Abstract

The present study focuses on one of the contemporary American fairy tale movies to analyze the postmodernist aspects present in these movies. The researcher has selected the movie Tangled released in 2010 for this purpose, it is a remake of the famous fairy tale Rapunzel recorded by famous fairy tale writers, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. One of the most prominent patterns of analyzing the movies through the lens of postmodernism is the framework by Kevin Paul Smith, in his book The Postmodern Fairytale, Folkloric Intertexts in Contemporary Fiction.  He has presented eight elements of intertextuality to examine the intertextual elements of the older fairy tales present in contemporary literature (2007). Analysis reveals these eight elements in Tangled (2010) that are evident in traces of postmodernity in the movie.                                                                  

Key Words

Postmodernism, Intertextuality, Hypertext, Hypotext, Fairy Tales

Introduction

Fairy tales have always been a favorite among filmmakers. Recent retellings of the old fairy tales present in films have deviated from the old tales and have presented a new angle to the stories, characters, and themes present.  One of such fairy tales is Tangled (2010), it is one of the recent retellings of a famous fairy tale Rapunzel. Rapunzel is one of the old fairy tales, surfaced after the publication of the collection of fairy tales by Brothers Grimm. There have always been changes in fairy tales according to the times, but the recent alterations go quite far. These alterations are looked upon through a tool that postmodernists use, i.e. Intertextuality. The philosophers of Intertextuality assert that texts are connected in a mode of the web, which links all of them together. While tracing these links with older texts through intertextuality, a unique connection is opened up in these alterations, which is a postmodern connection. Postmodernism is a theory, a mode of life and a depiction of the whole period rising in the 21^st century. Postmodernists look at life through a Different Lens, a lens different from their predecessors, they question the long engraved notions and ideals. Such a postmodernist perspective is quite evident in Tangled (2010), through an intertextual analysis. Bacchilega (2003) also asserts that the recent retellings of fairy tales have blurred the boundaries and have mixed magical realms with reality.

Literature Review

Tangled released in 2010 is a fairytale written by screenplay writer, who remakes the long celebrated fairy tale Rapunzel. The re-visitation of this fairy tale has been highlighted through intertextual elements. A famous folklorist Bottigheimer (2010) while commenting on the origin of fairy tales and particularly of Rapunzel, asserts:Basile worked the long-traditional narrative trope of a girl-in-a-tower into the central element of his “Petrosinella” (Day 2, Story 1), the daughter of a “poor woman” (though it’s not clear whether she’s simply suffering or actually poverty-stricken).  With the addition of extraordinarily long hair, he made its heroine the direct ancestor of generations of modern “Rapunzel” tales (p.86). atar (2019) while examining Rapunzel also puts it as one such story which the Grimm brothers were reluctant to add in the fairy tales for being inappropriate for children’s sensibility. It is hence asserted that there was a wide gap between oral forms and the written forms which the Grimm brothers put forth. Rapunzel is a story of a girl who is locked in the tower which connects it with all those cultures where young women are kept isolated, in convents and other places so that they can be separated from males.  Many folklorists connect the heroine, Rapunzel with the legend of Saint Barbara, she was locked in a tower by her father. This tendency relates to the culture where girls are locked so that they are protected from the roguish boys.Rapunzel also revolves around the same tendency, it begins with a husband and wife whose desire for a forbidden Rapunzel and get it through a transgressive act and the second phase is child Rapunzel is locked in a tower, where a prince

 transgresses again into the tower and is blinded but they are united in the end and his sight is restored. (Tatar, 2019).

Hence a close look at the history of Rapunzel reveals that it has a long intertwined background with every text linked with the next one and this connection comes up and links with the newest version which is Tangled (2010). This interconnectivity of the texts is named Intertextuality, which as defined by Kristeva (as cited in D’Angelo, 2010), that “Every text is connected to other texts by citations, quotations, allusions, borrowings, adaptations, appropriations, parody, pastiche, imitation.  Every text is in a dialogical relationship with other texts intertextuality describes the relationships that exist between and among texts” (p. 33).

