Author: breadcrumbs

By Caelyn Rose

Abstract

When the Covid-19 pandemic first hit many wondered why Animal Crossing: New Horizons became one of the biggest games at a time when there was so much uncertainty and anxiety. Authors like Chris Comerford and Lin Zhu have addressed the massive success the game reached amid the pandemic and the role that escapism, a lack of normality, and prolonged social isolation play. One thing missing from this topic is how fairytales like Rapunzel play a role into it all and why people specifically turned to this type of fantastical activity as a way to deal with the harsh realities of the pandemic. Because of the open-ended plot line, ample in-game choices, and social connectivity to people around the world I argue that Animal Crossing: New Horizons can be interpreted through the lens of “Rapunzel” as a small sense of control in a disorderly world. Both “Rapunzel” and Animal Crossing: New Horizons encompass a lack of control, autonomy, and the effects of social isolation. For this project, I will be doing a close reading of “Rapunzel” by the Brothers Grimm. This project will help us better understand why in a time of adversity and hardship, many people turn specifically to the fanciful worlds of video games as a way to escape from an unpleasant reality. It also shows how media like video games can help people handle distress and fears similar to the comfort and insight fairytales provide.

Autonomy and Social Isolation in “Rapunzel” and Animal Crossing: New Horizons

The story of “Rapunzel” by the Brothers Grimm and the game Animal Crossing: New Horizons are two seemingly different things but are similar in theme and certain elements. Both “Rapunzel” and the discussion around Animal Crossing: New Horizons influence amid the pandemic involve topics of independence, control, and social isolation. “Rapunzel” is a story about a girl who was given away by her parents in desperation for rapunzel lettuce. She was locked away and isolated in a tower by Mother Gothel with the only way to get in or out being by climbing on Rapunzel’s hair. She met a prince and Mother Gothel punished her for meeting with him by sending her away to a desolate land. Eventually the prince found Rapunzel and she went off to live happily with the prince. Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a life simulation game published by Nintendo on March 20th, 2020. The game revolves around the player’s character who moves to a deserted island after buying a getaway package from Tom Nook, the head of a traveling services company called “Nook Inc.” The game inadvertently came out at the right time when the pandemic was at its peak and is currently the 16th best-selling video game in history and the 2ndbest-selling game of all time in Japan. The story of “Rapunzel” in certain ways can inform us about the impact Animal Crossing: New Horizons had amid the Covid-19 pandemic and a need for control during a time of uncertainty and adversity. Because of the open-ended plot line, ample in-game choices, and social connectivity to people around the world I argue that Animal Crossing: New Horizons can be interpreted through the lens of “Rapunzel” as a small sense of control in a disorderly world. In recognizing this connection people can better understand how fairy tales and video games influence people and provide consolation in a time of considerable distress.

Open-ended plot line

The open-ended plot line in Animal Crossing: New Horizons provides players with a small sense of control in a world that is out of their control. The game allows freedom over how the game progresses and there is a lack of definitive deadlines. Players can postpone the development of the island in favor of other side activities and create the island to one’s playstyle. In support of this sentiment, in Chris Comerford’s study of Animal Crossing: New Horizons players, a participant claimed that one convenience of the game was, “the ability to have control over the aspects of my in-game life when I didn’t have control over my actual life during lockdown” (Comerford 105-106). Similar to the freedom in the game’s progression, there is freedom within gameplay as there is not a way to play the game incorrectly. In contrast to many other games, in Animal Crossing: New Horizons there is no way to lose the game, die within the game, or penalize the player for playing wrong. This concept is also reinforced by Comerford who states that, “unlike other games that encourage learning through failure and negative feedback loops ACNH is largely devoid of this” (106). Similar to Animal Crossing: New Horizons, in the story “Rapunzel,” Rapunzel’s hair provided her a sense of control amid uncontrollable circumstances. Lindsay Wells has similarly stated that the fairy tale is a story of possession and a struggle for growth and personal freedom (Wells 81). The tale also serves as a way to understanding the human condition, and opens the door to self-understanding (Mitchell 268). Rapunzel’s entire life and future had been at the control of someone else’s hand as a result of Mother Gothel locking her away in a tower. In “Rapunzel” this is shown when it is stated that “when she was twelve years old, the sorceress locked her in a tower located in a forest. It had neither door nor stairs, only a little window high above” (Grimm 490). Rapunzel’s hair, however, was the one small thing that allowed her to be in control of something, and eventually became something that allowed her to reach part of the outside world and the prince. Rapunzel has control over who accesses the tower since the only way in or out is by climbing her hair. She decided on her own and out of Mother Gothel’s control to allow the prince in to bring silk and aid in her escape, as stated by the text, “they agreed that until then [the ladder is finished] he would come to her every evening, for the old woman came during the day” (491). Rapunzel has no choice about most things in her life except in these instances. In these ways Rapunzel’s hair brought control to her life in a way similar to Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ open-ended game progression. In a time where many things that happen in people’s lives are no longer in their control, the game provides at least one thing people can control.

Ample in-game choices

Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ ample in-game choices afford players control and choices absent amid the pandemic. There is flexibility amongst the various activities within the game like harvesting, maintaining the island, shopping, gardening, etc. In reinforcement of this statement Comerford says that, “in terms of day-to-day gameplay, ACNH affords significant freedom, allowing the player to choose their preferred activities to aestheticise the island and earn the in-game currency – Bells – needed to support it” (Comerford 104). The player gets to determine what activities satisfy their specific playstyle. This is also supported by Comerford who states that, “it is largely left to the player to determine self-set goals for gameplay gratification and feedback loops, including the aesthetics and material goods that will be deployed on the island, and the location of the island’s shops and homes” (104). Similar to this concept, apart from her hair, Rapunzel had no choice in many things that happened in her life. At the beginning of the story, her parents abandon and give her away for rapunzel lettuce, as stated in the text, “in his [Rapunzel’s father] fear, the man agreed to everything, and when his wife had the baby, the sorceress appeared at once. She gave the child the name of Rapunzel and took her away” (Grimm 490). This abandonment along with being locked in a tower for majority of her life reflects the lack of control she had over hardship in her life. The fairy tale is a screenplay of adversity, quest, struggle, and acceptance (Zehetner 161). Rapunzel’s entire life circumstances has been dictated by other people, but her hair allows her to control who goes in and out of the tower. Similarly, Animal Crossing: New Horizons provides a sense of control and comforting space for players amid the pandemic. These beneficial effects are apparent, and it has been stated that, “ACNH’s activities can grant positive mental health benefits, a factor endemic in gaming as a whole” (Comerford 110).

