Shania Carter

Graphic NarrativeEvaluation

In my chosen graphic narrative of Cinderella, I have used 3 of Vladimir Propp’s characters; the villain (s), the prize and the hero.

The hero in my story is Cinderella, herself, she is the one who wins the ‘quest’ to find true love,

The villains are the ugly stepsisters and stepmother, they make Cinderella’s life a misery and try and stop her from going to the ball.

The prize of the story, is of course Prince Charming, who is Cinderella’s true love and happy ever after.

Task 1

Task 1 – characters from a different narrative. ShrekThe donor in Shrek is the donkey because he reminds Shrek that he loves Fiona and should carry on fighting for her.

Princess’ father, The King sets Shrek off on his own quest, theatrically because in some way the King has said ‘if you can win over my daughter you can marry her.’

The helper in Shrek is the donkey again because he goes with Shrek on his quests, like a companion.

The false hero in Shrek is Prince Charming because he is constantly trying to steal Cinderella away from Shrek, the Prince uses the help of his mother (fairy godmother) to help win Fiona. The dispatcher in Shrek is once again Donkey because when Shrek gives up, Donkey gives him the quest to carry on to get Fiona back.

There are lots of different functions in my Graphic Narrative, that was Propp’s idea. Wedding- After Prince Charming has found that Cinderella’s foot fits the shoe, he declares

Cinderella his bride and they get married back at the palace. (The purpose of the ball and the ‘shoe fitting’ was to find Prince Charming a suitable bride.)

Unrecognized arrival- Cinderella did not think that the Prince would turn up at her house, after the night of the ball, to eventually find that she will become a princess.

First Function Of The Donor- this is where the fairy godmother appears and gives Cinderella the dress and the carriage to go to the ball in. She also gives Cinderella the chance to be with her ‘love’ because she deserves it.

Struggle- Cinderella’s step mother and stepsisters make Cinderella feel ugly all day and every day, they belittle her by making Cinderella clean. Cinderella’s step mother and stepsister try their hardest, so that Cinderella can not join in with them, in the Prince’s ball celebrations.

Solution- The solution of Cinderella is that, the Prince finally finds Cinderella, who’s foot fits perfectly into the shoe and can now happily marry.

Difficult Task- Cinderella has to leave the ball quickly because she has lost track of time. Cinderella has to leave the ball room without the Prince knowing who or where Cinderella is going.

Delivery- Cinderella leaving to get to the ball, she leaves in a horse and carriage, which has been supplied by her pet mice and a couple of pumpkins.

Guidance- The fairy godmother, telling Cinderella that she needs to be home by midnight, this is guidance because the fairy godmother doesn’t want her step mother or stepsisters to find out she has been at the ball, return to her rags and mock her, because the fairy godmother has ‘seen’ Cinderella’s misery.

Receipt of a magical agent- this specific example would come from the fairy godmother. She is the one who turns Cinderella’s rags to riches and the pumpkin and seven mice into a glamorous horse and carriage. The fairy godmother\s magic, comes from the wand.

Task 1 continued.Functions

Functions- Jack and The Giant SlayerAbsentation – where someone goes missing. In the film Jack and The Giant Slayer, the princess climbs the beanstalk and thus goes missing, it is then up to Jack to go and find her.Interdiction- where the hero is warned. Sticking with Jack and The Giant Slayer, Jack is warned by his mother and the king. Jack’s mother warns him about the severity of the giants and how much they could hurt him, the King warns Jack by telling him that if he doesn’t bring his daughter home, there will be consequences.Violation of Interdiction- where the hero rebels against the warning. Jack, goes after the giants who have trapped the princess, even though his mother has warned him that he could get killed.Reconnaissance- where the villain seeks something. The villain, being the giant, tries to capture Jack and his companions too as they try and rescue the princess. In this case the villain is seeking something to eat.. In Jack and his friends. Delivery- the villain gains information. In this particular film, the giants gain information, that Jack is climbing the beanstalk to rescue the princess.Trickery- The villain tries to deceive the victim. The giants trick the princess into thinking that they will let her go as Jack slays the giants, however she is taken away into a different room.Complicity- unwitting help of the enemy. The false hero who is pretending to help Jack, realises his own life is in jeopardy and begins to help Jack in his fight to slay the giants.Departure- The hero leaves on a mission. Jack goes to climb the beanstalk in his attempt to kill all the giants, so they can’t climb down to destroy the earth and to also rescue the princess.Hero’s reaction- hero responds to test. Jack uses the skills he’s learnt to be able to tie ropes to various places, he uses this so he can swing from the ropes and attack the giants from above.Villainy or Lack- villain in Jack and the giant slayer , lacks in intelligence and therefore the hero can beat he villain very easily. Mediation- the villager s and Jack’s mother both agree that Jack should go up the beanstalk to tackle the giants and rescue the princess.

