Gender and the Male Character in 21st Century Fairy Tale Narratives: From Enchanted Heroes to Modern Masculinities

by Natalie Le Clue (Editor)

Overview

From the shady and complicated Rumpelstiltskin to the born-again hero of Captain Hook in Once Upon a Time, as well as films which magnify the male character such as The Huntsman: Winter’s War, Tangled, Frozen, and Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, the male fairy tale character has received increased attention in fictional narratives over the past decade. For the first time, Gender and the Male Character in 21st Century Fairy Tale Narratives extends this attention into the realm of academic study.

Featuring differing perspectives and disciplines, including gender, queer, fan, and television and film studies, chapters take an interdisciplinary approach to analyse male characters through lenses such as race, disability, class, religion, and sexuality. Contributors unveil alternative conceptualisations of ‘traditional’ male fairy tale characters, weaving a rich story of the interaction between popular culture, gender representation, power, and society.

Putting Prince Charming in the academic spotlight, this collection examines the evolution of male fairy tale characters across modern series and films to bridge a gap that afflicts multiple disciplines.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781837537891
Publisher:	Emerald Publishing Limited
Publication date:	09/16/2024
Series:	Emerald Studies in Popular Culture and Gender
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.73(d)

About the Author

Natalie Le Clue is a postdoctoral fellow in the department of Media and Communication at Nelson Mandela Universityin Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Her research delves into fan studies, specifically examining toxic fan practices, alongside a focus on television studies with an emphasis on fairytale mythology.

Table of Contents

Introduction; Natalie Le Clue
Section 1. Gender Representation in Fairy Tales and Medi
Chapter 1. Gendered Stereotypes of the Male Witch in Selected Children’s Film and Fiction; Maggie Webster
Chapter 2. How Manly is the Mouse?: The View of Masculinity across the years through Disney; Caleb George Hubbard and Brittney S. Morrissey
Chapter 3. Feminist Quest Heroine: Deconstruction of Male Heroism in the 21st Century Fairy Tale Narrative; Thanong Aupitak
Chapter 4. Masculine Image and Identity in Fairy Tales c1900-1940; Jennifer Fogarty
Chapter 5. Letting Prince Charming Go: Male Characters and Masculinities In Disney’s Frozen; Auba Llompart
Chapter 6. Transformative Masculinities: Re-Examining the role of the Male in Red Riding Hood; Fiona Smith and Fiona McKay
Chapter 7. Geralt The Huntsman: The Witcher’s Upending Of The Classic “Hero” Trope; Justin Shay Easler and Kaitlyn Michelle Samons
Chapter 8. The Impossible Cartography of Masculine Trauma and Ego in Netflix’s Dark; Kirsty Worrow
Chapter 9. Blue Beard's Descendants: The Resonance of Toxic Masculinity in Modern Storytelling; Natalie Le Clue
Chapter 10. The Erasure of the Elderly Hatter: 21st Century American Remakes of the Mad Hatter; Brittany Eldridge
Section 2. Reinterpretation and Deconstruction of Fairy Tale Tropes
Chapter 11. Gender Subversion in Horror Fairy-tale Neverafter; Tess Watterson
Chapter 12. “It’s Remarkable how often [Madness and Brilliance] Coincide”: An Analysis of the Characters, Captain Jack Sparrow and Tarrant Hightopp, as Alternate Depictions of Masculinity; Ailish Kate Brassil
Chapter 13. Subverting Traditional Representations of White Masculinity in Fairy-Tale Narratives: The Case of Carnival Row (2019-2023); Dina Pedro
Chapter 14. Fabulous Godmothers and Fairy-Godfairies: Reimagining the Fairy Godmother as Gender-Inclusive; Marty Heath
Chapter 15. The Kuya In Selected Filipino Storybooks: ‘Subordinate Storylines’ Of Male Characters In Narratives Of Adversities; Cheeno Marlo M. Sayuno
Chapter 16. ‘The Modern Prometheus’: Gothic Masculinity, Classical Mythology and Forensic Reception in Netflix’s 1899; Kirsty Worrow
Chapter 17. The Looking Glass Paradigm: An Inductive Evaluation of Once Upon A Time’s Captain Hook; Natalie Le Clue
Conclusion; Natalie Le Clue