Social Connectivity

Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ social connectivity to people around the world grants players social interaction amid social isolation caused by the pandemic. Through the gameplay and communities formed around the game it “satisfies people’s unwillingness to be lonely and their deep inner desire for the social interaction to get rid of the loneliness” (Zhu 158). Players can collaborate within the game through trading and exploring other player’s islands. In support of this account Lin Zhu states from her case study of Animal Crossing: New Horizons that, “the gamers not only can invite others to their islands to trade items but also can talk and hang out virtually” (158). The game not only connects people within the game but also in community groups outside of the game on other social media platforms. This is reinforced by Comerford who states that, “the Animal Crossing series has a history of encouraging player collaboration, interactivity, and creativity, embodied both inside and outside the game by players and player communities” (Comerford 113). The widespread nature of the game has provided one way for people to connect despite the ongoing pandemic. Similar to the pandemic, Rapunzel was isolated from most of society, and unable to do anything due to the circumstances. Rapunzel’s hair was her one connection to the outside world during her time locked in the tower which was spent entirely in isolation and solitude. Similar to the game, the tale of “Rapunzel” serves as a medium of working with people’s troubles in a secure, trustworthy, and unconditionally accepting ambience (Sanyal and Dasgupta 46). At the beginning of the fairy tale, the only person Rapunzel has ever seen is Mother Gothel. There are no others in Rapunzel’s life and the vehicle for the connection between Rapunzel and Mother Gothel is Rapunzel’s hair (Andresen 71). Rapunzel’s hair also connected her with the prince as it is stated within the text that, “all at once the hair dropped down, and the prince climbed up” (Grimm 490). Similar to what Animal Crossing: New Horizons is for people who must stay isolated in their homes amid the pandemic, Rapunzel’s hair was her only way to connect to people outside of the tower. This type of social isolation has been proven to be detrimental to people as “there is one meta‐analysis [that] estimates that loneliness and social isolation can be as damaging to health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day” (Zhu 158). Overall, these connections can aid in understanding and helping people confront adversity and isolation in their lives amid the pandemic.

Conclusion

In conclusion, both “Rapunzel” and Animal Crossing: New Horizons provide a small sense of feeling like your life is in your hands again. Rapunzel’s entire life was controlled by other people and her hair provided what in many ways Animal Crossing: New Horizons provided for people at the height of the pandemic. They both afford readers and players with a sense of control, and Rapunzel’s hair even ends up being the reason for her escape from Mother Gothel. Fairy Tales are used to provide comfort to people and help them overcome their worries and Animal Crossing: New Horizons provided that same sense of comfort in a different way and helped people affected by isolation caused by the pandemic. By making this connection people can better understand how media such as video games can help many people cope with adversity, and the widespread impact they can have due to their pervasive nature. The interpretation of this theme through the lens of “Rapunzel” and relating it to what Rapunzel’s hair provided for her in a bad circumstance can serve as a way to better understand people coping through adversity and provide hope for the future as Rapunzel was eventually freed from her unfortunate situation.

Works Cited

Andresen, Jeffry J. “Rapunzel: The Symbolism of the Cutting of Hair.” Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, vol. 28, no. 1, 1980, pp.69-88. EBSCOhost, doi: 10.1177/000306518002800104.

Comerford, Chris. “Coconuts, Custom-Play & COVID-19: Social Isolation, Serious Leisure and Personas in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.” Persona Studies, vol. 6, no. 2, Mar. 2021, pp.101-117. EBSCOhost, doi: 10.21153/psj2020vol6no2art970.

Grimm, Jacob, and Wilhelm Grimm. “Rapunzel.” The Great Fairy Tale Tradition: From Straparola and Basile to the Brothers Grimm, edited by Jack Zipes, New York, W. W. Norton & Company, 2001, pp. 489-491.

Mitchell, Meredith B. “Learning about Ourselves through Fairy Tales: Their Psychological Value.” Psychological Perspectives, vol. 53, no. 3, July 2010, pp.264-279. EBSCOhost, doi: 10.1080/00332925.2010.501212.

Rose, Caelyn. Screenshot entitled “My Animal Crossing Character :)” May 2021, taken by Caelyn Rose from the video game Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Nintendo, 2020.

Sanyal, Nilanjana, and Manisha Dasgupta. “Fairy Tales: The Emotional Processors of Childhood Conflicts in Dynamic Interpretative Lens.” SIS Journal of Projective Psychology & Mental Health, vol. 24, no. 1, Jan. 2017, pp.39-47. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=121809595&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Wells, Lindsay. “Open Space Rapunzel.” Psychodynamic Practice, vol. 9, no. 1, Feb. 2003, pp.81-85. EBSCOhost, doi: 10.1080/1353333031000073311.

Zehetner, Anthony. “Why Fairy Tales Are Still Relevant to Today’s Children.” Journal of Paediatrics & Child Health, vol. 49, no. 2, Feb. 2013, pp.161-162. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edb&AN=85603936&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Zhu, Lin. “The psychology behind video games during COVID-19 pandemic: A case study of Animal Crossing: New Horizons.” Human Behavior with Emerging Technologies, vol. 3, no. 1, Jan. 2021, pp.157-159. EBSCOhost, doi: 10.1002/hbe2.221.

by Michael Giday

Fairy tale portrayals of disabilities and deformities play a significant role in the representation of them in media. More specifically, on how said portrayals have shed a derogatory light on disabilities and deformities and provided audiences with inaccurate ideas, such as disabilities defining those that have them and making them less than human. These inaccurate ideas have been popularized through the introduction of them to young audiences in popular media such as massive corporations like Disney and are thought to be true due to a lack of personal experiences regarding disabilities for both audiences and the authors of said tales. It is important for people to gain personal experiences regarding disabilities and information from more credible places such as real people with disabilities rather than just accepting what has been popularized in order to prevent the formation of harmful stereotypes. Because disabilities are inaccurately portrayed as weaknesses, devices for cruelty, and villainization, I argue that the degrading aspect of misrepresentations of physical deformity in “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Little Mermaid”, the introduction of ableist ideologies to children, and the lack of first-hand experiences with disabilities, for both audiences and authors, perpetuate ableism in popular storytelling.