Functions- Jack and the giant slayerBeginning counter action- hero chooses positive action. Jack chooses to go back after he gets knocked down because he realises he needs to rescue his love. Branding- hero is branded. Jack is named as the new Prince and has a status, he now stands out from the villagers as a heroic citizen. Victory- Villain is defeated. The giants are all slayed and Jack can bring the princess to safety. Liquidation- initial misfortunate or lack is resolved. Jack has a lack of physical strength, but this is quickly resolved when Jack has to climb the beanstalk therefore claiming his strength. Return- hero sets out for home. Jack proudly has slayed all the giants and with his princess in his arms, sets off back to the village. Pursuit- the hero is chased. Jack thinks that he has slayed all the giants however there is one left that chases Jack to the stream, Jack has to block the steam quickly so that he can get away safely with the princess.Rescue- pursuit ends. Jack arrives back to the village with the Princess safely and with all the giants trapped, the villagers can begin to chop the beanstalk down.Unfounded claims- The King’s servant deceives Jack by telling him that he will support him rescuing the princess however the King’s servant is left behind when Jack becomes victorious.Exposure- The King’s men are exposed when Jack comes back and tells the King that he single handed – ly rescued the princess and the servants tried to stop him and claim the glory themselves.

Equilibrium, Disequilibrium and New EquilibriumTodarov was another Russian who came up with three plots. Equilibrium, Disequilibrium and New Equilibrium.

In my story, Cinderella, the equilibrium (beginning of the story) starts with Cinderella cleaning and going through day to day, boring tasks. The equilibrium also starts by showing that the two ugly stepsisters and step mother have been showered in gold and diamonds whilst Cinderella is still very much a poor girl.Disequilibrium, this is where the story starts to change. In my chosen story, this is where the fairy godmother appears, she makes Cinderella feel like a million dollars and changes Cinderella’s appearance so that she can happily go to the ball.

New Equilibrium, the part of the story where something has been resolved. In this instance as my story is Cinderella, the Prince recognises Cinderella as his new bride and they live happily ever after, thus leaving Cinderella better off.

Binary Opposition.The binary opposition in my story; Cinderella is ‘woman v woman’ both Cinderella and her two stepsister are in effect ‘fighting’ to win the Prince over. By starting off the binary opposition, Cinderella’s stepsisters, tell Cinderella she cannot go to the ball, this way thinking that both have now got a chance. However, Cinderella ‘fought back’ as she won the Prince over at the ball, with a little help from her fairy godmother. Cinderella then is proclaimed ‘winner’ as the shoe obviously fits her foot and the Prince will marry her.

Definition- Binary Opposition is where two opposites are strictly defined. However, in media films such as Batman and comic strips such as Captain America include:Man V WomanWoman/Man V AlienWoman V Woman

Narrative Structures- Task 2Open/Closed StructureIn my chosen story of Cinderella, I have used a closed narrative, this is because the story ends by Cinderella marrying the Prince and living happily ever after. I have not used an open narrative in my story because the story of Cinderella doesn’t need to go and traditionally, there is no second chapter of her life because Cinderella has grasped what she wanted i.e. to marry the Prince and live away from her wicked step mother and sisters.Single/Multi-strand structure

I have used a single strand structure in my version of Cinderella because there is only one storyline- Cinderella getting lucky, by the fairy godmother giving Cinderella a free pass into the Prince’s ball. I have not used a multi-strand structure as there is no swapping of story lines, for example the popular soap of Coronation Street, focuses on lots of different characters who each have very different storylines.Linear/Non-Linear structureIn the story of Cinderella, it follows the simple line of a linear structure. This is because one thing leads into another in the story, for example, Cinderella loses her shoe at the ball but later ‘gets her shoe back’ as the shoe fits Cinderella because the Prince is looking for the woman who foot fitted the shoe to become his bride. I have not used a non linear structure in my work because the story does not have any flashbacks or does not jump forward in time, like a dream.

