creative investigation film presentation

1. CREATIVE
INVESTIGATION
PRESENTATION
Tara Burton

2. Introduction/Aims
How fairytales have been repeatedly reinvented in
order to engage with contemporary cinema and society
For my creative investigation I have decided to look at
adaptations, specifically the adaptations of Fairytales. As
the vast majority of existing Fairytales have been
transformed into films, I have narrowed down my research
to solely looking at Cinderella variations.
The aims of my research is to find out how famous
children’s Fairytales are adapted into films and how they
keep on getting regenerated and still have great success,
even though the basic storyline is followed throughout each
adaptation.

3. I will be considering how the macro and micro elements
determine how successful fairy-tale adaptations are with a
contemporary cinema and society.
I am hoping to conclude my research by seeking to
determine the success of the reinvention of fairytales within
film, and whether certain aspects in film such as narrative,
genre or the advance in technology have the greatest
impact on the regeneration of these fairytales on a modern
audience.

4. Key Texts
• My three key texts are focal films that I am analyzing.
Each of these films are adaptations of the classic fairy-
tale ‘Cinderella’, and are useful in identifying how each
film has re-told the story to appeal to a contemporary
society.

5. Focal Film
Ever After : A Cinderella Story [Item1]
Ever After: A Cinderella Story is a 1998
film inspired by the fairy tale Cinderella,
directed by Andy Tennant with an all star
cast including Drew Barrymore and
Dougray Scott. In this adaption the usual
pantomime and comic/supernatural
elements are removed and the story is
instead treated as historical fiction, set in
Renaissance-era France. It is often seen
as a modern, post-feminism
interpretation of the Cinderella myth.

6. Focal Film
A Cinderella Story [Item2]
A Cinderella Story is an American 2004
teen romantic comedy adaptation of the
classic Fairy-tale. The film stars Hilary
Duff, Jennifer Coolidge, Chad Michael
Murray and Regina King and was directed
by Mark Rosman. The film's plot revolves
around two Internet pen pals who meet at
a school dance and fall in love but two
different worlds keep them apart. This
adaption follows the basic ideology of
Cinderella but includes new ideas such as
the use of modern influences like the
Internet to reinvent the classic to appeal to
a modern audience.

7. Focal Film
Another Cinderella Story [Item3]
Another Cinderella Story is a 2008 teen
romantic comedy musical dance film
directed by Damon Santostefano and
starring Selena Gomez, Drew Seeley
and Jane Lynch. It is a thematic sequel
to the 2004 film A Cinderella Story,
reprising the same themes and
situations but not containing any
characters from the original film. The
film is a re-telling of Cinderella in a
modern setting, as for the iconic scene I
will analysing in this adaptation a school
dance substitutes for the ball, with the
role of the glass slipper filled by a Zune.

8. Representation
The female protagonist;
[Item1] [Item2] [Item3]
The idea that a woman’s value is determined based on how they look, is
represented in each adaptation of the fairy-tale as when ‘Cinderella’ attends the
ball her transformation into a glamorous and impeccably dressed young
bachelorette reinforces the beauty ideal. As shown in my above screen shots
taken from my focal films each female protagonist is represented similarly
therefore a specific ideology and stereotype is carried out through each
adaptation.

9. Hybrid Genres
• The majority of fairytales are categorized as fantasy films,
as ‘The events in fantasy films break the normal rules of
what is possible in the real world through the use of the
supernatural, myths and legends’. [Item4] The quote
taken from a film studies book recognizes the point I
make about how ‘fairytales’ are categorized and defined
as fantasy films, however in todays contemporary society
modern adaptations still follow the ideology of a fantasy
film but add various other genres to create a hybrid genre
to appeal to a modern audience, for example with ‘A
Cinderella Story’ [Item2] the film is categorized as a
fantasy, romantic-comedy. Also ‘Another Cinderella Story’
[Item3] is categorized as a fantasy teen romantic comedy-
musical.

10. Source
[Item4]
Benyahia, Casey Sarah, Gaffney, Freddie and White, John, 2009. A2 Film
Studies The Essential Introduction, London and New York: Routledge.
‘This is evident in the way that fantasy is used in cinema as an expression of
our unconscious – of creativity and imagination which is not repressed as it is in
the real world. Fantasy is an explanation of desires and dreams which can
uplifting and exiting but which are just as likely to be dark and disturbing.’
As fairy-tales are categorized as fantasy films, the above quote links to my
creative investigation short film as I am looking into the dark side of the
ideology behind fairy-tales and applying a twist to the ‘Cinderella’ original plot
by creating a fantasy/thriller rather than just a fantasy version of the classic.

11. Item 5 – Stills taken from George Melies’ adaptation of
Cinderella.
Iconic characters and props associated with
the Fairy-tale are noticed in Melies’ adaptation
such as the Fairy-godmother (dressed in
Pink), a rat transformed into a human footman
and the kitchen setting where she is seen to
be a maid before her transformation.

12. • As mentioned and shown in the previous slides, iconic
elements within the mise and scene are recognized by the
audience to have association with Cinderella are carried
out through each adaptation of the fairytale. This is
backed up by one of my sources, George Melies was a
French film maker from the late 1800’s and adapted
Cinderella into a film, his adaptation was a great success
and iconic characters and props have been transferred
into re-inventions of his adaption. The re-generation of
this early adaptation has appealed to a contemporary
society through the influence of technology and modern
twists on the storyline as seen in my focal films.

13. Item 7
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McQ_cCBaiac
One of my sources is a Trailer taken from Disney’s
upcoming release of ‘Cinderella’, the trailer is a 3 minute
advertisement of the new adaptation. This source can help
me understand how through the years the classic
Cinderella tale has been adapted into different ideologies to
fit society. From the trailer it is noticed that the story largely
follows Disney’s 1950 animated adaptation, with several
twists. Relating back to my creative investigation question
on how Fairy-tales are reinvented to engage with
contemporary cinema and society, the use of new
technologies is evident to make the classic more appealing
to a modern audience.

14. Conclusion
In response to my aims I have found that the main success
for the reinvention of fairytales to appeal to a contemporary
cinema and society, is mainly down to several factors those
being; the various use of certain macro and micro
elements, for example genre and narrative twists will give
the fairytale a new image appealing to a modern audience.
Also technological advances that have allowed simplistic
adaptations of fairytales to become more visually pleasing
and interesting appeal more to a contemporary society.