All cultures around the world have some form of social distinctions that separate the “acceptable” from the “unacceptable” as determined by their specific standards in health, beauty, etc. Another commonality in most societies is the existence of fairy tales in some form which are used to spread/reinforce a society’s respective standards. For example, in “Media has been Wrong about Disability and it May Cost 24 Mil People their Healthcare”, Barbarin, a disabled black woman, writes, “News media, especially unchecked puff pieces, would lead you to believe that the “only disability is a bad attitude.” This is an ableist lie of epic proportions: you can be successful with a disability. The reason this lie is so popular, though is because it quietly promotes a narrative of “personal work ethic”; that if you’re disabled and work, the world may forget what’s “wrong” with you and treat you like a human being, but if you “choose” not to work, you’re lazy and deserve the suffering that accompanies your diagnosis.”  This clearly portrays modern America’s ignorance and lack of empathy regarding disability. Rather than adjust itself to better suit the needs of its less able members, society pushes them to fend for themselves and if they are unable to, looks down upon them. In addition to this, many people, specifically Americans, see those with diseases and disabilities as inferior due to their increased risk of dying as a result of COVID-19. They go as far as disregarding warnings that limit exposure because they don’t care about sickly/disabled people dying due to their perceived lack of societal worth (Barbarin, “I Was Unprepared for 2020”). “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Little Mermaid” are just two of the many popular tales that have plots that revolve around a protagonist’s disfigurement/disability. 

It is common for those who are seen as “different” to be persecuted by others for things that are completely out of their control such as race, sexuality, and even having disabilities.

Modern examples that are very prevalent would be the BLM and LGBTQ+ movements. 

Fairy tales portray disability in a way that makes those afflicted by them appear to be unwanted by society and degrades them to be seen as less than human. Fairy tales also create the damaging idea that disabilities are things that should be eradicated, as seen by the magical transformations that protagonists usually undergo at the end of them.

A common theme in fairy tales that is usually overlooked, is that a person’s status as a human is determined by how capable they are and their role in society. If one lacks in any of these qualities they are deemed undesirables and dehumanized. This idea directly relates to those with disabilities and deformities that are looked down upon for not being able to conform to society. This notion can be clearly seen in Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” through the isolation that Beast has gone through due to his fear of rejection as a result of his transformation into a “Beast”. Despite having a rational mind, he is treated and talked about as nothing but a monster. The villagers go as far as to literally hunt him down like an animal, as if he was never a human at all. In Adrion Dula’s “B(e)Aring the Beast: Deformity, Animality, and the Ableist Gaze in French Literary Variants of ‘Beauty and the Beast’”, she argues that ableist ideology is heavily prevalent in multiple early modern stories such as “Beauty and the Beast” and Là où la mer commence. She goes on to explain how these ableist concepts have led to the dehumanization of characters and in turn real people with deformities/disabilities by making said characters become animalistic, unable to be active parts of society, and by making their illnesses be seen as something that needs to be eradicated. 

That last point regarding illnesses not being a part of happy endings is something that can also be seen in Hans Christen Anderson’s “The Little Mermaid”. Despite having all the things a human has and being a princess, Ariel still obsesses over becoming human and considers herself as less than one just for lacking legs. Anderson also emphasizes this through a conversation between Ariel and her grandmother, ““We lack an immortal soul, and we shall never have another life…But human beings have a soul that lives on forever, even after their bodies have turned to dust. It rises up through the pure air until it reaches the shining stars…they rise up to beautiful, unknown regions that we shall never see.” “Why weren’t we given an immortal soul?” the little mermaid asked mournfully. “I would give all three hundred years of my life in return for becoming human for just one day and having a share in that heavenly world.”” Through this we can see a sense of what can only be considered arrogance the author has about being a human. This however begs the question, why does he depict only humans as having souls but not mermaids when their only difference is legs and tails? This shows how even the slightest of differences can change the way that one is perceived by others, to the point that not having legs is enough to no longer be considered human and soulless. 

In “In fairy tales, disability is never part of the happy ending” by Louise Kinross. In this text, Louise Kinross, of the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, interviews Amanda Leduc, a disabled author who is well versed in disability studies, who argues that in fairy tales the disabled person is often seen as stained or marked by their disability and, the disability is removed by the end. To support this claim Leduc references popular villains such as Scar and Maleficent. She also provides examples of protagonists whose stories revolve around their deformities and undergo journeys that lead to their eventual removal.

It is also common to see authors of fairy tales utilize disabilities as a way of isolating characters and making them feel unloved by anyone. In “Reading Disability in Children’s Literature: Hans Christian Andersen’s Tales”, Vivian Yenika-Agbaw argues that popular fairy tale authors have been utilizing disabilities in their tales in order to make their characters outcasts and distanced from the rest of society. She goes on to explain why this is especially true for older stories that were made in the early nineteenth century when societal beliefs were heavily influenced by Christianity. 

Fairy tales portray disability in a way that makes those afflicted by them appear to be unwanted by society. The dehumanizing aspect of disability portrayals in fairy tales such as Beast from “Beauty and the Beast” has real-life consequences by making those with disabilities feel and be perceived as less than human and outcasts. In addition to this, most fairy tales in which the protagonist is afflicted by some kind of deformity or disability, they must have their condition magically removed before going on to live happily ever after. This, in turn, creates false expectations in the minds of young children with disabilities and also makes them feel like they are not “normal”. It doesn’t help that authors and producers of media use deformities and disabilities to bolster their works which in turn creates inaccurate stigmas about them that hurt those with them. This all links back to the idea that the misrepresentation of disabilities in fairy tales has led to the degradation of those with real life conditions. Additionally, there is a significant lack of accurate portrayals of disabilities and deformities in children’s media which has led to the universal negativity that is associated with disabilities. 

Children in Western societies have beauty and health standards shoved down their throats from the minute they are born in the form of media and teachings. In Hanna Sigurjónsdóttir’s “Cultural Representation of Disability in Children’s Literature” she argues that children base their reactions towards those with disabilities primarily upon what they have learned through popular culture rather than public policy and personal experiences. Children’s literature is a way in which these concepts are introduced to people starting from a young age and over time, poor representation of people with disabilities has led to modern stereotypes and misconceptions about them. Sigurjónsdóttir also explains that these misconceptions arise in Western societies due to its heavy emphasis on health, beauty, and fitness, and this emphasis is reflected in the material that we introduce children to. Specifically popular tales that have been turned into films such as Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” whose title alone creates several subconscious biases in the minds of children. In real life “Beast” could be someone with hypertrichosis which causes an excessive amount of hair to grow all over the body who now feels like less of a human due to something completely out of their control.

