Bellarmine University ScholarWorks@Bellarmine Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones Graduate Research 5-14-2016 “Evil Isn’t Born, It’s Made”: As Communicated in Once Upon A Time Eleanor Hodapp Bellarmine University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.bellarmine.edu/tdc Part of the Communication Commons, and the Other Film and Media Studies Commons Recommended Citation Hodapp, Eleanor, "“Evil Isn’t Born, It’s Made”: As Communicated in Once Upon A Time" (2016). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones. 28. https://scholarworks.bellarmine.edu/tdc/28 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Research at ScholarWorks@Bellarmine. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@Bellarmine. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Running head: EVIL AS COMMUNICATED IN OUAT 1 “Evil Isn’t Born, It’s Made”: As Communicated in Once Upon A Time By Ellie Hodapp A thesis submitted to the faculty of Bellarmine University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in Communication May 2016 EVIL AS COMMUNICATED IN OUAT 2 BELLARMINE UNIVERSITY The Undersigned Faculty Committee Approves the Thesis of Ellie Hodapp “Evil isn’t Born, It’s Made”: As Communicated in Once Upon A Time Dr. Moira O’Keeffe Associate Professor, School of Communication, Bellarmine University Dr. Kyle Barnett Associate Professor, School of Communication, Bellarmine University Dr. Ruth Wagoner Professor, School of Communication, Bellarmine University EVIL AS COMMUNICATED IN OUAT 3 Copyright © 2016 by Ellie Hodapp EVIL AS COMMUNICATED IN OUAT 4 Abstract In the television series Once Upon A Time, evil is portrayed as a circumstance rather than a character trait. Characters shift toward and away from evil; the evil character suddenly shows redeeming qualities and the good character becomes consumed with revenge. This unusual approach to depicting evil in a television adaptation centering upon fairy tales rejects the clear distinction between good and evil typically present in the written stories. A close reading of Regina and Snow’s narratives and rhetorical analysis of visuals in the show reveal good and evil as fluid concepts – developing and shifting within and between characters. Keywords: fairy tales, Once Upon A Time, evil, transformations, narrative, visual rhetoric, textual analysis. EVIL AS COMMUNICATED IN OUAT 5 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Illustration 5.1 Pilot, 10/23/2011…………………………………………………..p. 76 Illustration 5.2 Pilot, 10/23/2011…………………………………………………..p. 76 Illustration 5.3 Pilot, 10/23/2011…………………………………………………..p. 77 Illustration 5.4 Heart of Darkness, 3/18/2012……………………………………..p. 79 Illustration 5.5 An Apple Red As Blood, 5/6/2012…………………………………p. 80 Illustration 5.6 The Stable Boy, 4/1/2012………………………………………….p. 81 Illustration 6.1 The Stable Boy, 4/1/2012………………………………………….p. 90 Illustration 6.2 Bleeding Through, 4/20/2014……………………………………..p. 91 Illustration 6.3 Pilot, 10/23/2011…………………………………………………..p. 92 Illustration 6.4 Pilot, 10/23/2011…………………………………………………..p. 93 Illustration 7.1 Save Henry, 12/1/2013……………………………………………..p. 102 Illustration 7.2 Save Henry, 12/1/2013……………………………………………..p. 103 Illustration 7.3 Save Henry, 12/1/2013……………………………………………..p. 103 Illustration 7.4 Broken, 9/30/2012………………………………………………….p. 105 Illustration 7.5 Going Home, 12/15/2013…………………………………………..p. 107 EVIL AS COMMUNICATED IN OUAT 6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis would not have been possible without the guidance and support from several people. First, I would like to express my deepest gratitude and appreciation to my thesis advisor, Moira O’Keeffe, Ph.D. Her valuable feedback, guidance, and challenging questions pushed me to become a better student of communication and a better writer. Thank you, Moira, for your dedication and encouragement throughout this experience. To my thesis committee, Ruth Wagoner, Ph.D. and Kyle Barnett, Ph.D., Thank you! I am indebted to you for sharing your expertise, insightful comments, constructive feedback, and for your support over the past year. Additionally, I would like to thank the professors in the School of Communication, especially Kimberly Parker, Ph.D., for piquing and fostering my curiosity in the field of communication. I am appreciative to my friends for their ongoing support and encouragement over the past year while I worked on this thesis. I am grateful for the support from my family, siblings, and parents. Thank you to my sister for all of your help! I am especially thankful to my mom, not only for introducing me to the world of fairy tales, particularly ones with strong female characters, but for teaching me to continually question and think critically. Thank you for instilling a thirst for