Rainbow Factory

rainbowfactorykids.com: The Rainbow Factory, an interactive storybook play centre, draws on themes from well-known books and fairy tales, bringing traditional stories and modern literature to life. Immersing youngsters in a world of adventure and fun, the Rainbow Factory, based in Farsley, Leeds, is the perfect attraction for a family day out.

photos from yorkshiretots.com

Teresa informed me about this place and thought it would be a good place to do my research at! I want to gather primary research as I think it would get me more specific answers for my project, but! will I have the time to actually go there, or sould I just email them? It would be great if I could talk to the parents and gather opinions from them too - maybe get a focus group together?

I think it would also be a good idea to talk to the manager; I'm seriously thinking about contacting them as I'm curious as to why they have decided to run this business, where the idea came from. I would like to ask them the following questions (but I feel like I should see Teresa first if it's a good idea):

1. How did you come up with the idea for your business? And why?
2. Why have you decided to base it around fairy tales and traditional stories?
3. Do you think fairy tales are only children’s stories? Why?
4. Do you think fairy tales are important to children? In what way?
5. How do you feel about the sanitising of fairy tales and movie adaptations of these tales such as those made by Disney?
6. Do you think fairy tales influence the perceptions and behaviour of children concerning gender-roles and relationships? In what way?

Existing Books: 3

This book is not out yet and will be released on October 28, 2015 but this is the one books out of the others that I found that got me a little bit excited. Visually, I feel is right up my alley! - I might even go buy this for myself! Maybe I should talk to the illustrator for PPP?

Rebecca Langston-George has presented a simplified version of Malala's story for children, complete with a brief glossary explaining some of the words. It is accompanied by beautiful illustrations by Janna Bock, and perfectly captures the courage and determination of this amazing young woman. The violence is implied rather than graphically depicted.

credit: acomfychair.com

The visual quality and illustration style is quite similar to mine and almost looks like its something that came out of an animated movie (or vice versa), which is probably why this one caught my attention the most. argh! now that I've found this book, I feel like its gonna make it more of a challenge for me because I do not want to copy! - but I think once I really read Malala's autobiography for myself, I'll be able to conjure up something of my own.

Existing Books: 2

"I have the right of education. 

I have the right to play. 

I have the right to sing. 

I have the right to talk. 

I have the right to go to the market. 

I have the right to SPEAK UP."

"They thought that bullets would silence us, 

but they failed....

One child, one teacher, 

one book, one pen, 

can change the world." 

Jeanette Winter is a gifted and thoughtful writer. Her picture book biographies are worthy of our attention, and should certainly be shared with our children to garner attention for heroes who live, or have lived, in this world. In a two-in-one book that readers can begin from either end, Jeanette Winter links the lives of two courageous child activists from Pakistan - Malala Yousafzai and Iqbal Masih.

credit: salsfictionaddiction.blogspot.co.uk

I can't find a preview for inside illustrations for this book, but I'm really interested to see. From the reviews I've read it sounds like it's worth a look. Also, reading just a few quotes from this book, I can already tell that I would really enjoy it - the rhythmic writing style again - I must learn how to do this. I must!

Existing Books: 1

I decided to carry out a little bit of research to see if there were already existing children's picture books based on Malala. ..and of course there were, it's Malala after all!

Although it's probably harder to do, I really like the rhythmic writing style at the beginning. I'm not quite sure if it's just me, but I really enjoy children's books that do not use a lot of words and are almost poetic but are easy to understand and follow through. With children, especially younger ones I think this makes it more engaging. I'm not the most gifted writer, but I'm really interested in writing for children's picture books myself in the future and I'd really like to try writing in this kind of style for my cop3 practical.

Also, I love the fact that the author highlights elements of Malala’s bright personality by including her love of the colour pink. Apparently she also quotes from Malala’s speeches and blog - which I think is a pretty nice idea - makes things even more personal.