 It reveals that texts do not appear isolated rather they are in a relationship with other texts, however, what is worth notice here is that this relationship is not directly related, it is not a mere copy of older texts, rather it creates something new, this relationship can be created by making the older texts as the ground for the new text and deviate from it or retaliate and react to which means the older texts can be related to the newer texts based on a rift or a contradiction. Intertextuality does not mean that the previous texts are completely dissolution rather new texts are given power, authority, and motive through intertextuality. This notion is very elaborately explained by Barthes (2001) in his essay “The Death of the Author” who calls the text   “a multidimensional space in which a variety of writings, none of them original, blend and clash” (p.144). The idea of clashing and blending of texts further points out that intertextuality is a post-modern phenomenon and one of its important elements is revising the older texts and making them look new and with a different perspective the stories are brought forward. It is described as an element of intertextuality whose prime function is where the hypertexts revise the hypotexts and these revisions are concerned with questioning the gender discrimination and bringing up the empowerment of women (Smith, 2007). Zipes (2014) also calls forth the new approach where women are no more demonized as shown in earlier versions.

Intertextuality is a vital element in visual arts too as many scholars point out that there is an interconnectedness among different mediums of art and that there is a connection between written texts, paintings, advertising, and films and that intertextuality has raised the art to such a level where it has blurred the boundaries between art and non-art (Wolf, 1990 & Landwher, 2002) Many scholars perceive this relationship while discussing the impact of literature on Cinema, and that there is an interdependence between literature and films (Alqadi 2015), Intertextuality has been the core of Cinemas as much as it has been a part of Literature (Peltt, 1991).

The recent trends have seen quite an uproar against the powerful and dominating narrative in different genres of literature, including fairy tales. The recent retellings of fairy tales, released as movies, show quite an upturn in the narrative's characters and symbols, which is evident after analyzing thematically through the tool of intertextuality. It is highlighted in another research analyzing the postmodern features present in Maleficent (2014), where it is mentioned that the postmodernists have turned the character of Maleficent, the witch, who was the antagonist in all the earlier version as the protagonist and that the prince or other male characters are not even focused in the film, all the attention is gained by Maleficent who has challenged the narrative of her villainy and has turned into a loving motherly figure (Khan 2017).

Methodology

The methodology adopted for the study is taken by  Kevin Paul Smith’s book The Postmodern Fairytale, Folkloric Intertexts in Contemporary Fiction. Smith has highlighted eight elements of Intertextuality to analyze fairytales while examining them for the traces of intertextual elements which further elaborate the ideas and concepts of postmodernism. The justification which Smith purports for his use of these particular eight elements is to keep the analysis confined and contained due to the wider arena of Intertextuality. He has limited his elements only within the limits of fairy tales. These elements according to Smith do not occur alone in a text, however, it is not necessary that all the eight elements are present in a text, one of the reasons may be the fact that some of these elements are closely related to one another, there is only a difference of degree among them (2007, p 9-57). While the researcher is working particularly on intertextual links present in Tangled (2010), this methodological framework provides the most appropriate one for the study. He mentions eight categories in which a fairy tale can be intertextually analyzed:

Writerly

Implicit Reference to a Fairy Tale in Title

The second element of intertextuality is Writerly which refers to any reference to the previous versions. It is an intertextual element which can be indirectly linked with the previous versions. It is an element that can be traced when an indirect reference to an earlier fairy tale is given. When the new tale does not merely repeat the title of the older text rather makes some amendments and uses a minor character or an object present in the tale as the title. When the movie Tangled (2010) was looked into for these elements of writerly, there were clear links of interconnectedness, firstly the title Tangled, which is although not a direct reference put under the title of the first element but is quite an example of the second element, as the word Tangled refers to the long hair of Rapunzel which have been the instigating part and an important object in the story of Rapunzel through time. It is very closely related to the story by Grimm brothers as the main feature is, that the girl is locked into a tower where the prince reaches by climbing a ladder from her hair (Anderson, 2005).

