Review

Abstract

Reviewed by: Fairy Tale and Film: Old Tales with a New Spin by Sue Short Shannon Branfield (bio) Fairy Tale and Film: Old Tales with a New Spin. By Sue Short. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015. 218pp. In Fairy Tale and Film: Old Tales with a New Spin, Sue Short vastly expands the definition of fairy-tale film to create a more comprehensive picture of the relationship between fairy tales and contemporary films. Eschewing a more conventional and literal definition, Short looks at the use of fairy-tale motifs in a variety of films not commonly considered fairy-tale films, such as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), Battle Royale (2000), and No Country for Old Men (2007). This widened definition allows her to challenge preconceptions about fairy-tale films and to examine the extent to which fairy tales have been transformed in contemporary film and what this reveals about changing societal attitudes and beliefs. With a thorough foundation in fairy-tale film scholarship and a clear understanding of the issues currently under debate, Short respectfully and persuasively argues that fairy-tale scholarship has been too dismissive of popular culture fairy-tale films and has therefore missed many of the interesting and progressive uses of fairy-tale motifs in these films. Rather than merely reinforcing dominant culture values, many of the films examined feature sensitive, compassionate men and independent heroines seeking more than romance, draw attention to the persistent threat of violence against women, present the acquisition of wealth as dangerous and unfulfilling, and explore a variety of gender and family roles. Short uses a genre-based approach to her analysis, looking not just at which fairy tales are being retold but at what genres are being used for these retellings, and she finds strong correlations between tale types and film genres. This genre focus provides the structure for the book. Chapter 1 explores “Cinderella” and “King Thrushbeard” in romantic comedies; Chapter 2 examines “Beauty and the Beast” and an inverted “King Thrushbeard” in coming-of-age comedies; Chapter 3 looks at “Jack and the Beanstalk” and “Ali Baba” in crime dramas; Chapter 4 investigates “Bluebeard” in thrillers; and Chapter 5 analyzes “Snow White,” “Donkeyskin,” and “Hansel and Gretel” in horror; Chapter 6 concludes with a study of postmodern retellings of more literal fairy-tale films. This blend of tale type and genre analysis makes this an excellent book for both fairy-tale scholars interested in a detailed analysis of the varied uses of fairy-tale elements in contemporary film and film scholars [End Page 378] interested in a better understanding of the lasting influence of fairy tales on contemporary film. With the inclusion of nearly 250 fairy-tale films, Short is quite successful at expanding the scope of previous research and analyzing films that have not received due attention. Because of the quantity of films included, Short skillfully weaves summary into her analysis, ensuring that readers will be aware of pertinent details even when they have not seen a particular film, a near certainty given the multitude involved. Although this quantity is an asset to the book, at times Short’s definition is so broad that it is difficult to see where she draws the distinction between fairy-tale film and non-fairy-tale film, especially because intent on the part of the filmmaker is not necessarily required. Although she makes a compelling case for thematic similarities in these films and connects them to traditional fairy tales, she uses many tales that are not well known to the fairy-tale layperson, such as “King Thrushbeard,” which she references repeatedly. Fairy-tale scholarship has often discussed the universal nature of the issues and characters in fairy tales, so a case can also be made that these films address these persistent, universal issues independent of any debt to fairy tales. In a world in which women are most likely to be killed by a husband or a lover, the number of thrillers addressing male violence against women is just as likely to be caused by that real-world fact as it is by an ongoing fascination with “Bluebeard.” Although an examination of parallels between fairy tales and contemporary media is...