Author: breadcrumbs

by j. k. wang

I used to think of fairy tales as childish stories with little bearing on real life. It wasn’t until I took a fairy tale class in college that I actually sat down to really read them. During this class, I rediscovered these tales and found that they had a lot to say about the human experience. We analyzed these stories in class, but I wanted to go a step further. I wanted to read my own world as literature, to analyze my life through the lens of fairy tales. This poetry-photography project explores the topics of self-love, faith, and change through “Snow White,” “Sleeping Beauty,” and “Hansel and Gretel.”

~

my mirror

we were reading Snow White

and you talked about the importance of mirrors

how powerful they were

dangerous even

you said, maybe in jest, that we couldn’t look in the mirror

for ten minutes

a measly ten minutes

that we would be overcome with existential crises

and have to look away,

defeated

well, I, having dealt with

plenty of existential crises already

wanted to prove you wrong

and so I sat down

in front of my bedroom door

on which hangs a mirror

and stared into it

and for a while

there was nothing to it

I couldn’t understand why the Queen

loved her mirror so

but then I looked closer

and I could see my skin in relief

all the pores

the way it breathed

the way the light hit upon it

a surface like a planet

and I was struck

that

it was

beautiful

and I realized

that I had not yet ever had the opportunity

to lie down

and to look upon someone else’s face

their skin

so up close

so intimate

so loving

and I thought of the old Queen

who married for the kingdom

and though beautiful

was not loved

and how she

no longer had the opportunity

to look at anyone so close

like she was looking at herself

and I thought of us

so young and so old

one before her time

and one after

and how we were really in the same place

staring at the mirror

but really

staring at ourselves

loving ourselves

safe, and warm, and wonderful

and before I knew it

ten minutes had passed

and I had never looked away.

burnt spindles

after hearing the fairy’s curse,

Briar Rose’s mother and father

burned all the spindles in the kingdom

still

at the appointed time

Briar found the last, forgotten one

and fell asleep

anyway

why bother

burning the spindles at all?

it reminds me of my own

mother and father,

Christians,

one a convert during a severe illness,

the other third generation

but solidified after a mystical experience

they raised me and my kid sister

as serious Christians:

we went to church every week,

not like those Christmas-and-Easter-only types

I prayed

I believed

I even tithed

and I sacrificed

(maybe now I would say repressed)

parts of myself for the Faith

but I was never so sure that I heard the voice of God,

like my parents were,

and I would pray every night

to know him better

to have a real relationship with him

and when nothing came,

I figured it was my fault

eventually I went to college

learned more

and opened myself up to the world

and after much trepidation

allowed myself to finally

question my Faith

in good faith,

letting myself be honestly led

wherever the answers would take me

so the college student returns home

like many others

having shed their belief

though freeing for me

it must’ve been a bitter loss for my parents

who had to feel like the king and queen

when Briar found the spindle anyway

then I looked at my sister,

who after hearing my story

agreed she could not answer my questions

but said that she knew she could

trust God

despite her doubts

and that was assuring enough for her

and I couldn’t help

but see myself,

who would’ve said the same thing

in her place

and I thought it likely

that she would eventually

take the same path as me

and I thought of my parents

and Briar’s, thinking to themselves:

if we had done it all differently,

maybe it would have still turned out the same.

little bit of color

out of food

Hansel and Gretel’s parents

forced them out of the house

hearing that as a child

was strangely comforting

to know there was another in the world

that had to leave home

just like me

you see

my family had moved six times

by the time I was nine

but I had my own trail of breadcrumbs

for by 13

I had been living in Missouri

for five years

the longest I had ever lived anywhere

my dad had found his dream job

and my parents said we were going to stay

but things change

and dreams don’t turn out as well as you think

the birds swoop in

and we were moving again

to California

like the fairy tale children

trials came upon me

but my hungry witch was

sitting alone at lunch

or with people that didn’t see me

and not knowing what to do with myself

but in the story

the witch was defeated

and the children found the treasure

and strangely enough

I did too

moving allowed me

to reinvent myself

I learned how to be happy

I made wonderful friends

I think of all the things that have happened

the great, life-changing things

and I couldn’t see them happening

if I had stayed in Missouri

I don’t know how Hansel and Gretel felt

arriving at their happily ever after

but I was confused

what does it mean

that California was so good for me?

does it mean

my moving was good?

how could it be?