The element of writerly can also be found in “A (named) fairytale epigraph, a foreword by the author that mentions a fairytale, or a chapter title that refers to a fairytale act….” (Smith, 2007, p16). It implies that technically when analyzing a movie, it puts the trailer and front cover of the movie under scrutiny. The front cover of the movie shows Rapunzel and Eugene’s faces partially hidden in long air of Rapunzel and the official trailer reveals that it is the older story when the narrator refers to the long hair and the tall tower where she is being locked all her life, it is also highlighted in the dialogue of the previous versions recorded again when she is told: “Rapunzel, let down your hair” (00:30 seconds).

Allusion

Implicit Reference to a Fairy Tale within the Text

The element of Allusion is included as an element of intertextuality by Smith. The word is described as an indirect reference or link with the older versions. Allusion includes many sub-elements, such as:

Quotations

Quotations or dialogues present in the movie are one of the prominent allusions present which immediately link the new texts with the older versions. When the version of Grimms’ was compared with the film, one of the iconic dialogues is present in both the versions, which is when Rapunzel is asked to let down her hair, “Rapunzel, let down your hair”.

Character Names

Character names play a potent role in establishing an intertextual connection with the older versions, and some names are so important in some fairy tales, such as the name of Cinderella, in the fairytale Cinderella, that the reoccurrence of Cinderella anywhere in any story will construct a relationship with the original version. Rapunzel is also a similar example, The tale of Rapunzel, has the protagonist’s Rapunzel, this name is present in almost all the versions and the directors of the film Tangled (2010) also do not bother to change the name, and despite a different title, the protagonist carries the same name.

The second name which is important for the tale and is repeated in this version too is the name of Gothel. In the version by Grimm brothers, she is mentioned and it is repeated in the film Tangled as well. Although the word Mother Gothel is a generic name and is used in Germany generally for Godmother (Tatar, 2019). However, the similar name is repeated in the film. The name is not present in older versions of the tale such as that of Giambattista's Italian version.

The names of the other characters in all the previous versions are either not mentioned or have received only titles.  Eugene, who is the hero, or rather a very unconventional hero of the tale, is named only in this version. In the previous versions, he is known only as of the king’s son or as the prince. Here Eugene is not a prince but still, he has a name, he is not known as the thief only.  Eugene has two names in the tale; Flynn Ryder and Eugene Fitzherbert. Having two names has a specific symbolic significance, which will be discussed in the sub-element; the unconscious of the texts which deals with symbolic meanings. However, giving names to the characters is one of the favorite doings of postmodernists. They are harbingers of individualism and they advocate particularities as well as differences. Names give recognition and importance. According to research by Finch (2008), a character is acknowledged through the name and it also creates an affiliation with the society. It is not surprising that here in Tangled (2010), every major and minor character has a name, even chameleon and the horse are named, Pascal and Maximus.

Character Descriptions

Character description is another important element that is dealt with the element of allusion, as allusive it is, for having a direct or indirect reference to the previous versions. The description of characters often connects the contemporary versions with the old ones immediately. For instance, even if the title had not to link with the story of Rapunzel, or even there had been the absence of a tower, the long hair of Rapunzel would have been enough to recognize it as her story and to affiliate the character with the original Rapunzel. Rapunzel’s long hair is as much connected with the older versions as her name is. There is nothing else in her character which is similar to the Rapunzel of older versions. Her character has seen the visible transformation, thanks to the feminists of her age. She is not passive anymore and not even a naïve who accidentally blurts out: "Tell me, Mother Gothel, why are you so much harder to pull up than the young prince? He gets up here in a twinkling” (Tatar, 2019). 

