By Brady Amundson
Abstract
Author Julie Turnok writes that special effects, and their aesthetic, can be analyzed and interpreted. She also writes about how ILM cuts at creative freedom pushing for standardization of special effects. James Dewar explains that the printing press changed the way people intake information giving way to a different experience than what was before. Thus proving that each storytelling medium has a different structure and consequently unique outcome. A key element of fairy tales is how each story is told and the medium the story is presented provides creative choices to change the meaning of each story. So, how does the accessibility of various storytelling mediums—i.e., word of mouth, print, stage, animation, live-action feature films, and LED light stages—influence the thematic outcome of fairy tales, specifically “Beauty and the Beast?” By analyzing the thematic evolution of “Beauty and the Beast” in its various mediums, I argue that because there’s a necessary want or gain from telling a story by the teller, each medium is dependent on and thematically affected by accessibility to storytelling resources. Thus, the combination of these mediums, in terms of accessibility, structure, and thematic potential, point to greater accessibility for diverse filmmakers with communal control over the breakthrough technology of LED walls used in the filming of “The Mandalorian.” Each medium comes with its own limitations as well as various sets of prerequisites i.e., access to a stage, printing press, a camera. With the possibility of an inclusive, limitless means of production, the potential for diverse storytelling grows. New growth allows for small creators to tell their stories just as well as big Hollywood names like Disney and Warner Bros.
INTRODUCTION
Storytelling is human nature and to bar anyone from telling their story is a violation of human rights. Everyone has a story to share and spreading these diverse stories is necessary to create a more empathetic and connected society rather than a society that is divided and filled with fear. The core evolution of fairy tale storytelling mediums —i.e., word of mouth, print, stage, animation, live-action, and feature films— demonstrates through simple plot structure and changing thematic outcomes that communal access to the technological means of production increases the potential for diverse, accessible storytelling. By analyzing the thematic evolution of “Beauty and the Beast” in its various mediums, I argue that because there’s a necessary want or gain from telling a story by the teller, each medium is dependent on and thematically affected by accessibility to storytelling resources. Thus, the combination of these mediums, in terms of accessibility, structure, and thematic potential, point to greater accessibility for diverse filmmakers with communal control over the breakthrough technology of LED walls used in the filming of “The Mandalorian.” With the possibility of an inclusive, limitless means of production, the potential for diverse storytelling grows. Diverse storytelling leads to better stories and more voices and stories being heard. This essay will cover the accessibility, structure, and thematic choices involved in each medium, Oral storytelling, print, stage, animation, and live-action film through the Beauty and the Beast story.
MEDIUMS
Fairy Tales and Oral Storytelling
Before the printing press, fairy tales were primarily told by word of mouth. Oral storytelling is quite accessible since a story can be told by anyone who has a tale to tell. As well, oral stories can be told to anyone in the immediate proximity who can listen. Because there aren’t any expenses to tell a story verbally, it’s the most accessible storytelling medium for tellers. Compared to other mediums, oral storytelling is a bit lacking. It’s solely an imaginative experience. There isn’t a visual aspect that goes along with it. Many times oral stories are fifteen minutes or less because the format doesn’t have the flexibility like a book or movie to go on for hours. Because of these limitations, oral stories only have to time quickly reach a very basic moral. This is further emphasized by the Propp Functions and ATU scale. Aarne, Thompson, and Uther were able to describe and group fairy tales by common morals and plots. Vladimir Propp does similar work by boiling down fairy tale plot points to thirty-one functions to describe a fairy tale. These authors further prove how alike and basic these tales can be.
Fairy tales started as oral stories being told in fields for entertainment during work. The fantasy within the fairy tales helped in comforting the workers as a type of escapism. Even though the format was limited by words told, it was the perfect fit to pass the time. The tellers were able to share a quick moral during labor as well as a few jokes. As technology has evolved and new mediums have been invented, a passionate storyteller would be limited by these conditions. The format is great as a pass-time, but less creative freedom within the format can cut a big vision short.
The Printing Press and Exclusivity
The written format can expand its audience and is accessible to most storytellers, the vision of the teller however is not at its fullest form, leaving the audience to fill that gap. When the printing press was first introduced, it was more of a replacement for scribes. It took about a century to be used as a medium to spread information and stories.(Dewar) Even then, writing and books were for the rich since it was so expensive. On top of that, one needed to know English to write or read, another skill that was held for the rich. There’s also the problem of publishing. Just because an author can write doesn’t guarantee that their story will be put into a book. This middleman has the right to deny certain morals or certain people putting them in a position where they can control what information is written down. Written media changes the way a story is told on a core level. Through oral storytelling, the story is fleeting, only to exist when it’s told. The printing press completely changes this, making a written story timeless. Because of the nature of the printing press, making it easier to make more copies, a larger audience can be reached by just one rendition or telling of a story. Common fairy tales that are written down portray the authors’ interpretation. Because of the permanence and larger audience involved, the singular interpretation of the original word of mouth story is spread large, pushing the morals of the author. The flexibility of an oral retelling is consequently lost.