Lack of childhood exposure and teachings regarding disability have also forced children to base the little knowledge they have on it off of what they see in media such as films and fairy tales. Today, policies have been passed that previously did not exist. These policies allow for special education students to be placed in regular education classes. “Attitudes Toward and Images of Children with Special Needs,” by Hala Elhoweris provides several examples of these kinds of policies such as LRE, IEP, and IDEA. Elhoweris also analyzes 109 pieces of Arabic and English children’s literature and concludes that almost all of them portray disabilities in a negative way.

The emphasis Western societies place on beauty and health is a significant contributor to the lack of accurate portrayals of disabilities in media that is then consumed by children. These beauty standards create a social divide between those who fit into the “beautiful and acceptable” category and those who don’t. Also, the previous lack of policies that exist today which allow for the inclusion of those with disabilities in regular education classes plays a part in limiting students’ experiences and forces them to base most of their knowledge upon inaccurate and misleading portrayals found in new and old media. The lack of accurate portrayals of disabilities and deformities in media has led to the universal negativity that is associated with them and has ultimately created a lasting image in the minds of children. 

Furthermore, there is a widespread lack of personal experiences, in both authors and audiences, with disabilities which has caused major misinformation and the development of stereotypes about them. This lack of exposure to disabilities can lead to misconceptions about them that can only be remedied through the accumulation of personal experience. In Ann Schmiesing’s Disability, Deformity, and Disease in the Grimms’ Fairy Tales she specifically discusses how the Grimm Brothers’ portrayals of disability and illness were based upon personal experiences which is why they made many edits to their stories in their updated editions as they gained more knowledge. Although at times unintentional, this form of misinformation can have a drastic effect on many people. The majority of society is unaware of the prevalence of stereotypes regarding disability in modern media. “The Disney-Fication of Disability: The Perpetuation of Hollywood Stereotypes of Disability in Disney’s Animated Films” by Stephanie Kirkpatrick claims that many people lack personal exposure to disability and the media has consistently presented the public with certain images that paint disability in a negative way and have been cemented into society’s beliefs and ideas. In order to prove this point, Kirkpatrick analyzes Disney animated films to identify and examine commonly used stereotypes in popular media such as deformities in “Dumbo” and “Finding Nemo”. Because of the positive emotions that are usually roused by the mentioning of Disney and how heavily integrated it is in our culture, it is common for people to overlook/refuse to believe that there could be damaging messages in its films and their origins.

In order to counteract the consequences of misinformation, people need to gain personal experience with disability and not just accept what they hear and see in the media which can be inaccurate and misleading. Disney has become America’s main storyteller for the majority of the twentieth century and an inseparable part of American popular culture and society. These strong ties between society and Disney have caused people to just accept Disney as “good” and in turn, accept their messages as well. This misinformation applies to those with disabilities as well, through the creation of false expectations in the minds of children with disabilities that one day their disability will one day be magically removed.

In conclusion, fairy tales do indeed hold a large influence over the minds of society and specifically how we perceive disabilities through their portrayals of them. This influence is notably harmful and has caused those with disabilities to be degraded through the portrayals of them as subhuman, outcasts, and beings only defined by their disabilities. It has also caused the spread of misinformation to children who have no prior knowledge to tell right from wrong, which in turn leads to the development of fear and discomfort around those with disabilities. In addition to this, the mass lack of exposure to disability has led to the misrepresentation of disabilities in fairy tales and misunderstandings of disabilities in the real world.

Fairy tales and popular media as a whole have caused the development of inaccurate and hurtful stereotypes towards disabled and disfigured people.

Works Cited

Schmiesing, Ann. Disability, Deformity, and Disease in the Grimms’ Fairy Tales. Wayne State University Press, 2014. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1052030&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Dula, Adrion. “B(e)Aring the Beast: Deformity, Animality, and the Ableist Gaze in French Literary Variants of ‘Beauty and the Beast.’” Marvels & Tales, vol. 34, no. 2, July 2020, p. N.PAG. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hft&AN=148623401&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Sigurjónsdóttir, Hanna. Cultural Representation of Disability in Children’s Literature. In: Traustadóttir R., Ytterhus B., Egilson S.T., Berg B. Childhood and Disability in the Nordic Countries. Studies in Childhood and Youth. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi-org.electra.lmu.edu/10.1057/9781137032645_8 

Elhoweris, Halah; Gharaibeh, Mahmoud F.; Abdulrahman, Olla; Al Ahbabi, Wasmeya; Alkaabi, Marwa; and Alshamsi, Maryam Saif (2017) “Attitudes Toward and Images of Children with Special Needs,” International Journal for Research in Education: Vol. 41 : Iss. 3 , Article 10. https://scholarworks.uaeu.ac.ae/ijre/vol41/iss3/10

Kinross, Louise. “In Fairy Tales, Disability Is Never Part of the Happy Ending.” Holland Bloorview, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, 8 May 2020, hollandbloorview.ca/stories-news-events/BLOOM-Blog/fairy-tales-disability-never-part-happy-ending. 

Kirkpatrick, Stephanie. “The Disney-Fication of Disability: The Perpetuation of Hollywood Stereotypes of Disability in Disney’s Animated Films.” Electronic Thesis or Dissertation. University of Akron, 2009. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. 23 Apr 2021.

Yenika-Agbaw, Vivian. “Reading Disability in Children’s Literature: Hans Christian Andersen’s Tales.” Journal of Literary & Cultural Disability Studies, vol. 5 no. 1, 2011, p. 91-107. Project MUSE muse.jhu.edu/article/418659.

Christian Andersen, Hans. “Beauty and the Beast.” The Classic Fairy Tales. Maria Tatar, 2017. 283-303

Trousdale, Gary and Kirk Wise, directors. Beauty and the Beast. Walt Disney, 1991.

Barbarin , Imani. “Media Has Been Wrong about Disability and It May Cost 24 Mil People Their Healthcare.” Crutches and Spice, 25 June 2017, crutchesandspice.com/2017/06/25/media-has-been-wrong-about-disability-and-it-may-cost-24-mil-people-their-healthcare/

Barbarin, Imani. “I Was Unprepared For 2020.” Crutches and Spice, 31 Dec. 2020, crutchesandspice.com/2020/12/31/i-was-unprepared-for-2020/

Alexandra Weary

Fake Gun, Real Weapon with Wilted Purple Hyacinth:

This image, taken by myself, shows a fake gun with wilted purple hyacinth flowers coming from the “barrel” of it. The barrel itself is, in actuality, a knife. I chose to photograph this specific flower due to the meaning behind it. As the Greek tale has it, the hyacinth flower grew from the blood of Hyakinthos’ fatal head wound, so Apollo named the flower in his honour. Purple hyacinth, specifically, represent sorrow, and wilting flowers symbolise death. Rather than having these flowers come out of the barrel of a gun, whether real or fake, I decided to have them stuck to the end of a blade. Many in favour of the second amendment argue that guns do not kill people, people do. Guns often come into question as to whether they are a fatal weapon or not, but knives never do. This image makes it clear that a weapon is a weapon – and fatal at that.