The Rapunzel of the contemporary era, the postmodernist period is bold, persistent and tactful. She does feel reproachful for cheating on her mother but she, nonetheless, fulfills her dream to go and visit the lanterns. She does not give up on her dream. She takes the help of Eugene but is actually her who pulls Eugene out of her danger, eventually to her destination (Tangled).

Pattern Recognition Structure

This element highlights the structure of fairy tales and examines the intertextual link in terms of the structure with the old fairy tales. The names and characters do change in different tales but their actions and functions do not necessarily change.

The structure of the story is somewhat repeating the formulaic narratives of fairy tales having a simple storyline and short in length without any major complications. The actors here are same, there is a hero and a heroine who meet accidentally, they fall in love, their enemy is the vicious old woman who wants to keep the heroine with her for giving her magical powers, but in the end, they win and get married. However, one can see some slight alterations at certain places such as the hero is not a typical Prince as always present in the previous stereotypical fairy tales, her he is a thief and still a hero. He does rescue Rapunzel but only unwillingly and it is Rapunzel herself who keeps on saving him from people when they want to catch him because he is a thief.

Patterns or Motifs (The Aarne Thompson Index)

One of the very prominent methods of figuring out the recurrent patterns of motifs present in the fairy tales is done by indexing it in the Arne Thompson index. It is a huge collection of fairy tales categorized according to their patterns and motifs. According to this index, all the fairy tales are categorized under tales of magic; ATU 300-749, it is further subcategorized in ATU 300-399, which is further categorized as ATU310, where the tale is named as Rapunzel, as it is originally known. It is described as the story of Rapunzel where there is a hair ladder for the witch, the prince is blinded, there is a wish for a child, and the parent appeases the offended witch who wants the child and the child is imprisoned in a windowless tower. The tale of Tangled is traced back to many versions, most of them belonging to Italy, in which two of them are by Giambattista Basile was known as Parsley and Dove, their date is not known according to the classification, there is another version which is also Italian, it is written by Giuseppe Pitrè in 1870 which is known as La vecchia di l'ortu. There is one more version which is German and is known by the name of Rapunzel, it was written by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm along with Margaret Hunt. The motifs present in the particular fairytales are also highlighted through the categories indexed in Aarne Thompson index.

Table 1. Presence of Motifs in Rapunzel and Tangled (2010)

Table #1 highlights the presence and absence of motifs in Rapunzel and Tangled. There is total of 24 motifs taken out of the Aarne-Thompson index. 9 Motifs are not present and 15 motifs are present in Rapunzel. Whereas 19 motifs are present and 5 motifs are not present in Tangled. This table further helps in extending the table which provides the explanation of the motifs present.

Table 2. Explanation of Motifs present in Rapunzel and Tangled

Table 2 gives an elaborated explanation of the motifs which explicitly show which motifs are present or not present in both the tales and their explanation also highlights how there are alterations present in both the tales, thus highlighting the writer's intent.

The Unconscious of the Text

The stories have many hidden meanings in them. A reader is like an archeologist who excavates and brings forth the hidden and deeper meanings of the text. Tangled also has few such hidden meanings. At the very beginning of the film, when Eugene starts to narrate the story, he starts with a statement, “This is the story of how I died” (Tangled 00: 00: 10). It symbolically reveals a hidden meaning of how Flynn Ryder, the name with which Eugene is known to the world or misunderstood by the world dies after meeting Rapunzel and hence reveals that how people are misjudged. Postmodernists reconstructed truth, according to the dominant philosophies or modes of knowledge oppressed the marginalized or less dominant notions, they reject reality which develops independently (Hicks, 2009).

Flying Lanterns are also used symbolically here, they imply freedom here, they urge Rapunzel to take a stand and live her dream, it is not only the lantern which she wants to see, but they are also a step out of the tower for her.

Revision

Putting a New Spin on an Old Tale

The element of re-visioning is one of the most important elements used by the postmodernists. It is described as putting a new look to the old ones. The element of re-vison is used to question the old beliefs and opinions and to bring forth new and pluralist perspectives.

