GIRL-WOLF RELATIONSHIPS IN FILM ADAPTATIONS OF LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD

Abstract

Many folk and fairy tales were retold in new media form. Little Red Riding Hood, a story of the girl and her opponent male, the wolf, has gained popularity from viewers as it was often selected to be reinterpreted and reproduced in film adaptations. Once the tale was remade, audience could expect to see whether film directors would present a new perspective on the girl and the wolf. In this paper, the authors investigate the different relationships between the girl and the wolf as portrayed in film adaptations of Little Red Riding Hood. The analysis was based on five film adaptations: The Company of Wolves (1984), Freeway (1996), Red: Werewolf Hunter (2010), Red Riding Hood (2011), and Into the Woods (2014). The results of this study indicated that the films depicted the girl and the wolf in different relationships including kinship, lovers, and opponents. Among these portrayals, we could see role change in the main characters, especially the interpretations of the girl through cinematic techniques which underlined how the young girl strived from stereotypical role of the victim to an unconventional young girl recognizing her power to negotiate with and rebel against the threatening male.