knowledge in me and for demonstrating what it means to be a life long learner. Lastly, I cannot find the words to express my gratitude for my life partner, who was a source of energy and encouragement when I needed it the most. From the bottom of my heart, I appreciate you and I thank you! EVIL AS COMMUNICATED IN OUAT 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract……………………………………………………………………………… p. 4 List of Illustrations …………………………………………………………………. p. 5 Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………. p. 6 Chapter 1: Introduction…………………………………………………………....... p.9 Chapter 2: Review of Literature……………………………………………………. p. 17 Analysis of Narrative………………………………………………………. p. 17 Structuralism ………………………………………………………. p. 18 Narrative Paradigm ………………………………………………… p. 22 Popular Culture …………………………………………………………….. p. 25 Fairy Tales …………………………………………………………. p.27 Snow White Narratives……………………………………... p. 30 Snow White Scholarship……………………………………. p. 34 Fairy Tale Villains………………………………………………….. p. 36 Television/Media Studies…………………………………………... p. 38 Visual Rhetoric……………………………………………... p. 42 Television Narrative Analysis……………………………… p. 44 Television/Media Villains………………………………………….. p. 47 Research Question………………………………………………………...... p. 52 Chapter 3: Methodology…………………………………………………………… p. 54 Chapter 4: Background…………………………………………………………….. p. 59 Series Description………………………………………………………….. p. 59 Summary of the Seasons…………………………………………………… p. 62 EVIL AS COMMUNICATED IN OUAT 8 Character Descriptions……………………………………………………... p. 64 Tools for Analysis………………………………………………………….. p. 67 Chapter 5: Revenge………………………………………………………………… p. 71 Chapter 6: True Love………………………………………………………………. p. 86 Chapter 7: Motherhood…………………………………………………………...... p. 97 Chapter 8: Discussion Summary…………………………………………………… p. 112 Limitations and Future Research…………………………………………… p. 112 Chapter 9: Conclusion……………………………………………………………… p. 115 Appendix…………………………………………………………………………… p. 121 Family tree………………………………………………………………….. p. 121 References………………………………………………………………………….. p. 122 EVIL AS COMMUNICATED IN OUAT 9 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION “These stories are classics. There’s a reason we all know them. They’re a way for us to deal with our world. A world that doesn’t always make sense.” (Snow, Pilot, 2011) This study examines the portrayal of evil in a primetime television series, specifically, the transformations of evil in characters as revealed through a close reading of narratives and rhetorical analysis of visuals on the series Once Upon A Time (Kitsis & Horowitz, 2011-present). Narratives, or stories, are ubiquitous. We are surrounded by stories in our daily lives, especially when consuming television. Stories are essential to being human; in fact, one might say stories are what make us human (Fisher, 1985; Wright, 2000). As children, we are exposed to stories of all varieties. One of the most common types of stories is the fairy tale. Fairy tales become part of our experiences of the world through story time and through books, film, and television. Fairy tales were originally communicated through oral storytelling (Cashdan, 1999; Zipes, 2002) and were primarily told during leisure time by and to adults. Fairy tales are told, retold, and revised in an ever-changing environment (Cashdan, 1999; Zipes, 2011). Fairy tales remain popular and relevant due to a universal quality within the stories that resonate in people’s lives (Haase, 1993; Bottigheimer, 2009). The television series Once Upon A Time (OUAT) is an example of fairy tale adaptation. Despite changes to the tales, one can recognize not only the plots of commonly known fairy tales, but also the characters. These recognizable characters include villains like the Evil Queen from Snow White. Fairy tales, both as adaptations and products, are not only based on the culture or era in which they are told (Cashdan, 1999) but are adapted through different forms of media. Fairy tales are as relevant today as they were when originally told or recorded due to the EVIL AS COMMUNICATED IN OUAT 10 common underlying dynamic - the struggle between good and evil - that resonates across media (Cashdan, 1999). The evolution and adaptability of the stories in culture and media make fairy tales an important area to study. Stories, as a part of culture, have a dependent relationship with the culture in which they are told. Stories can play a role in shaping or maintaining culture by serving as ways to examine and understand life. Culture influences the content of the stories and how they are told. Fairy tales, as some of the first stories we hear, typically offer ways of dealing with struggles in our lives. The most common struggle depicted in the stories is between positive and negative forces often termed