There are many new looks into the story as well, when the language of the film is looked upon, it looks quite like a contemporary one, more colloquial and light, for instance when the narrator says ‘this is actually a very fun story”, then he states “She’s kind of important”, the language that Eugene uses here is lighter than what is originally used in the fairy tales and particularly in earlier fairy tales, the language is quite sublime and sober, the words are more of a literary rather than colloquial form.

The story of Tangled (2010), does not start with a typical “ once upon a time” beginning, rather it starts with “This is the story of How I Died”, quite a contradiction and a very blunt beginning for a fairy tale meant for children.  This is how the postmodernists bring forth their ideas, they do what is not done before, they do not necessarily follow. The language and dialogues do differ and it is quite evident that they are presented with a new look, but if the story is probed deeply it is realized that there are many such traces of presenting new outlooks and concepts.

First of all the title of the movie is different, the title Rapunzel has been given to this particular fairy tale in almost all the versions of different cultures but this time a new twist is brought forward by omitting the name Rapunzel as the title and replacing it with word tangled which has quite a symbolical effect to the title as discussed previously. The story is also presented with a new look, the plot is the same but the roles of characters are twisted.  In the older version, particularly that of Grumm brothers, Rapunzel is only known through the eyes and opinions of other characters, she is just a puppet who does not have to do any action. She is named Rapunzel by the sorceress, she is taken by her and locked into a tower without door where she stays till a prince discovers her, falls in love with her and asks for her hand she thinks "He would rather have me than would old Frau Gothel." which reveals her more as a product rather than a human being of free will, he makes her pregnant with twins and for which she is punished by the sorceress, who left her in a wilderness. They do unite in the end and live happily in the palace but in this version of the story, Rapunzel is a meek, naïve girl who does not have much of her mind or actions to put in the story. Rapunzel of Tangled is nothing like the Rapunzel of Grimm brothers. She is bold, skeptic uncompromising and very brave. She has everything which a princess of a fairy tale must have but she also has everything which generally is not present in a princess of a fairy tale. She is beautiful and most admired but her uncompromising and constantly enquiring nature makes her different. She is persistent when she asks Gothel to let her out so that she can see the flying lanterns, she says “I want to see the floating lights”,  she keeps on arguing with her and asserts that “ I know what I’m saying”.  Later in the story too she is very assertive. when she steps out she says “I’m completely free”. In another scene where Gothel says “ Rapunzel really! Enough already! Stop fighting me!” and she in return says “No! I won’t stop. For every minute of the rest of my life, I will fight! I will never stop trying to get away from you”, (Tangled Howard & Greno),  this reveals how strong and determinant she is. Rapunzel in Tangled is completely different than the Rapunzel of the previous versions who do not have any tinge of confidence and voice. This is particularly a postmodernist doing who are ardent supporters of individuals and are strong feminists. According to Zipes (2014), the females are not victimized in the recent retellings, they are no more timid and submissive and destitute (Don’t bet on Prince 209).

Another twist in the story is the character of Eugene, who also happens to be the narrator of the fairytale. He starts the story while narrating that “this is the story of how I died” (Tangled,00: 00: 30 Seconds)which is quite astonishing for the audience of fairytales that their hero will die in the story but one can expect anything from the postmodernists, however, this is not the case, Eugene does not die in the tale, rather his deceptive look and name which is Flynn rider, dies in the end, Rapunzel helps him gain back his identity and leave the deceptive getup which he had taken to deceive people. It is this death which he refers to. A very strong tradition followed in the fairy tales is that the hero is always a prince or someone belonging to the aristocratic or noble decency but this is not the case in this tale, here Eugene aka Flynn rider is a thief who is escaping from the guards of the palace. He is cunning and sharp. He even takes Rapunzel to the inn where there are only bad people so that he can scare her back home, but he changes in the end. This change in presenting the main character is a postmodernist doing who challenge the authoritative notions, they welcome pluralistic ideals and people from every class and gender are their heroes, particularly the marginalized are more focused in their tale, this is the reason it is actually Rapunzel, who is the hero of the tale, and although Eugene becomes his guide to take him to palace, she is the one who survives the turmoil and hard times of the journey. Kehinde (2003) calls intertextuality as one such theory of postmodernism which highlights the pluralistic nature of the world where the writers move away from uniform preceding theories to more “synchronic ones” (p.372).