Abstract:

In the wake of yet another mass shooting, Joe Biden promises that “as President, [he] is going to use all the resources at [his] disposal to keep the American people safe” (@POTUS). This sentiment should sound familiar. Like the Peach Boy in Momotarō trusts all the animals he meets in the woods and Snow White in her story trusts that the strange woman knocking at her door is not going to kill her, American citizens have been taught to trust what their president says, even if they make nothing but empty promises. Fairy tales like these teach that trust is vital to success. Studies done by Wallace, Kaliambou, and Qayyum at the Yale University School of Medicine prove that there is a direct link between the morals in fairy tales and child development. Not only do fairy tales affect how a child grows and learns to think, but according to author and Professor Jack Zipes, “these enchanting, lovable tales are filled with all sorts of power struggles” (“Might Makes Right” 23). Those “power struggles” directly translate into the real world as politicians, thus linking the reasoning behind the thought that children are conditioned to trust politicians through fairy tales. Although there is research behind the connection of fairy tales and child development, politics in fairy tales, and the lies politicians tell, there is little connecting all these findings. I will use my research to link the trust fairy tales like Momotarō and Snow White teach us to have, and the repeated gun violence Colorado allows to occur. Because fairy tales condition children into blind trust, citizens of Colorado have grown to trust empty promises regarding gun control. With close reading and careful rhetoric, the connection between the lessons in Momotarō and Snow White will be obvious and allow Coloradans to understand why so many shootings happen with no real reforms ever taking place, considering many citizens have been conditioned to blindly trust empty promises such as the ones that politicians make about gun control. With this understanding, Coloradans can move past their trust in false hope, allowing America to find a real solution to gun violence and once again have compassion for human lives.

Once Upon a Time –

The themes and occurrences in fairy tales train young minds to trust promises – that is, after all, what a fairy tale is, is it not? A promise of a happy ending. We have grown to accept that promises will be fulfilled, even though in reality this is not often the case. Fairy tales such as Momotarō and the Brothers Grimm’s Snow White have fostered, through examples of trust and promises, the idea that promises are made to be kept. However, recent years have unveiled the truth of the storefront-like cover that promises offer for leaders and politicians. Issues like gun violence continue to occur time and time again because fairy tales like Momotarō and Snow White have trained audiences into believing and trusting that all promises will be fulfilled, when often, promises are used as a ploy and are rather hollow. Because fairy tales have conditioned children into blind trust, citizens of Colorado have grown to trust empty promises of gun control – allowing it to happen repeatedly. In the case of Colorado, gun violence has haunted the state for years, arguably since the shooting that started it all: The Columbine Shooting in 1999. 

            Colorado has a rich history when it comes to gun violence. The shooting that occurred at Columbine High School has affected the country ever since it happened over 22 years ago. Once that incident “broke the ice,” many other acts of violence continued to happen. Notably the Aurora Theatre Shooting in 2012, Stem School Shooting in 2019, and most recently the Boulder King Soopers Shooting on March 22, 2021. Those are just a few of the shootings that qualified as “mass shootings,” but do not even begin to cover the mass number of shootings that do not meet the qualifications, which are largely undefined (Goodland). 

            Being from Colorado myself, I have grown to believe that school is a scary place to be, considering that is where most of the shootings happen. At the beginning of each year in high school, I re-drafted my will. Just in case. The first thing I look for in any room are the doorways out of it, should I need to escape. The fear and acceptance that Coloradans have to face on a daily basis is insulting, and yet we continue to live in this haunted reality. After each shooting and gun threat I, along with my fellow Coloradans, turn to our state leaders and government officials for guidance and help. Without fail, we are always met with the same messages of thoughts and prayers and promises to make a change in our state. Do you know how many times I have been told by governments both national and federal that gun control is an issue they will work towards, just in my relatively short lifetime? Even recently, President Biden tweeted that he will “use all the resources in [his] power to keep the American people safe,” but why should any of us believe him (@POTUS)? Why do citizens continue to put trust into empty promises?

            Trusting empty promises is not just something that adults do when it comes to politicians, but also something that children are taught from a very young age. For example, in the fairy tale Momotarō, the protagonist, Momotarō, a picture-perfect boy, pops out of a peach and goes on an adventure to get treasure from the Ogre’s island. Along the way, he meets a monkey, pheasant, and a dog. Momotarō’s plan to get the treasure relies entirely on the help of these animals, which he trusts he will have. In exchange for a millet dumpling each, the creatures agree: “I will go with you” (Ozaki 338). Now, if any one of the animals does not keep up their end of the bargain, the entire plan will be foiled and Momotarō will be in serious danger. Luckily, the trust he placed in his new companions was not a mistake and they all make it out rich and alive. 

            Similarly, in the Brothers Grimm’s Snow White, the princess continues to trust that no harm will come her way. When her evil stepmother comes to her door in a disguise, Snow White tells herself that “[she] can let this good woman in,” even after being warned that the evil queen wanted her dead (Grimm 138). Snow White wrongly trusting in people’s good will and nature happens a total of three times throughout the story, all ending with the princess being in grave danger and barely saved. Here, Snow White’s trust is seen as “dear” rather than foolish (140).       

       These tales and their rhetoric are two examples of fairy tales showing that trust leads to success, whether that success be treasure from ogres or true love and a happy life. Many tales have taught children this moral for years, and growing up with that belief and understanding will alter the way a child behaves and views the world. In this case, people have grown to place their trust into promises simply because they were shown in fairy tales that trust leads to success. Because fairy tales have conditioned children into blind trust, citizens of Colorado have grown to trust empty promises regarding gun control, allowing the issue to repeat itself. With countless political promises, power dynamics and trust in fairy tales greatly affecting child development, it makes sense that people tend to believe what politicians say.

