Date of Award

2022

Degree Name

Master of Arts (Thesis)

Schools and Centres

Arts & Sciences

First Supervisor

Deborah Pike

Second Supervisor

Sylvie Magerstaedt

Abstract

Recent filmic representations of the fairy tale villain can offer powerful counter-narratives to archetypal fairy tale stories. This thesis examines how certain contemporary representations of fairy tales have reinterpreted the traditional ‘villain’ archetype, revealing a greater diversity of perspectives. Using John Stephens’ and Peter Stockwell’s cognitive poetics theory on schema and scripts as a theoretical framework, this thesis closely analyses the known Disney fairy tale villain, Sleeping Beauty’s (1959) Maleficent, as she is portrayed in the live-action films Maleficent (2014) and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019), as well as Disney’s Descendants (2015, 2017, 2019) films. By analysing the patterns and dynamic elements that make up a character through the lens of schema and scripts, this thesis evaluates the ways in which the ‘villain’ character archetypes are changed and to what extent these villains are reinterpreted to express their truer, more complex or ‘deeper’ natures. While there is a small body of criticism of the villain in fairy tales in cinema, as yet there are no studies that use this theory of schemas and scripts in relation to film analysis, including these films. This thesis reveals how select films change both schema and script, whereas others simply change script without changing schema. The act of changing both script and schema is what allows the archetype to be fully reinterpreted. This is significant as it allows the cultural work of fairy tales to evolve into representing more diverse and nuanced characters in an age where celebrating differences and presenting a variety of voices is more important than ever. This analysis also reveals how, and to what extent, a more diverse representation of villain characters is being incorporated into contemporary fairy tale retellings to a growing audience.

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