Blog Post #4

jjaganat
Sep 22, 2016
3 min read

Inquiry Question: Why do we reimagine fairytales over and over again?

My Inquiry Question has expanded after my research into the subject. I now have more questions than ever! Some of these questions include:

Have fairytales from other cultures evolved in the same way that they have in Western societies? Or have they changed in a completely different fashion? Either way, how have they changed?
Why do we reimagine these stories in the same settings, tones and tropes (ex. high school, dark and gritty)? What does that say about our society?
Are fairytales just for children? Were they ever just for children?
Is reimagining fairytales an art or just a way to make fast money? Have we run out of stories to tell?
Is there a big market for fairytale retellings? Why?

Authors of Fairytale Retellings: The people who write their own versions of fairytales.

They change the settings, stretch plot points, and often expand the perspectives of the characters. These authors are able to tell their own unique tales by using the barebones of fairytales. They are important parts of my Round Table because they actually retell fairytales. Form them, I can learn why authors want to tell these stories.

Jack Heckel is the author of The Charming Tales. Jack Heckel is not actually a real person, but the pen name under which two men named John Peck and Harry Heckel write. Peck is an intellectual property attorney who has “always loved telling stories”, while Heckel leads a QA Team. Although Heckel has always wanted to be a writer, Peck has not. This is apparent with the fact that Heckel has written books and games separate from The Charming Tales, whereas this series is Peck’s first.

Heckel (the author of the article) believes that fairytales are not just for children, but also for adults, which is why fairytale retellings are necessary. He argues that the reason adults want to retell fairytales using dark and twisted tones is because adults need fairytales too.

Screenplay Writers and Directors of Fairytale Retellings: The people who write and direct movie versions of fairytales.

Screenplay writers essentially have the same job that the authors of fairytale retellings have: writers. To move further along the movie process, directors of fairytale retellings have the important job of ushering these movies into life. They are important parts of my round table because they also help retell fairytales.

However, unlike authors of fairytale retellings, directors and screenplay writers do not often write out of passion, but out of greed. Fairytale retellings, often distributed by Disney and other famous companies, generate a lot of money because the story resonates with the audience (O’Connor).

On the slim chance that screenplay writers of fairytale retellings are actually passionate about their work, their reason for writing these movies is probably similar to the reason Heckel presented: adults need fairytales too.

Further On...

Two of my empty seats are currently the Audience of Fairytale Retellings and Fairytale Historians / Scholars. The former is the possibly the most important seat on the Round Table, as they are the ones who have come into contact with the most fairytale retellings. The latter will be able to tell me how fariytale retellings have changed over time.

These viewpoints give me some insight into why fairytale retellings are written (adults need fairytales), but I will need a more concrete and detailed answer to expand my inquiry project.

Song of the Day