Steph Scott ©2014 Adapting Snow White Today
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Steph Scott ©2014 Adapting Snow White Today: Narrative and Gender Analysis in the Television Show Once Upon a Time Abstract: This paper examines the narrative in the first season of the ABC television show Once Upon a Time (2011-Present) and the fairytale Snow White (1857) with a particular focus on female gender representation. The reappearance of fairytales in popular media provides a unique opportunity to examine how values between two very different time periods have changed. Utilizing a narrative approach allows the research to show the merits and limitations across adapting from an old text to a television serial. Once Upon a Time offers a progressive rendition of the character Snow White by challenging both the traditional narrative and the television serial narrative. Snow White’s relationships with other characters are also expanded upon in the televised tale and surround her heroic acts, rather than her beauty, which changes the values presented in the television series. Methodology: In Once Upon a Time, throughout its narrative progression the traditional narrative is challenged. The first season’s episodes “Snow Falls,” “Heart is a Lonely Hunter,” “7:15AM,” “Heart of Darkness,” “The Stable Boy,” “An Apple Red as Blood,” and “A Land Without Magic” are given particular attention in this analysis because they pertain to Snow White’s fairytale. Robert Stam (2005) describes adaptation narrative analysis as considering “the ways in which adaptations add, eliminate, or condense characters” (p.34). With textual analysis of the first season of Once Upon a Time, these factors can be analyzed through Snow White’s relationships with other characters. The relationship Snow White has with other characters is no longer based on hunting or appealing to Snow White’s beauty, as it is in the literary tale. Instead each character’s relationship is concerned with Snow White’s heroic acts, with the exception of the Evil Queen, whose motivation is based on revenge. In addition to studying the adaptation of the traditional narrative, this paper will explore how adaptation impacts female representation. While much of the referenced feminist scholarship is older, this research is used to test the relevance of older ideas on an old narrative that has been adapted to a more current narrative. Based on the gender studies offered by each researcher presented, a definition of a “progressive female character” can be developed in this way: A progressive female character has post-feminist qualities but is aligned more with third wave feminist goals. Because female characters are typically presented as dependent and passive, according to Tuchman (2012) and Stempel Mumford (1995), a progressive female character would be independent and active. In independent moments a character is able to act on one’s own, whereas dependent moments require another character to assist. However, she is also able to work in collaboration with other characters, which is in line with third wave feminism (Levine, 2007). In addition, in active moments a character is able to make a decision, whereas in passive moments the character is rendered choiceless. Another progressive aspect, supported by Levine (2007) and Butler (2004), is that the female character is not locked into a particular gendered role and maintains flexibility between character roles. By applying Levine’s (2007) research and Butler’s (2004) critical theory, this textual analysis focuses on gender representation through Snow White’s relationships with other characters, including the Evil Queen, the Huntsman, the Seven Dwarfs (Grumpy in particular), and Prince Charming. Narrative Elements: Television Serial Narrative: Fairytale characters in the television series are often guided, but can also be limited by the television serial narrative. Fiske (1989) argues that mythic narratives focus on two abstract binaries in concrete ways, such as “good and evil” with the representation of an attractive hero and an unattractive villain, and the narrative offers how to cope with the perpetual binary (p.131). Abstract binaries also include “masculine and feminine”, according to Fiske (1989, p.131). In Once Upon a Time this particular binary is challenged in many ways as it moves through the six sections of a narrative arc as explained by Fiske (1989). Fiske draws from Vladimir Propp’s research on structural analysis in fairytales and adapts Propp’s 31 point structure into six plot stages (Propp, 1968). Rather than breaking an arc into a complex set of plot points, Fiske adapts Propp’s research into a flexible narrative that is more suitable for the television narrative. The first stage is “the Preparation,” where the setting and character relationships are established. The second stage is “the Complication”: the villain wants something and/or takes initial actions against the protagonist. The third stage is “the Transference,” where the protagonist begins their adventure or quest. The