Metafictional

Discussion of Fairytales   

Metafictional intertextuality is an element where a discussion is made regarding the older fairy tales, the narrator criticizes or comments upon the tale. Metafictional is a very important intertextual element specifically for the postmodernists to utilize their point of view because it is her that they get an opportunity to criticizes or comment upon the older versions and they can disagree or ridicule an older point, In Tangled (2010), the narrator is Eugene. He keeps a tone of objectivity and criticism throughout the tale.

Architextual/ Chronotopic

Fairytale’ Setting/Environment

The eighth element of intertextuality mentioned by Smith is affiliated with the older tales generally, not particularly having an affiliation with any specific tale. It highlights fairytale-like qualities present in the contemporary tales pointing out the features of fairy tales such as the characters related to fairy tales, some magical events and indefinite place and time which are associated with fairy tales only. The element of Architextuality is further divided into two subcategories.

Chronotopic Objects

There are different objects particularly related to fairy tales and Tangled (2010) has them in abundance. The castle

 as mentioned by Smith is one of the prime objects which links the movie with the genre of a fairy tale. The presence of the castle along with the queen and King and their longing for a child makes it all acquainted with the genre. It is not only the grand castle of the king which is a particular feature of a fairy tale, but also the tall tower without any door which creates a link with many versions

 of fairytales.

There are many other objects which are particularly related to fairy tales. The presence of a magical flower to heal the Queen is another object which creates the notion of magic and links it with the genre of a fairy tale. Then the magical hair of Rapunzel also makes it a chronotopic object, linking it with fairy tales.

Chronotopic Events

Todorov proposes three categories for fantasy calling them uncanny, marvelous and the fantastic, although he proposes that fairy tales fall into the category of marvelous but Smith highlights that the contemporary fairy tales can swing in between all three categories, talking particularly about the re-visioned fairy tales, they fall into all the categories, such as Maleficent which falls in the category of Marvelous because it is only magic all over but it is not the case of Tangled (2010), as it falls into the category of uncanny where only one unusual event takes place in an otherwise realistic world. The whole story is based on reality, it is only the presence of a magic flower that adds a tinge of magic to the story and it is due to the magic flower that Rapunzel gets magical hair. Magic hair makes Rapunzel an important figure in the story, this is the reason that mother Gothel keeps her locked up for herself so that she remains young forever. The postmodernist twist which is brought into this tale is freeing Rapunzel from her hair. Eugene, the thief, and the hero of the tale, cuts her hair so that she is no more wanted by Mother Gothel, and he sends a message that she is more important to her not her magical hair whereas, in the older version of the tale, the hair is cut by the witch as a punishment.

Conclusion

The eight Intertextual elements proposed by Smith bring out a detailed connection with the old tale of Rapunzel as narrated and recorded by the Grimm brothers. Intertextuality not only brings forth the interconnection among the texts, but it also highlights the uniqueness of these alterations. It helps to advocate the perception of the postmodernists, their war against totality and authority is highlighted through the help of Intertextuality. Among eight prescribed elements of Intertextuality by Smith, the tale of Tangled (2010) has six elements present in the tale which are: authorized, writerly, allusion, re-vision, metafiction, and architextuality and two elements, incorporation and metafiction are not present in it.  These elements bring forth a notion that heroes can be some thief too, they can even be loved by the princesses and the heroine, Rapunzel needs not to be a passive heroine but a bold confident and an adventurous girl too.