Wish Upon a Star: Political Promises –

Although it is widely assumed and accepted that politicians lie, there is even a way to prove these theories. Influential leaders do lie, and their lies are what lead citizens into a false hope and allow gun violence to repeat itself. Hélène Laurent with the University of Namur completed multiple studies on politicians and how much they lie. Using information from the CIA World Factbook and Transparency International, she developed a variable labeled “corruption perception index,” in order to prove that not only do politicians lie, but they do more so under specific circumstances (Laurent 72). Her data show that term length is “positively associated with corruption,” proving that the longer a politician serves, the more corrupt they become (85). There is scientifically proven evidence that politicians lie, yet citizens still look to them for answers and promises. At the end of the day, people want hope. 

            Lying, for politicians, is “a rational response to the peculiar incentives faced by [them,]” according to Davis and Ferrantino with the Southern Methodist University (Davis and Ferrantino 12). They created graphs that showed a positive trend between lies and a politician’s chance of winning, even furthering the idea that to succeed as a politician, lies and exaggerations must take part. These trends and facts may just seem like statistics on paper, but real-life examples highlight just how damaging these lies are. 

            For instance, Colorado and its city Boulder intended to pass a law that would promise stricter gun regulation, specifically regarding assault weapons. The city was thrilled to be in the hands of safety, but they later faced a devastating mass shooting dubbed The Boulder King Soopers shooting. The shooting was able to happen because “ten days before the shooting, a Colorado judge struck down Boulder’s ban on assault weapons” (“Before the Boulder Massacre”). After the shooting, residents were met with tweets from President Joe Biden and their Congressman, Joe Neguse, who both gave similar messages of being “heartbroken for our community tonight” and updates of “praying for the families who lost their loved ones” (@JoeNeguse). These were among the same people and politicians who promised to have the ban on assault weapons put in place but failed. Congressman Neguse even appeared on a radio show the next day where he claimed he planned to “push for common-sense gun violence reform at the federal level” (Shapiro). There should be no reason for citizens to believe this promise, especially after the state’s failure to act before the devastation. There is a trend in Colorado of “more attention focused on gun safety” only after a shooting, but then “it somehow fades” (“Before the Boulder Massacre”). So, if the state follows its pattern again, the sorrow and promises will once again mean nothing. 

            While the attention is still on gun safety in Colorado, Governor Jared Polis has been hard at work to make his citizens feel safe. Well, at least he has been giving the people the impression of safety. Polis has signed two laws. One “requires safe storage of guns in households with minors,” and the other “requires owners to report when their weapons are lost or stolen” (Goodland). While it is true that these laws are a great step in the right direction, they are not enough. The Boulder King Soopers Shooting still could have occurred if these laws were in place. In this way, Governor Polis is lying and giving Coloradans a false sense of security. Sure, he has signed two bills into law, but they are not going to truly affect the mass amount of gun violence that the state faces. Additionally, studies done by Lott and Whitley with the American Enterprise Institute in the University of Adelaide show that “safe-storage gun laws” like the one Polis signed actually “increase violent and property crimes” (Lott and Whitley). Again, what Polis is doing is certainly a good gesture and proof that he is listening to the citizens, but not enough is being done. Coloradans are once again falling into the belief that they are going to be protected when that is simply not true.

Kings, Queens, and Fairy Godmothers: Trust and Power Dynamics in Fairy Tales –

There is proof and logic behind the fact that politicians lie, so why do citizens still trust them? The answer may come from an unexpected place. Trust in those with prominent power is not only present in real life, but also in the fairy tales we learn our morals from. Fairy tales that children grow up hearing often include power dynamics that mimic the real world. Additionally, many fairy tales such as Snow White and Momotarō preach the moral that trust leads to success – especially when that trust is placed in those with higher power. 

            Renowned author and professor at Columbia University, Jack Zipes, claims that “we have never known a time without lies, propaganda, and conflicts,” even when it comes to fairy tales (“Speaking the Truth” 243). In a different book of his, he states that “these enchanting, lovable tales are filled with all sorts of power struggles” (“Might Makes Right” 23). Fairy tales often use power dynamics to their advantage, and as the children who read these stories have grown older, they reflect that into reality. An example of strong power dynamics in a fairy tale is in the Grimm’s Snow White, where authority plays a major role in the progression of the story. The mirror that the Queen talks to has power in it’s influence over the Queen and her actions. Plus, the Queen always puts her trust in it, for she believes that “the mirror always [speaks] the truth” (Grimm 135). Later, the Queen herself is at the head of a power dynamic between her and the huntsman, who she orders to do immoral things, such as kill an innocent little girl. The huntsman nearly does as he is told, for she is the Queen, and he is not (136). Even when the Queen does not appear to be the Queen, she holds power over Snow White. She disguises herself as an elderly woman, and, due to her status in age, Snow White trusts her because the Queen is, again, of a higher status than her (138). There are multiple points in this tale where power dynamics are used and the power in them is abused in order to gain trust. This relates to the real world as Coloradans trusting their politicians. 

            Snow White is not the only tale that gives examples of those in power abusing it. Momotarō, as told by Yei Ozaki, describes Momotarō as “finer and stronger than ever” and “the stoutest and bravest boy of all that country-side” (Ozaki 337). His bravery and good looks give him power and cause everyone who meets him to believe him to be the most powerful and accomplished hero. He places trust in the animals he comes across in his journey, and they place just as much trust in him in return. For Momotarō, there are not only examples of power dynamics within the story, but also examples of the character playing a role in reality. Momotarō is already deeply connected to politics and propaganda. Momotarō as a character was used all around Japan during the war years throughout the 1930s and 40s. Momotarō, a Japanese man, is always seen overcoming a “seemingly superior enemy” which was often represented as the American and English (Antoni 162). Klaus Antoni, of the University of Hamburg, not only gives a deeper understanding of Momotarō through connecting and researching Japanese wartime propaganda, but also makes the connection between a fairy tale and a government irresistibly clear. 

Petals Off the Rose: Fairy Tales and Child Development –

Sure, fairy tales and real politicians seem to reflect onto one another, but who is to say that the reason mass shootings continue to happen in Colorado is because of fairy tales? Well, fairy tales greatly affect child development, which helps form the beliefs that the child will grow to have. Many fairy tales display their characters gaining success due to their trust in those with power, which has translated to adults trusting their leaders. However, considering leaders and politicians lie, that trust does not find a stable home. Proving that fairy tales are essential to development and learning morals strengthens the argument that fairy tales affect how people behave and view the world even in adult life. Having this proof allows for the connection between the effect of fairy tales and how that leads to implicit trust in politicians. 