Pixar’s Rules For Great Storytelling

As I plan to reinterpret the story of Malala for my practical of CoP, Teresa suggested looking at this post (here). It's quite a useful list of tips to use as a basis for storytelling and since I want to go into the animation industry, looking into screenwriting and improving my storytelling abilities and imagination might just be a bonus!


1. You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.

2. You gotta keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not what’s fun to do as a writer. They can be very different.

3. Trying for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about til you’re at the end of it. Now rewrite.

4. Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.

5. Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.

6. What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?

7. Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.

8. Finish your story, let go even if it’s not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time.

9. When you’re stuck, make a list of what WOULDN’T happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up.

10. Pull apart the stories you like. What you like in them is a part of you; you’ve got to recognize it before you can use it.

11. Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, a perfect idea, you’ll never share it with anyone.

12. Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.

13. Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it’s poison to the audience.

14. Why must you tell THIS story? What’s the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That’s the heart of it.

15. If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.

16. What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? Stack the odds against.

17. No work is ever wasted. If it’s not working, let go and move on – it’ll come back around to be useful later.

18. You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining.

19. Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.

20. Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How d’you rearrange them into what you DO like?

21. You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can’t just write ‘cool’. What would make YOU act that way?

22. What’s the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.


Action plan/what I need to do next:

• In order to effectively reinterpret Malala's story in a believable and relatable way, I need to get into the core of her story first - understand her thoughts and feelings. So I'm going to read her autobiography.
• Start drawing/brain storming plots - how the story is going to go
• maybe even contact a writer to help with wording?
• Might be useful to read 'The Hero with a Thousand Faces' by Joseph Campbell.

Revised Proposal

Idea Description:
What is my question?
During this module I will investigate the influence of fairy tales on the formation of children’s identity. I will explore the way fairytales contribute to children’s behavioural patterns, value systems and the formation of gender ideology and stereotypes.

What is its background?
"Some argue that fairytales are pure fantasy, others take a more critical approach recognising the influence of these scripts in the socialisation of children. Fairytales written during the eighteenth and nineteenth century were intended to teach girls how to become domesticated, respectable and attractive. Despite the fact that the messages of these stories are outdated, fairytales continue to endure the test of time, playing a key role in reproducing gender stereotypes and gendered identities."

Why it’s important to me?
I often hear people claim that fairy tales and the adaptations of fairy tales, such as those retold by Disney, do not render truthful pictures of life, and are therefore unhealthy. I would like to explore into this because I am one of those who grew up watching and listening to these tales. It is one of the most memorable aspects of my childhood that I believe have shaped most of my personality as an adult.

How will it contribute to my development?
As I am interested in placing myself within the kid’s industry/children’s entertainment, I think that focusing my research around this age group would enable me to have a better understanding of what is happening in this industry, socially and culturally and therefore how to innovate within this context.



Methodology & Outcome:
How am I going to research it?

• Library reviews - Books, Journals, Internet
• Asking people/parents of their opinions on fairy tales
• Finding out what it is that children like about these tales and what they get out of them.

How will I accomplish my goal?

• Read
• Carry out questionnaires
• Interviews

What my practical outcome will be?
As there is a need for more strong, independent and courageous females in fairytales, for the practical side of CoP3, I will be retelling the story of a real life female 'hero', Malala Yousafzai in a fairy tale kind of fashion. As an inspirational figure, and one of the youngest, Malala is a good role model for the young and old. The aim of this is to get children interested in finding out who she is and using the elements of a fairy tale to teach children of real courage and bravery I believe, is a more engaging way to do this - also to teach them that these attributes are possible to achieve themselves, because they have someone who is real as an example. I believe there is also a demand for more cultural diversity to appear in children's literature and media, so this outcome would be a good start.

I am proposing to reinterpret her story in the style of an animated feature film, which will require me to produce visual development work (character and environment designs). I also want to create animations from this, but I don't know if I'm being too ambitious, and whether I will have the time. 

If I am unable to do that, I will make a book instead and carry on the project into OUIL 603. I am proposing that the target audience for the final outcome of my CoP3 be children ages 4-9*.