I was so angry at my parents for moving

I felt they betrayed me

how could it have turned out for good?

whenever people would ask me

if I liked Missouri or California better

I would always answer Missouri

maybe to spite my parents

but also because it was my home

and I loved it

and I missed it

but I was no longer so sure that my answer was true

and what did that mean

was I betraying myself?

you see

back then I was stuck in fairytale logic

black and white

where dragons were evil, and princes were heroes

princesses were loving, and witches were terrible

and that was that

California had to be good

and Missouri bad

or vice versa

and moving had to be good or bad and nothing in between

then when someone explained to me

that the world wasn’t black and white

I realized

my move wasn’t bad or good

it was both

I could grieve the loss of my old home

my old friends

and celebrate my new one

moving had its losses

and its gains

and they didn’t cancel each other out

out of my black and white world

I had found my little bit of color.

By Amanuel Matias

            In everyday life, a small amount of intention can lead us to recognize the prevalence of fairy tales in our society. In the case of advertisement, adaptations have been made to some classic fairy tales in hopes of prompting a nostalgic reaction and leading potential consumers to purchase a product. In one sense, fairy tales and advertisements serve a similar purpose. They both paint a desirable picture and provide the means for attaining this satisfaction. A fundamental difference, however, is that fairy tales more subtly influence the mind of the listener, while advertisements attempt to explicitly show the viewer to fill a void in their life. According to University of West Alabama, “the use of narrative and storytelling has been proven to help consumers make emotional and personal connections with brands. This sentiment is backed up through research, which has shown that 55 percent of consumers who love a brand’s story are willing to make a purchase” (UWA). The synthesis of fairy tale motifs and commercials appears in many forms throughout modern-day commercials. The objective of this project is to identify aspects of various commercials that reflect the themes and nuances of fairy tales that are incorporated into television marketing.

Pepsi One- Little Red Riding Hood (click to watch video)

            This Pepsi One commercial presents an extremely sexualized rendition of “Little Red Riding Hood.” The advertisement capitalizes on the seduction associated with the color red, which in the original fairy tale, is the color of only Little Red’s hood. In the commercial, red is the color of the woman’s entire outfit. This completion of her signature color represents the maturation of Red’s sexual desire as she shifts from a young, innocent girl to a grown woman. In the commercial, her voice is intentionally suggestive, which can be seen as a marketing tactic to entice the male audience. A key difference between the original fairy tale and this Pepsi advertisement lies within the intended audience. While the fairy tale appeals to children of all genders alike, the commercial’s focus on the male audience further heightens Red’s lust embedded into Pepsi’s work. This commercial epitomizes the common phrase, “sex sells.”

            Even though Little Red herself feels strong sexual curiosity in the original tale, the wolf still plays the role of the seducer. In the case of the Pepsi commercial, the seductive role switches to Little Red. In Bruno Bettelheim’s The Uses of Enchantment, he states, “The immature person who is not yet ready for sex but is exposed to an experience which arouses strong sexual feelings falls back on oedipal ways for dealing with it” (173). In the case of this commercial, Little Red is a grown woman, not merely a small, curious child. Since she has matured, she does not need to fall back on her oedipal desires in order to satisfy her sexual craves. Red unambiguously expresses her carnal craving while having a complete understanding of who she is as a woman. This contrast allows for the role of the seducer to switch from the wolf to the woman in red.

Levi’s- Cinderella (click to watch video)

            In the Levi’s version of Cinderella, a young woman searches around the city for the man who fits the pair of jeans she holds. The original fairy tale involves a prince searching through the city for a woman who fits a glass slipper, but the Levi’s role reversal takes on a progressive, feminist viewpoint which provides a different perspective than traditional fairy tales. Originally, Cinderella’s happiness and fruitful future lies within the hands of a male character. She does have a strong mindset, filled with patience and kindness, but regardless, Cinderella lives a life of disregard up until her foot slips into the coveted slipper. In the Levi’s commercial, the young woman loses her slipper, and an anonymous motorcycle rider cuts off a man who is chasing her, but he drops a pair of Levi’s as he rides off. The role of Cinderella in the commercial ends up being played by the mystery man, and the young woman plays the role of the “prince.” 