Narrative Structures- task 2Realist/Anti-RealistCinderella, is a non realist story because the things that happened to Cinderella are highly unlikely to happen in real life. An example of this in my version of the story is, the fairy godmother appearing in a flashing blue light. However the only realist part of Cinderella, could be losing a shoe at a party/ball. Another reason why Cinderella is an anti realist story is because the Prince visited every female in the village to try and see who’s foot fitted the shoe, this wouldn’t happen in every day life, because more than likely, the Prince would have his own time to go and look for his bride. For example, Prince William and Kate met at University rather than Prince William ‘choosing’ her through a ball.

Task 3Image ConstructionI think that I have constructed the images, using rotoscope very well. I have spent a lot of time making sure that my rotoscoping has been tight and that there is no missing gaps in the pictures. I am pleased with the way the colours have turned out because the colours are very similar to skin tones. The work on the left is my rotoscope and the image on the right is the Disney rotoscoped version of Cinderella from 1987. I think that I have done very well rotoscoping on the facial features of Cinderella and the fairy godmother, Cinderella’s arms were quite tricky to do because they are in an awkward position but I am pleased that both Cinderella and the fairy godmother have no missing gaps and that they look quite realistic. In Disney’s rotoscoped version of the ugly stepsister I think that it is better because it shows more professionalism as there is face lines on the picture and that skin tones are equally matched. In my opinion, I really do like my rotoscoped image however I think that Disney’s is much better because there is more expression on her face and there is no sign that the person who created this image- struggled on rotoscoping any part.

Task 3AnchorageSome parts of my graphic narrative have quite a lot of text. I have not included speech bubbles because in children’s books, the speech is always mingled in with the text so that the children can read straight through without pausing and have to look up and read a separate part, this could easily confuse the child. The bottom picture is my work and the top picture is an extract from Winnie The Pooh. In both images the speech is not coming from any particular character but is intertwined with the actual text. My product and this extract from Winnie The Pooh are both similar because the text is underneath the picture. I think that my graphic narrative flows better because the reader isn’t reading from top to bottom and can easily glance at the picture and then read on, whereas the extract from Winnie The Pooh, has the text curving around the pictures, this could make the child distracted from reading because the pictures stand out more than the text because the text doesn’t flow from top to bottom or like mine, bottom page to bottom page.

Task 3Signification:Signification within a graphic narrative, makes something important, for example a wedding dress is white to show purity.

The specific image of Cinderella dancing with the Prince signifies that Cinderella has finally got her chance to feel special and have that one dance with the Prince. In comparison, to

Disney’s Beauty and The Beast, where the image of ‘Beauty’ dancing with the ‘Beast’ shows that she doesn’t care what he looks like or what his profession is- it’s the way you should be treated that counts. The connotations that can be found in my work are those of the ugly stepsisters- showing ugliness, anger and trouble. The other connotation that can be found in my work is the Prince, he is showing confidence, manliness and attractiveness, the Prince has a connotation like this because all the women are wanting to dance with him at the ball (attractiveness), he only dances with Cinderella and says no to other women (confidence) and he is the prime male as women seek attention from him (manliness). To compare this, the Beast in ‘Beauty and The Beast’ does not have the connotations such as attractiveness or confidence because in the film, the Beast is quite aggressive at first, showing that he has no confidence but as the film comes to a close, the Beast develops all connotations like the Prince does in Cinderella, as the Beast transforms into a muscular male, then expressing attractiveness, confidence and manliness as he begins on his quest to protect Beauty for the rest of her life. In a way, both narratives are similar because the prime males both have the same connotations.

Signification.. Continued.

Cinderella’s blue ball gown signifies that she is patient and calm. Cinderella tolerates her sisters behaviour so that when her time comes to dance with the Prince she isn’t nervous and just ‘sparkles’. The colour blue from her ball gown also suggests that Cinderella is intelligent and offers trust. Cinderella puts her trust into the fairy godmother to get her to the ball successfully. The Prince wears a black and white suit whilst he’s at the ball. The black can signify sophistication whilst the white signifies purity and clarity. These colours can also show that he is a good man and the man that Cinderella needs.On the other hand, one of the ugly stepsisters wears a pink gown to the ball. This can signify that the stepsister is feeling insecure and wants to stand out from the crowd because she may think that there will be prettier girls than her at the ball. The dark pink of the gown can signify tension, there will be tension between her and the other sister because they are both fighting for the Prince’s attention.