*According to a research, children start showing a rudimentary sense of moral understanding around four years old, during the preschool years, so I thought it’d be best to target this age group.

Lecture: Methodology & Critical Analysis

Analysis - 
Ability to use logic, reasoning and critical judgement to analyse ideas from a range of primary and secondary sources - employ critical and theoretical methodologies.

Methodology - 
Strategy of evidencing research - logical, systematic and structured ways of organising a research project and gathering necessary information. Evidence that you have reflected critically on various research methods and chosen the ones that are most appropriate for my particular research - explain why? Justify it. - Methodology is unique to each project.

Books on methodologies worth checking out:

• The postgraduate research handbook by Gina Wisker (Chapters 13, 14, 15)
• Doing your research project by Judith Bell.

Websites:

• Palsgrave Study Skills - choosing appropriate methodology

Methodology may include:

• Literature review - Libraries, Journals, Internet
• Questionnaires
• Interviews
• Sketchbooks/Critical diaries

1. Outline your methodology at start of dissertation - in the intro, don't go over 500 words if poss.
• State aim of dissertation
• If focusing on particular texts/theories, state which ones.
• State how the project is going to be tackled - why?
• Chapter by chapter breakdown

Critical Analysis - 

Selectivity - informed decision making - choosing most valid answer from a list of others - reasoned thinking - using evidence and logic to come to your conclusions

• Consider viewpoints - where was the author/artist/designer/photographer situated? - where the creator was coming from intellectually, emotionally, philosophically, politically. - time period.
• Where am I coming from?
• Context - Consider the influence of one or more of the following: time, place, politics, economics, technology, philosophy, scientific..

Argument - Interrogate question, get to the core of it.

Remember argument all throughout the writing process - will stop me from going off track:

What am I saying about this question?

• What is the point? What am I trying to say? - central argument.
• Have I got evidence to back it up?
• Could I find more evidence to support my conclusions? Where could I find it?
• Am I expressing myself clearly?

Remember to triangulate :

Pitting alternative theories against the same body of data - use 3 or more sources to justify point: Comparisons - similarities and differences.

Have a clear logical plan:

Keep it simple - refine what you want to say and focus on a few key issues. Better to look into a few key issues in depth than lots of issues briefly.

Use a mixture of citation styles :

• Quotation blocks
• Power phrase

Evaluate:

Using different sources to come to your own conclusions.

Princessified

I was just browsing the net for some more research materials for cop when I stumbled upon this post: "To Flatten A Heroine: Artist Puts Disney Princess Filter On 10 Real Life Female Role Models". I understand what the cartoonist here is trying to get across with his illustrations and I agree to some extent how "ridiculous it is to paint an entire gender of heroes with one superficial brush". However, I also believe that "if something is visually appealing, kids are at least 10 times more likely to be interested in it", which was a comment made by a fellow reader. She continues explaining her opinion with;

"My 4 year old daughter walked by while I was reading this and she was instantly intrigued. That gave the opportunity to talk to her about who these women are. If they looked non-princessafied she wouldn't have cared. This is the way art works. It has a powerful effect on the senses and strongly influences our opinions. If each of these "princesses got their own little illustrated storybook or movies, suddenly, our little daughters would be interested in finding out who they are."

Another reader replied with;

"I AGREE! I understand that his reasoning was 'this isn't needed' but honestly certain things are more appealing to little girls....princesses are one of them, glitter is another, and happy smiling people is another. These cover all those things. My daughter would LOVE these (she's 4 too). Honestly I can't wait to show her these. I've never thought to talk to her about them, but these images would appeal to your brain right now. I'll also show her their real pictures and explain that the drawings are just princess versions of these important women. There's nothing wrong with that."