following stage is the climax of the story where the protagonist and villain confront each other and this stage is known as “the Struggle”. The final two stages are “the Return” and “the Recognition” and involve the protagonist completing a quest and a truth is recognized (Fiske, 1989). Fiske’s narrative progression demonstrates the simple story arc that accompanies a short story, like a fairytale, but also follows the television serial narrative within a single episode and the entire season arc. This narrative arc is still followed in popular television shows, but will often feature a delayed resolution to the central problem. Later, this arc will be expanded on for the television narrative in Once Upon a Time. Within each narrative section there are “functions,” story events that are placed into a sequence and these functions can take two forms, as “nuclei,” events that move the story forward, and “catalyzers,” events that speed up or slow down the narrative in the form of summaries, anticipations, and red-herrings (Fiske, 1989). Nuclei functions are most common to fairytales because they are short tales with a clear purpose to move the plot forward. By comparison, catalyzer functions are more prevalent in television shows like the prime time drama because more time is dedicated towards characters. Traditional Literary Narrative: The traditional story arc for the fairytale Snow White follows a consistent path. Details are altered between versions but most traditional editions follow the model described below, which is based on the 1857 edition of the Grimm fairytale: Once upon a time… A Mother prays for a beautiful child, Snow White, and then dies in childbirth. The Father remarries and the Stepmother becomes so jealous of Snow White’s beauty that she sends a Huntsman to kill Snow White. The Huntsman takes pity on Snow White and abandons her in the forest. Snow White is adopted by the Seven Dwarfs and she assumes responsibility for the house and cares for them. The Stepmother discovers that Snow White is still alive and tries to kill her stepdaughter. The Seven Dwarfs warn Snow White not to talk to strangers, but their advice is ignored. After the Stepmother makes several attempts on Snow White’s life, Snow White succumbs to one of the Stepmother’s poisonous apples. The Seven Dwarfs place her in a bejeweled coffin in the forest. A prince travels through the same forest, sees Snow White and begs the Seven Dwarfs to allow him to take her. The Seven Dwarfs agree to the Prince’s wishes and as Snow White is carted away, the apple is dislodged and Snow White awakens. Snow White and the Prince are married and the Stepmother is punished (Pullman, 2012). With the traditional narrative described above, the television serial narrative is unable to completely change the plot points, but is able to have flexibility in how each plot point is reached. Using the traditional narrative, the television serial narrative in Once Upon a Time can be compared. Catalyzer functions allow for gender play and can avoid stereotypes often found in the traditional narrative. While the fairytale may end, the series continues and does not have a completed ending like the traditional narrative, which also complicates adapting the fairytale narrative to the television narrative. All narratives offer boundaries and while there is flexibility for characterizations, there are still limits on these characterizations. The television narrative still must undergo the plot points identified in the traditional story, which can interfere with female gender representation. If particular points in the narrative are not followed, the story is no longer the fairytale Snow White, because the major plot points determine the path of the story. There is flexibility in how to arrive at each plot point, but each plot point needs to occur in the adaptation. Adapting Fairytales to the Television Serial Narrative: Robert Stam’s (2005) research on narrative adaptation from literary text to film text acknowledges that the original narrative source that is being adapted from “can be seen as a situated utterance, produced in one medium and in one historical and social context, and later transformed into another, equally situated utterance, produced in a different context and relayed through a different medium” (p.45). In summary, an adaptation of a narrative caters to the historical context that the narrative is created in. According to Stam, each adaptation of a narrative should offer changes in accordance with the time period. However, fairytales across editions almost consistently present utopias where “good” characters are always rewarded or achieve justice (Zipes, 2002). The Arthurian idea of “might makes right” is a major contributing theme to folktales: “He who has power can exercise his will, right wrongs, become ennobled, amass money and land, win women as prizes, -and it is generally a man who accumulates the most power and wealth” (Zipes, 2002, p.35). In both feudal and post-feudal times, women were objectified and represented as submissive.