MALEFICENT: REIMAGINING “THE SLEEPING BEAUTY” WITH A POST-MODERNIST PERSPECTIVE
Abstract
The goal of the present project is to
highlight the postmodernist perspective
of the fairy tale themes in the movie Maleficent
(2014) through Intertextuality. The present study aims to highlight the
rejection of authority by the Contemporary American Fairy Tale movie makers. Postmodernism
is an era where “Meta-Narratives” are
challenged and everything is being observed through a lens different from the past. Movie creators of postmodern era
have reinterpreted the original fairy tales
in ways that fit contemporary norms and circumstances. Movie creators represent
the old texts of fairy tales but have changed the title, plot and role of
characters, e.g. in Maleficent, the
antagonist of “Sleeping Beauty” now owns the title of the story, and she also
shares her part of the story, which was previously unknown.
The researcher used the eight elements that Kevin Paul Smith
has mentioned in his book Post Modern
Fairy tales, Folk Loric Intertexts in Contemporary
Fiction. The fifth element particularly, i.e. “revision”, makes the claim
of the researcher valid that Postmodernists have rejected totality and grand
narratives, they have opened new dimensions to the old stories. The story here
is given a new spin and the changes made in the story of “Sleeping Beauty” are according
to the norms of today, e.g. the women in the movie i.e. “Aurora”, the Princess and
Maleficent the Witch are given a prominent position and a voice to speak their
point of view, previously they were known through the eyes of other characters
only. These results show a change in perspectives and in the way things are now
being looked at. Fairy tales are the movies that are easily accessible to our
children, further study on this theme can help understand the society of today,
the postmodernist society.
Keywords
References
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Details
Primary Language
English
Subjects
-
Journal Section
Research Article
Authors
Mehwish Ali Khan
Pakistan
Publication Date
August 31, 2017
Submission Date
September 7, 2017
Acceptance Date
July 18, 2017
Published in Issue
Year 2017 Volume: 3 Number: 8