‘Snow White and The Huntsman’

‘Snow White and The Huntsman’ is a fantasy action film. The narrative is linear, and from the trailer alone the audience can see that costume is a major part of the genre. The costume in fairy-tales dictates who is in power and who is not. Unusually for film, it does not tell the audience about the inner beauty of the character but their power. Snow White is traditionally in peasant’s clothing, whereas the Queen is dressed in stunning clothes. This reflects there power. This plays a vital role in the symbolism of fairy-tales and becomes an iconic image of them, such as in Red Riding Hood where her red cape is vital to the story, or Beauty and The Beast, where the mise en scene of the characters shows the truth of them and reveals the moral of the story.

The representation of women is also important in this story. Fairy-tales are often led by a female protagonist and the antagonist is also often a woman. This makes it an inheritably female genre, where the character learns a lesson through her story. Most fairy-tale protagonists want to make a dream come true and resolve their story by getting this by the ending of the film. They also often have to resolve an injustice (like Snow White) and rebalance this by the end of the film.

‘Snow White and The Huntsman’

Props play an important role if the fairy-tale or fantasy genre. Weapons are often shown and some have a token of power (such a family crown, or jewelry or even a will in the modern adaptation of ‘A Cinderella Story’). This can occasionally be a McGuffin, the character learns more about themselves than a psychical object, however it can also be important in resolving the issues of the film.

The locations are also important. The surroundings are often personification for the characters emotions or situation and can relfect or ever fore shadowing events. Pathetic fallacy is also used, and due to the mythical element of the genre it can be wildly unrealistic and obviously emulate the characters, such as Snow White and Red Riding hood lost in the forest.

Horror in the fairy-tale genre – ‘Red Riding Hood

• The horror genre is a key part of the fairy-tale genre• Dark of low key lighting is used to create an eerie and suspicious location, making

the audience (and protagonist) fearful. • Sometimes only part of the face will be shown in the light to keep the antagonist

mysterious and unknown. • The protagonist is often alone in a dark place, and music plays a key role in

creating a scary or tension building moment. The music builds and flows with the tension of the scene.

• Extreme close-ups are used to show the emotions of the character. This is often used in the horror genre to show their fear and to get the audience to have emotional contagion with the protagonist. This makes a connection between the audience and the main character.

The Gothic in fairy-tales : ‘Beastly’

• The gothic is a big theme in fairy-tales and the fantasy genre.

• They both have a moral message and gothic symbols are often used to tell these.

These are some symbols of the gothic :

• Inner beauty (Such as beauty and the beast)

• Gothic architecture i.e. Castles, scary forests, Kings and Queens,

• They are often dark and make the audience think about their own lives morally and their own relationships.

• The character will eventually face a dilemma, which the must face to solve their personal character arch, within the film.