Television: Digital Humanities Strategies (featuring Arthur)

Of all of children’s TV, my favorite show is Arthur, the adventures of that beloved, perpetually-eight-years-old aardvark and all of his friends and family that has been on the air since the year I was born, making it the second-longest running animated series in history. A season 5 episode of Arthur entitled “Just Desserts” (link to watch) (IMDb citation) has always been one of my favorites. After Arthur eats too much candy, he is thrown into an imaginative dream sequence …

One Fairy Tale Girl’s Experience at a Very Serious Academic Folklore Conference

On the final day of the Western States Folklore Society conference, while waiting for Dr Rudy’s presentation to begin, I had a brief conversation with Dr. Tok Thompson of the University of Southern California. After introducing myself and answering affirmatively that this was my first time at a conference, he said “Oh, be careful, they’re addicting. Once you go to one you never want to stop going to them.” It seems like a strange concept. How can listening to presentations …

Fat Fairies, Mash-Ups, and Advertisements: the Hypnotic Effect of TV Fairy Tales

On April 7-9, 2016, the FTTV Project Participants traveled from Provo, Utah to Berkeley, California to present their panel at the Western States Folklore Society Conference. Ariel Peterson was first up with her analysis of fairy godmothers that usually appear as fat fairies (whether in actual body type or symbolized by a round dress). Lauren Redding showed off her data about gender comparisons and inclusion of animal characters that she compiled from the FTTV Database. She was able to display many interesting …

The Un-Birthday Party: Celebrating the Updated Database

In the quaint room filled with Hogwarts-esque armchairs, Alice in Wonderland admirers gathered together to enjoy a smashing un-birthday party on January 27, Lewis Carroll’s 184th birthday. Herbal tea, cocoa, and cookies were consumed while the FTTV project participants discussed all things Alice and presented the new database layout. Preston presented on the evolution of Alice in Wonderland from Lewis Carroll’s oral story, to published book, to stage production, to screen.   He mentioned Disney’s capitalization on the psychedelic colors in their …

To Research and To Educate

Look—there she goes, the girl in the red hood, red cape, red hoodie, wolfskin. Do you see her? Does she carry a basket full of fresh bread and warm milk? Or does she seek to protect her sweet, sweet tortitas from the dapper wolf? And when she meets that wolf, does she reveal her own small, experienced fangs? Or whip a pistol from her knickers? Hello, my name is Lauren, and I’m a Little Red Riding Hood addict. Fortunately, I’m …

Glass Slippers and Small Screens: Rags to Riches and the American Dream

          This is the powerpoint from Madeleine Dresden’s presentation at the 2014 American Folklore Society Conference in Santa Fe. Glass Slippers and Small Screens: Rags to Riches and the American Dream