            A study done at the Yale University School of Medicine done by Wallace, Kaliambou, and Qayyum show that fairy tales “[provide] a glimpse into the fears and fantasies central to development” in children (Wallace et al. 118). They believe that fairy tales and their morals so strongly affect how a child grows that fairy tales should be included in psychiatry training (118). David Lewin with the University of Strathclyde agrees that fairy tales play a major role in how a child develops. In fact, he argues that many fairy tales are too horrific and thus scaring for children (Lewin 213). Fairy tales affect growth so much that some, like Lewin, are afraid that they can negatively alter a child’s perception of the universe forever. Both of these studies prove that fairy tales alter how children develop and learn to understand. Since fairy tales like Momotarō and Snow White display success coming from trust, it makes sense that citizens in Colorado have grown to trust their politicians’ claims of gun reform time and time again. 

Moral –

Citizens of Colorado have grown to trust empty promises of gun control because fairy tales have conditioned children into blind trust. Politicians lie – it is even beneficial for them to do so – and people believe them. People believe them, however, because they have grown up reading tales of Momotarō and Snow White who gain success from their trust. This constant display of trust in superiors in fairy tales has altered the way that children grow and develop to the point where Coloradans believe the real fairy tale: even after all this time and devastation, that their state leaders will truly do something to protect them. 

Works Cited

Antoni, Klaus. “Momotarō (The Peach Boy) and the Spirit of Japan: Concerning the Function of a Fairy Tale in Japanese Nationalism of the Early Shōwa Age.” Asian Folklore Studies, vol. 50, no. 1, 1991, pp. 155–188., doi:10.2307/1178189.

“Before the Boulder Massacre, Multiple Mass Shootings in Colorado Have Led to Only Modest Changes in Its Gun Laws.” Business Insider, Newxtex LLC, Mar. 2021, go-gale-com.electra.lmu.edu/ps/i.do?p=STND&u=loym48904&id=GALE%7CA656131279&v=2.1&it=r&sid=STND&asid=2b94bb12.

Biden, Joe (@POTUS). “There is a great deal we do not know about the killer, his motivation, and other critical aspects about this shooting, but know this: as president, I will use all the resources at my disposal to keep the American people safe.” March 23, 2021, 11:32. Tweet. 

Davis, Michael L., and Michael Ferrantino. “Towards a Positive Theory of Political Rhetoric: Why Do Politicians Lie?” Public Choice, vol. 88, no. 1-2, 1996, pp. 1–13., doi:10.1007/bf00130405. 

Goodland, Marianne. “Gov. Jared Polis Signs Gun Control Measures into Law.” 9News, 19 Apr. 2021, www.9news.com/article/news/local/next/colorado-gun-control-measures/73-860590d8-e58a-4429-b9c8-66d746f8f9dc.

Grimm, Jacob, and Wilhelm Grimm. “Snow White.” The Classic Fairy Tales, Maria Tatar, Second Edition, p.p. 134-141. Norton Critical Editions, 2017, New York. 

“Joe Neguse.” Congress.gov, 2021, www.congress.gov/member/joe-neguse/N000191?searchResultViewType=expanded.

Laurent, Helene. “Corruption and Politicians’ Horizon.” Economics of Governance, vol.22, ser. 1, Mar. 2021, pp. 65-91., doi:10.1007/s10101-021-00250-1.

Lewin, David. “Between Horror and Boredom: Fairy Tales and Moral Education.” Ethics and Education, vol. 15, no. 2, 2020, pp. 213–231., doi:10.1080/17449642.2020.1731107. 

Lott, John R., and John E. Whitley. “Safe‐Storage Gun Laws: Accidental Deaths, Suicides, and Crime.” The Journal of Law and Economics, vol. 44, ser. 2, Oct. 2001. 2, doi:10.1086/338346. 

“Meaning & Symbolism of Hyacinth.” Teleflora, 2020, www.teleflora.com/meaning-of-flowers/hyacinth?promotion=MAYWELCOME10.

Neguse, Joe (@JoeNeguse). “Andrea and I are heartbroken for our community tonight, and we are praying for the families who lost their loved ones today in #Boulder. While there’s much we don’t know, one thing is clear – we need #gunreformnow. Congress must act.” March 22, 2021, 20:01. Tweet. 

Ozaki, Yei Theodora. “Momotarō.” The Classic Fairy Tales, Maria Tatar, Second Edition, p.p. 336-340. Norton Critical Editions, 2017, New York. 

Shapiro, Ari. “Colorado Congressman Joe Neguse Speaks About the Shooting in His District.” All Things Considered, performance by Joe Neguse, National Public Radio, 23 Mar. 2021.

Wallace, Ryan, et al. “Fairy Tales and Psychiatry: a Psychiatry Residency’s Experience Using Fairy Tales and Related Literary Forms to Highlight Theoretical and Clinical Concepts in Childhood Development.” Academic Psychiatry, vol. 43, no. 1, 28 Aug. 2018, pp. 114–118., doi:10.1007/s40596-018-0968-5. 

Weary, Alexandra N. “Fake Gun, Real Weapon with Wilted Purple Hyacinth.” 2021. JPEG file. 

Zipes, Jack. “Might Makes Right: The Politics of Folk and Fairy Tales.” Breaking the Magic Spell, by Jack Zipes, Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2002, pp. 23–46. 

Zipes, Jack. “Speaking the Truth with Folk and Fairy Tales: The Power of the Powerless.” The Journal of American Folklore, vol. 132, no. 525, 2019, pp. 243–253., doi:10.5406/jamerfolk.132.525.0243. 

By Jeremiah Onyango

 One of the most famous performance centers is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. that was founded in 1971. There, they believe that “working with others is an essential skill to learn, collaboration has been identified as a 21st-century workplace ability as well as a component of the Common Core State Standards. Given that the performing arts are primarily group experiences, the arts become a prime tool for building skills in collaboration” (Kennedy Center). With fairy tales being a source of knowledge and lessons in everyone’s childhood, it is important to highlight relevant themes in these tales including collaboration. A fairy tale that has seemed to cross over between Japanese culture to American culture is the story of the Peach Boy or Momotaro. In the story, a boy is born out of a peach and tasks himself with slaying the ogres that are harming his village, and along the way, he meets friends that are willing to help him. With all that being said, how does the telling of Momotaro inform us of kinship structures and building community? Through the oral tradition of storytelling and the narrative structure, I argue that the telling of Momotaro informs us that kinship structures and coalitions within a theatre production rely on shared goals, faith, and payoff. These elements are important as they all are what fairy tales are meant to be, moral educating stories to make a better theatre community and society. 