            The young woman’s decision to scour the town portrays her initiative and independence, contrary to the original female character’s perspective of “good things come to those who wait.” After an extensive search, she finds a mechanic who fits the jeans she holds, and they find their happy ever after. The director of this commercial intentionally leads the viewer away from the classic Cinderella archetype and changes the storyline so that the young woman’s prosperity is not based on her patience to tolerate neglect and emotional abuse, but instead due to her independence and perseverance. Her independence effectively parallels the message Levi’s portrays at the end of the commercial, stating “no two pairs are the same.”

AT&T- Hansel and Gretel (click to watch video)

            This AT&T commercial caters to the nostalgia induced by the synthesis of a well-known fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel, and the busy city streets that are so common in 21^st century film. In the original fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel’s sense of comfort revolves around having access to food, which is provided in their home. Once they know they are going to be abandoned, the siblings realize that their lives are in danger. In the commercial, the erasure of their bread crumb trail as they travel through the big city symbolizes the parental abandonment they experienced in the old tale. Since knowing that they can find their way home means they will have food to eat, the crumbs act as a comforting bridge to home during their adventure. In the commercial, Hansel and Gretel’s sense of comfort is revived by accessing the cell phone GPS function, effectively portraying AT&T as the hero of this fairy tale remake.

            Since the commercial lacks some aspects of the original fairy tale, namely the wicked stepmother and the witch, the viewer is forced to refer to their familiarity of the Hansel and Gretel tale to fully understand the implications of the siblings’ longing for home. If the viewer has not read Hansel and Gretel, the commercial may not as effectively convey the message that the purchasing of their cell phone is crucial because the dangers of life away from the cottage are not depicted. While the dangers are not explicitly mentioned, they are implied by Gretel’s facial expression when the children realize that the bread crumbs are not still in their trail:

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            Whether commercials accurately portray well-known fairy tales or introduce significant redirections, fairy tale themes assist in inclining viewers to favor the purchase of an item because of the nostalgia that accompanies fairy tale references. In the case of the over-sexualized Pepsi One Little Red Riding Hood commercial, the inclination was aimed towards a specific audience, but in AT&T’s Hansel and Gretel rendition, the reminiscence was evident in all who were familiar with the tale. Regardless of the approach, fairy tale implementations in modern advertisement can lead to the purchase of the advertised products because of our yearning to bring childhood magic back into our everyday lives.

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Works Cited

Bettelheim, Bruno. The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales. New York: Knopf : distributed by Random House, 1976.

“Storytelling in Marketing: The Importance of Brand Narrative.” UWA Online, 22 Oct. 2019, online.uwa.edu/news/brand-narrative-storytelling/. 

Maddie and Merissa

As Senior Computer Science majors taking both Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Honors Literary Analysis this past semester, Maddie Louis and Merissa Tan found a common interest in the intersections of NLP text generation and fairy tales. They therefore decided to embark on a mission to teach machines how to write fairy tales.

The paragraphs below are sample stories generated by language and text-generation models that have learned from the works of prominent fairy tale authors. The models are given a prompt which are italicized in the text. The word clouds showcase the most common words in these generated texts.

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Model learned from Brothers Grimm’s tales

Sample Generated Text #1

Sample Generated Text #2

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Model learned from Hans Christian Andersen’s tales

Sample Generated Text #1

Sample Generated Text #2

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Model learned from Charles Perrault’s tales

Sample Generated Text #1

Sample Generated Text #2

A long time ago, there was a couple who wanted more than anything to have a child of their own.

The eldest was very fond of having one, and the other very fond of having two; so she laid hold of her father’s neck, and asked: ‘Dear father, do you wish to have a child?’ ‘Yes,’ replied the father, ‘but if my child be given to me I will give you to the poor girl, for she cannot bear to keep herself in this world.’

So she was given a little child, and by marriage her mother lived with her, and they lived for three years together very happy.

Then she sent them all up into the world, for they called the little people: and this the eldest sister did, and was called Rose-red, and was called Lily-red; and when she was old enough, and could go no farther, she left the little children to her, and set them to work and get wood, and make furniture, and clean the house; and it was not long before she got pretty well enough to draw some wood out of the wood, so as to put one in every corner of the house, to make beds, beds for her maidens, and cook the cook’s table, or whatever else she would like.

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Project Report