The written medium alters the theme of Beauty and the Beast because wealthier members of society were able to unilaterally spread a single interpretation of the theme as the medium grants access to distribution. Perrault’s theme, inner beauty vs outer beauty, is bluntly told in the end. He writes, “You showed your good sense in pre-ferring a faithful heart to a handsome face or form.” The printing press not only homogenizes the theme among diverse audiences, but it maintains the short and direct style of oral storytelling. The cost and distribution limitations of the printing press also dictate that the theme be stated to summarize vague or unanswered aspects of the story.
Stage and Theater – Bringing Fantasy to Live Performance
With live stage performances, the storyteller is now able to show off their true vision and although there are some limitations, the visual component provides a completely different experience from that of a book. With a visual component comes quite a few necessities. There needs to be a stage, a script, actors, a live audience, costumes, sets and props, lighting and tech, and other leading roles like directors and writers. What makes the medium unique however is the diversity in the way that a live production can be performed: from black box to broadway. Jeff Burke and Jared Stein explore how Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning can be used in live performances. By fusing technology and theater, they create new experiences that push the limits of the medium. Their work proves the flexibility and storytelling diversity within this medium. Because of this diversity, the medium can be pretty accessible. Live productions add the visual element that’s been missing from the previous mediums. The props, sets, costumes, and live actors pull a viewer into the story, allowing for an immersive experience. Theater also allows for a longer story than the oral format. There are, of course, limitations. Theater misses out on world-building, there can only be so many set changes within a show. The visual aspect is limited to real-world situations, unlike a book that can describe magic or a movie that can use special effects.
Live performances alter the theme of Beauty and the Beast because the live actors personify the story bringing what used to be a written tale to life. The physicality of the props and stage build a world to escape into. Disney adds music to the story changing the mature aspects of a fairy tale into an exciting, dreamlike story for kids. Disney’s theme is a similar message to Perrault, “not to be deceived by appearances,” told by the narrator in the introduction. The music, choreography, and live actors however alter the thematic outcome from Perrault. Instead of a fifteen-minute story that gets to a moral as quickly as it can, Disney brings the story to life with characters and enchantment. There are names given and what was once imaginary is now being performed in front of an audience. Children can meet the princess Belle and the catchy songs can be played on car rides. By making the nondescript characters from Perrault’s story exciting and creating a visual world, Disney promotes their theme parks. A place where children who were once entranced by the world can go to live in it.
Disney, the Animation Giant
Disney’s animation of Beauty and the Beast can completely reinvent Perrault’s vision. Animation as a format is quite a big leap from theater or a book. This requires almost everything from a theater production as well as a team of animators. There is a significant bump in price going to a Hollywood film. This price bump makes an animated feature incredibly inaccessible to storytellers. Although exclusive, there are a lot of benefits of animation and film. Film can reach a much larger audience similar to a book. However, it differs from a book because of the visual aspect. The audience can now completely visualize the magic and fantastical elements of the story. Disney of course takes advantage of this. More magic is added to the story from Perrault’s original story with the addition of the living tea set and such. Because of animations flexibility, there is a lot more potential for immersion into the story. With a budget of $25 million the story changes. Rather than other renditions of Beauty and the Beast, Disney is investing when telling the story. This is different from an oral story which is told for the joy of storytelling.
Disney’s animated telling alters the theme of Beauty and the Beast because their motives are different from other renditions of the story. Disney needs to make money so sellable items are added like music, fun characters, and iconic princesses. Characters like Chip, Mrs. Potts, Lumiere, and Cogsworth are the perfect toys to sell to kids, Belle is added to Disney’s arsenal of princesses so children can dress up like them. Better yet, they can go to Disneyland and meet them. The story has changed from a way to teach a quick moral to a way to entertain children for an hour and thirty-two minutes and sell merchandise.
Corporations – “Look at This Stuff, Isn’t It Neat? Wouldn’t You Think My Collection’s Complete?”
Disney’s Live-Action rendition of Beauty and the Beast pushes the boundaries of modern special effects giving a prime example of a storyteller’s vision with no constraints. With a $250 million budget, Disney’s movie proves that world-building stories are the most inaccessible format of storytelling. The VFX used in live-action movies only adds to the inaccessibility. Julie Turnok explains how the Industrial Lights & Magic look of Photorealism conquered the market. She writes that a “consequence of ILM’s photoreal aesthetic is that the dominance of special effects production eventually meant that it effectively reversed the design priority in blockbuster filmmaking.” Pointing out that ILM’s aesthetic that over-saturates the market is cutting at the creative freedom of writers. Turnok advocates for more diverse VFX aesthetics something that Disney, the owner of ILM, only incentivizes by using photorealism in their live-action film. Live-action takes the best features of every other medium and puts it into one. The film is immersive and realistic with live actors. There are beautiful landscapes so a viewer doesn’t need to imagine what the castle looks like. The magic involved in the story looks real, bringing the story to life. This format is limitless and the storyteller can tell it in a way that feels more real than ever before.