RepresentationThe graphic narrative that I have developed.. Cinderella, has a lot of female dominance in, and Cinderella is represented to younger girls because of that. I also think that the representation appeals to young girls because girls ‘dream’ about their one perfect man just like Cinderella does. Therefore the story of Cinderella is represented as different gender forms.

In some of my images, I could not always match the skin tones, so in some of my images, different characters skin tones appear darker. This now, makes Cinderella represent different races, for example here is a picture of my image that represents race in my work. The facial features of the fairy godmother appear darker to other images of the fairy godmother that I have rotoscoped.

Age is also represented in my narrative, it shows two older adults (step mother and fairy godmother) The Prince also shows age representation as he is the older, wiser and only man in my narrative.

There is also the representation of social classes in my chosen story of Cinderella. This being, the two stepsisters and stepmother thinking that they have an ‘upper class’ and have the right to bully Cinderella.

Representation.. ContinuedIn comparison to other narratives, there is similar representations. For example.. Shrek.

Shrek, shown here, has a representation of a different society, where people are dirty and live how they

please, as this image is not perceived in the public eye, this is why it is a big representation.

Unlike Cinderella, Shrek is the main male focus, this could be two representations, one of which is gender and the other being society. The gender side being that Shrek is the male who controls the swamp and other creatures who try to enter the swamp are scared away. The society side shows that males are the most dominate in society today and are still thought of as higher citizens (example, not many female prime ministers).

RepresentationI think that my graphic narrative shows a positive and negative light on representation. Firstly I believe that my narrative has a positive representation because it shows how you can work your way up, from nothing to achieving something big i.e. Cinderella cleaning all day, to being the Prince’s bride. I also think that my narrative has a positive representation because it shows race, even though most of my images have the same skin tone, the picture of the fairy godmother shows a positive representation because it shows that it doesn’t matter what colour skin you have, your help will be appreciated wherever.I also think that my graphic narrative could have a

negative light because the two ugly stepsisters are portrayed as ugly and fat throughout the narrative, this could be said as negative because there could be many obese children out there reading Cinderella, thinking that they are ‘mean’ and ‘worthless’ because they are comparing themselves

to the ugly stepsisters.

Historical and Cultural ContextCinderella was first brought out as a film in the 1950’s, produced by Disney and shown by RKO radio pictures. Walt Disney was suffering at the box office, as its viewers had been affected by world war 2. Theatrical releases soon followed up until the 80’s. There have been many reproductions of Cinderella, Disney decided to bring out the ‘Cinderella Story’ in 2004, starring popular TV stars such as Hilary Duff and Chad Michael Murray.

In my narrative I have followed the traditional version of Cinderella, the version that was brought out 15th February 1950 by Walt Disney. Cinderella has changed massively over the years, it all began in BC in Greece, with the princess of the story being called Rhodopis. There is many versions all over the world, including China and Vietnam, all follow the story of the same young girl ending up, marrying the Prince. The most popular version of Cinderella, dated back to 1667, where Charles Perrault introduced the idea of glass slippers, a fairy godmother and using pumpkins for magic purposes. In Charles’ version, Cinderella does not have the name she does now but was called ‘Cendrillon’. Also in Perrault’s story, Cinderella attends two balls instead of just the one and on the second night, that’s when Cinderella loses the slipper. In the Grimm version and Perrault version of Cinderella, the reason why the father is absent from the story line is because the step mother has dominated him, therefore he is not a major part of the story. Disney has carried the ‘absent father’ theme on and we are led to believe (without no explanation) that the father has unfortunately passed away. There is to be a remake of Cinderella in 2015, whether it will be animation or real life is yet to be confirmed.

Production ProcessesI think that my work has been put together really well, I have spent a lot of time working on Photoshop to perfect my images. There is one image in particular that I am really proud of and think came together really well. I don’t think that I have been very creative in my work because I have been rotoscoping most things and using the same colours etc. for most of my pictures. I think my least creative photo was the picture to go with the tenth page, I did not have to rotoscope this picture but used an effect to make it look like they were in the carriage riding off into the sunset. I used my time management really well because I finished ahead of time which allowed me to have a little bit of extra time to do any improvements and fix up old images. I stuck to my schedule because I planned that I would be rotoscoping and finishing rotoscoping on the days that I had planned too which I was pleased with. In my next project I would make sure that I don’t get distracted in lessons so I have more time to focus 0n getting the lines tighter to make a more rounded finish. At the beginning of the project I didn’t realise how fast moving it would be and therefore made less effort with rotoscoping and gathering images.