I, myself, was brought up watching Disney movies - I still love it to this day! But not once have I thought of wanting to be a princess prancing around in glittery frocks, batting my eyelashes about. I've always been taught to look further than that and its their personalities, characteristics and morals of the story that my parents have always made sure I understood. The style, glitters and magic was just the thing that made me want to watch. So I also agree with both of these women, and now I also feel more enthusiastic about my proposed practical response of retelling the stories of real heroes in a fairy tale kind of fashion because clearly (as evidenced above) there is a want for something like this. (though I wouldn't make them too princessy because I want them to stay as close to their normal selves as possible, but just telling their stories so that it'd be more captivating to children)

Why Fairy Tale Adaptations Continue to Thrive

Myths and fairy tales often reveal deep truths about human nature, tapping into some of our darkest fears and deepest desires. But despite the universality of myths and fairy tales, it can be easy to feel distant from these stories --- we live in a world with different heroes, and even different rules, and so sometimes the old myths lose their impact. Storytelling has always been a way for humans to find ourselves in the tale of another, to recognize our flaws and values, and retelling myths and fairy tales with a contemporary lens is just another way to hold up the mirror.

It can be hard for a young man to connect with the beefy, bronzed heroes of old, but give him a charming boy with ADHD, an abusive stepfather and a host of contemporary concerns, and the myth suddenly takes on new meaning for a contemporary audience. A girl might not be able to identify with the beautiful, privileged princess of legend, but maybe she feels a connection with a smart, shy girl whose looks garner her unwanted attention.

Myth and fairy tale retellings tap into the same deep themes that the ancient storytellers expressed, but with a new twist. I’m a huge fan of these retellings, both as a writer and as a reader, and I hope that we keep exploring myth and magic in new ways.

- Jen Mcconnel

CoP3 Updated Proposal/Plan

I want to look at and study Fairy Tales holistically, with focus on how these tales affect the younger audiences in particular. Not sure if this is too broad of a research question, but I can already start to visualise how its going to be in my head, so I think it'd be achievable.


Possible Essay Structure;
Title (needs checking): Once Upon a Time: An exploration of the impact of fairy tales on young audiences.

Introduction:

• Purpose of study
• My personal thoughts on fairy tales?

Main Body (haven't decided the order yet):

• What are fairytales: history and purpose (should this go in intro instead?)
• Benefits; Research related to fairytales and children’s development*
• Fairy tales communicate strong, unconscious messages to children in terms they can grasp and even carry into adulthood.
• Detriments; Outdated content:
• Gender Roles (& role models)*
• Fairy tales and feminism
• The effect on young people's self-images
• Are we more risk averse to ‘scaring’ children now?*
• Original vs Contemporary - original tales don't always end happy; why has it changed?
• Relationships of parents and children in selected fairytale.
• Adaptations – illustrative adaptations – children’s books.*
• Movie adaptations: Retellings/re-invented fairy tales (Disney’s Princess and the Frog for example, teaches/encourages children (even myself to be honest) to work hard) 
• Why do people remake/re-invent fairy tales? The need for adaptations. Why they still matter.

Conclusion

*My research will focus primarily on the classic fairy tales written by the Grimm Brothers and Hans Christian Andersen. I will use these as examples to expand points and explanations.

Practical: (I have two ideas as of now, but leaning more towards idea 2)

1. My initial practical idea was to re-illustrate children’s fairy tales, by putting a modern twist on them so that they would be relevant and reflect the morals held in society today, as it has been identified that some fairytales may be outdated and therefore are not as meaningful as they used to be. The idea is not completely original as this has been done many times before (like the examples here). However, I think most of these have been created with older audiences in mind. I don't think I have seen something that still renders the same reality in them, but with a more child friendly approach.
2. I think people today find that the main issue is the nature of the gender roles in fairy tales (also then affecting who children choose as their role models and how they think they're expected to behave). I came up with the idea of retelling the stories of real people (or maybe just one person) in a fairy tale setting - What happens if we put real people (ones that have achieved recognition in our society) and re-telling their stories in these well known and familiar fairy tale lands? Not only would they enjoy the fairy tale elements, but they'd also learn about these people, who have made such big achievements and difference in our world. more info here.