Momotaro teaches the audience the foundations of friendship, commonality, which is quintessential to the theatre. A key to a great friendship is similarity. In a study by University of Pennsylvania professors, they had college students who had never met each other in a room for an entire year. At the end of the year, it was found that “friendship attraction was closely related to the agreement between what the students thought of themselves and how their roommates perceived them” (Roberts-Griffin 3). The commonality they all shared was that they had agreements among their opinions. Their agreements led them to become closer and establish a more meaningful friendship as “people tend to like other people that are similar to themselves.” (Roberts-Griffin 3). In Peach Boy, Momotaro is on his way to slay ogres but is stopped by three different strangers. Each stranger along the way asked if they could have a dumpling and in return, help him kill the ogres Southeast of his village. The commonality that they all share that initially kicks off their friendship, is their love for dumplings. When Momotaro was written, children’s literature in Japan was used as an allegory for Japanese imperialistic views and propaganda (Henry 218). With that in mind, dumplings were the food of choice before Momotaro went off to battle ogres which is an allegory for leaving home to fight in the war. Any soldier is aware that they may not return home after putting their life on the line and for Momotaro to choose dumplings as his snack on the journey and to willingly share them with strangers is an expression of his kindness, a fundamental point to a healthy friendship. Continuing with the allegory, his friends along the way are soldiers joining him with the same goal. In Momotaro’s journey, they are slaying ogres instead of fighting other countries, but the shared objective continues to bring their friendships to fruition. Momotaro’s common goal of destroying ogres and love for dumplings among the strangers creates a bond and kinship between them. 

Faith in theatre/acting is essential to great storytelling and in the plot of Momotaro. Momotaro gives up his dumplings in exchange for the help of strangers, but he has no way of knowing whether they will live up to their word. The entire exchange is based on whether they will help him slay the ogres with which they do help him with. Any good friendship has trust on both ends. Professors at Iqra University and the University of Punjab found a positive correlation between friendship and trust (Warris 80). In Momotaro, one of the reasons he gave his friends dumplings was so they could join him on his quest to slay ogres (Tatar 303). If their shared love for dumplings did not ignite their friendship it was the fact that they all did as they said and helped Momotaro with the ogres. In an ensemble, it is important to have everyone work as one unit. The production’s cast should be comfortable with each other which is why trust-based acting exercises are used at the beginning of the rehearsal in productions. To give an outstanding performance, actors need to believe in their castmates and feed off their energy. Being timid and distrustful of another actor will only prohibit the chemistry on stage and create poor performances. “Trust is a major theme in organizational studies” (Lupton 1) such as theatre. Actors get comfortable with each other and trust in each other but also must trust the director’s vision of the production and trust the process. Trust in theatre is essential to great productions and an important moral in Momotaro. 

Both Momotaro and theatre teach us about how rewarding it can be when friends work together. At the end of Peach Boy, Momotaro and his new friends collect as much treasure as they can hold and return home to share their newfound riches. By working together, they get to go home successfully. While acting may be an after-school activity for some, it is a real occupation for many with it being as rewarding as treasure. With that being said, having a workplace with friendships between co-workers boosts productivity in the workplace and community (Xiao 9). With Momotaro being a children’s fairy tale, a collaborative effort from the main characters yields them treasure but a collaborative effort from children in an educational setting develops teamwork and stimulates creativity (Burke 88). As Momotaro is a children’s story, having the theme of collaboration in the end with the characters coming together and getting treasure emphasizes the importance of cooperation. That same cooperation is perfect for any workplace, including the theatre. 

In theatre, there are multiple positions intertwined within a production like an actor, director, set designer, lighting technician, usher, concessions, costume design, etc. Each one is required for a show and plays a valuable role but with even one of them missing, the show can collapse into ruins. In an interview with StageBuddy, the producers of ‘Project Broadway’ elaborate on the importance of collaboration saying “one of the things we love about musical theatre is that it requires collaboration. You need the composer, book writer, choreographer, and set designer, among others to collaborate. We wanted to celebrate that sense of collaboration because it’s what we share” (StageBuddy). That shared love over theatre is what created the collaboration and not only does theatre display the importance of collaboration but Momotaro also expresses the need for teamwork. As all performances are guided by a script and bond the cast and crew, the dumplings bind Momotaro and his friends as the script is what brought everyone together to work together, dumplings brought the strangers together and created a collaborative atmosphere. The success they achieve by slaying the ogres resembles the success that can be achieved from a coherent show, the applause, cheers, and pride. Through Momotaro’s themes of collaboration, friendship, and community, we can see how those same themes parallel the reality of the theatre and any workplace environment.

Work Cited

Burke, Alison. “Group Work: How to Use Groups Effectively.” The Journal of Effective Teaching, 2011, pp. 87–95.   

David Henry. “Japanese Children’s Literature as Allegory of Empire in Iwaya Sazanami’s Momotarō (The Peach Boy).” Children’s Literature Association Quarterly, vol. 34, no. 3, 2009, pp. 218–228., doi:10.1353/chq.0.1916.

“Interview: The Producers Behind ‘Project Broadway’ on the Importance of Collaboration.” StageBuddy.com, 24 Apr. 2017, stagebuddy.com/theater/theater-feature/interview-producers-behind-project-broadway-importance-collaboration. 

Lupton, Julia Reinhard. “Trust in Theater.” The Palgrave Handbook of Affect Studies and Textual Criticism, 2017, pp. 155–181., doi:10.1007/978-3-319-63303-9_5.   

Roberts-Griffin, Christopher P. “What Is a Good Friend: A Qualitative Analysis of Desired Friendship Qualities.” Penn McNair Research Journal, vol. 3, no. 1, ser. 5, 2011. 5.   

Tatar, Maria. The Classic Fairy Tales: Texts, Criticism. W.W. Norton Et Company, 2017.   

Warris, Ayesha, and Rafia Rafique. “Trust in Friendship: A Comparative Analysis of Male and Female University Students.” Bulletin of Education and Research, vol. 31, no. 2, Dec. 2009, pp. 75–84.

Working Together: Teaching Collaboration in the Arts, 

www.kennedy-center.org/education/resources-for-educators/classroom-resources/articles-and-how-tos/articles/educators/working-together-teaching-collaboration-in-the-arts/. 

Xiao, Jincen, et al. “Relationally Charged: How and When Workplace Friendship Facilitates Employee Interpersonal Citizenship.” Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 11, 2020, doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00190.