La Belle Au Bois Dormant's Maleficent

Fairy tales are seemingly apart of any “successful” childhood. They attempt to show our 5-year-old selves right from wrong - that you shouldn’t leave the ball on your curfew, to not trust strangers with apples, and to never forget a prince charming will come and save you. Although every infamous tale that I was once told has been manipulated since formation, their deeper ideologies such as criticism and hierarchical dominance are recurrent, yet transformative with modern times.

Maleficent seems a far more appropriate name for a fairy-tale than La Belle Au Bois Dormant, which was originally composed by Charles Perrault in 1696, and is reflective of 17th century cultural paradigms. It tales the events of a princess following her Christening. The lack of widespread invitation results in an old fairy cursing the young girl to death after pricking her finger. Another fairy however, diminishes such extremes of the curse, so the princess will instead sleep for 100 years. The prophecy is materialised, and it is one century later that a young prince finds the princess, kneels beside her as she wakes, and successively declares true love.
2014 saw the release of my theatrical manipulation of this tale, Maleficent, which details the events through a contemporary lens of 21st century North American society.
In order to produce a significant film in the cut-throat Hollywood scene, my target audience was not traditionally restricted to young children, for the story engages themes and ideologies relative to the greater societal environment. Throughout, I aimed to deliver a mesmerising relief of a notorious tale, while critiquing the corporate values and beliefs that contour our industrial and capitalistic
condition.

I initially engage the audience through a zooming and panning shot in the opening scenes of the film, revealing two deviating kingdoms. The conflicting settings are reflective of modern environmental attitudes, where compromise, rather than prioritise is valued in our society. One kingdom, Moors is symbolic of a fruitful, natural landscape with fantastical citizens, indicating distinctions from our own society. In disparity, the adjacent mis-en-scene is depressive and commercialised, elucidating the harsh realities of today’s main concerns.

During the introduction to these opposing kingdoms, my use of colloquial and conversational language through second person narration denounces to the audience that the people of the second location “are like you and me… with a vain and greedy king”. This political paradigm was utilized to attack the dictatorships of contemporary governmental systems, further suggesting the similarities of this hypothetical world to the corruption in American culture. The extended juxtaposition of this scene and Moors, upon reflection, is really a reproduction of my ideals and values, which are largely contrasted by the philosophies of those currently in power in our society.

The protagonist Maleficent, subverts the archetypical pattern of the hero by challenging gender stereotypes and initiating her quest in order to seek vengeance. She is pronounced as a strong and powerful female character with a personal agenda to lead a successful kingdom. My costuming of Maleficent is representative of her masculine and feminine qualities addressed by the contrast of both horns and wings, evident of a feminist paradigm, commenting on the modern cultural attitudes towards gender identity.

The “stripping” of her wings by Stefan during the middle of the film is symbolic of both the metaphorical rape of Maleficent, as well as her loss of femininity and female worth. This alludes to the critical rape culture of the 21st century, and the economic priorities of society, deeming status to be more significant than sexual violence. The act of stealing riches and conducting mutilation for personal ambition is also reflective of the American Dream, thus I targeting the current US national values.

Use of pathetic fallacy during the ensuing scene expands this theme, symbolic of Maleficent’s transformation towards her masculine qualities. It is also representative of the ever-developing and expanding nature of consumeristic modern society, that will eventually infiltrate all landscapes of natural beauty and purity.

“Iron burns fairies” is an extended metaphor across the timeline of the text, symbolizing the corruption of industrialized technologies of the modern era, that have detrimental impacts on the natural environment. The motif is first delivered through dialogue when Stefan injures Maleficent with his iron ring, and I utilized repetition to comment on the inconsistent morality of American society as commercial expansion continues to occur.

Close-up shots during the revival scene, is a further rebellion of traditional ideals of prince charming’s “true love” and emphatically demonstrates the timeless ultimate of familial love, relevant and transcendent to modern times.

Essentially, manifestation of fairy tales in response to contextual society, is fluent through the timeless archetypes, paradigms, and themes that exist across all mediums. This allows an audience’s effective interpretation of the morals and consequences that they are designed to express, as well as the ability to challenge them.

Note: I also now know to ensure I invite everyone to my daughter’s christening.