Similar to Disney’s animation, the live-action film alters the theme of Beauty and the Beast because of their capitalist agenda. Disney once again invests in filming this movie pulling the same stunts as the animated movie. This time, however, the theme is revised to better play to the modern audience. Disney is playing on the nostalgia of the viewers to make money. Because the movie was released twenty-eight years after the original, the kids who grew up on the animated movie are adults now, many having young children. When Maurice picks a rose, the script writes “ANGLE ON MAURICE — terrified as the dark shape leaps down.”(Hoberman) The tone is much darker than the animation, dark enough to keep adults entertained but not to the point that children are scared. This is done to appeal to a wider audience. Once again, Disney takes a fairy tale and modifies it as means to their end.
CONCLUSIONS
The LED walls used in the filming of the Mandolorian are the culmination of the mediums in terms of structure and thematic potential which points to greater accessibility. Jeff Farris, a technical director at Epic Games who was part of the team that worked with LED walls used in The Mandalorian, talks about his experience. He writes that the filming process that can sometimes take months was streamlined by this technology making filming faster and easier. He explains that the LED wall allowed for quick, on-site modifications to the virtual set and gave a new, unseen, amount of creative freedom. Farris argues that the LED wall in combination with Unreal Engine achieved real-time tech in the filming world which gave new opportunities to the field and allowed for better filmmaking. This tech has the potential to let small filmmakers make Beauty and the Beast levels of immersion without the price tag. Filmmakers wouldn’t have to spend money and time to book filming locations, sets, crew labor, travel costs, limited shooting hours, and many other problems like actors immersing themselves in the landscape rather than a green screen. What makes LED walls different from other new film industry tech is that it solves many problems with one solution. On top of that, there only needs to be one LED wall for small creators to share similar to something like the YouTube creator space. The LED walls’ structure doesn’t need to be updated like a set or green screen. All that’s necessary is a change of the background. Of course with this tech being so new it’s somewhat far off from hitting the small filmmaker market but once it does, small filmmakers will have access to so much more than they ever have. The vision that they have can come to actuality without spending millions of dollars.
Each storytelling medium differs from the other on a basis of accessibility, structure, and thematic outcome. By following the different renditions of Beauty and the Beast in its different formats it was revealed that communal access to the technological means of production increases the potential for diverse storytelling. The different storytelling mediums proved that there wasn’t one perfect way to tell a story, each format had its pros and cons. Their combination, however, in terms of structure and thematic potential points to greater accessibility. The new LED wall technology used to film The Mandalorian gives a prime example of what that combination looks like. This tech opens a new door to a new era in film making where small creators can fully form their stories without limitations. Storytelling has gone through quite a lot in its evolution, from oral storytelling to multi-million blockbuster films. Each medium though comes with its limitations as well as various sets of prerequisites i.e., access to a stage, printing press, a camera. With the possibility of an inclusive, limitless means of production, the potential for diverse storytelling grows. Diverse storytelling leads to better stories and more voices and stories being heard.
Works Cited
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Burke, Jeff, and Jared J. Stein. “Live Performance and Post-Cinematic Filmmaking.” Performance Matters, vol. 6, no. 1, Jan. 2020, pp. 28–47. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ibh&AN=144758933&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Choksi, Vidushi B. “CHAPTER 2: History and Cinema.” Language in India, vol. 18, no. 11, Nov. 2018, pp. 45–54. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&AN=133295905&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Dewar, James A. The Information Age and the Printing Press: Looking Backward to See Ahead. RAND Corporation, 1 Jan. 1998, www.rand.org/pubs/papers/P8014.html.
Farris, Jeff. “Forging New Paths for Filmmakers on ‘The Mandalorian.’” Unreal Engine, 20 Feb. 2020, www.unrealengine.com/en-US/blog/forging-new-paths-for-filmmakers-on-the-mandalorian.
Hoberman, David, et al. Beauty and the Beast. Walt Disney Pictures, 2017.
Perrault, Charles. “Beauty and the Beast.” Internet Archive, New York: McLoughlin Bro’s, 1891, archive.org/details/beautybeast00perr/mode/2up.
Trousdale, Gary, and Kirk Wise. Beauty and the Beast. Buena Vista Pictures, 1991.
Turnock, Julie. “Before Industrial Light and Magic: The Independent Hollywood Special Effects Business, 1968-75.” New Review of Film & Television Studies, vol. 7, no. 2, June 2009, pp. 133–156. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/17400300902816895.
Turnock, Julie. “The ILM Version: Recent Digital Effects and the Aesthetics of 1970s Cinematography.” Film History, vol. 24, no. 2, Apr. 2012, p. 158. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsgao&AN=edsgcl.294507910&site=eds-live&scope=site.Woolverton, Linda. Beauty and the Beast. Directed by Robert Jess Roth, performance by Susan Egan, et al., Broadway, 18 April 1994, Palace Theatre, New York City.
