Writing Prompt:
As we close in on the end of our discussion of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, it is time for us to look at my (Dr. Brigman's) favorite scene: the croquet match with the Queen of Hearts that goes incredibly wrong.
As time changes, so do the characters in the stories we tell, and I find the changes to Alice's foreboding, hot-headed queen some of the most interesting! I have often thought Carroll (and his illustrator, John Tenniel), based her off of the most famous queen of their Day: Queen Victoria.
Do you see the similarity between the image (above) and the one Tenniel illustrated (below)?
Clip from the 1951 Disney animated feature, Alice in Wonderland.
2010 Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland featuring Helena Bonham Carter (Tim Burton's wife!) as the Queen of Hearts.
Questions for Discussion:
1) In your opinion, which Queen of Hearts is the most like the one that appears in Chapter 8, "The Queen's Croquet Ground" (60-67)? Please use specific textual evidence.
2) Vice versa, which Queen of Hearts is the least like the one that appears in Chapter 8?
3) Pick one of the two Queen of Hearts we saw today and discuss appropriation. Remember: appropriation means, "to take something and make it your own." What was the creator (either Tim Burton or Walt Disney) taking? What were they making their own? What do you think the creator was trying to accomplish with this version?
4) Lastly, why a Queen of Hearts?
1) In your opinion, which Queen of Hearts is the most like the one that appears in Chapter 8, "The Queen's Croquet Ground" (60-67)? Please use specific textual evidence.
ReplyDeleteThe Queen of Hearts in the Disney version is very similar to the Queen of Hearts in Carroll's version. These two are similar through attitude and tone. This queen is instantly similar through her main saying, "Off with his head!" Her tone is very loud and passive. She is always heard and is clearly in charge. If something doesn't go her way, and it is not fixed in an instant, then the only logical conclusion to the Queen would be to have someone beheaded.
2) Vice versa, which Queen of Hearts is the least like the one that appears in Chapter 8?
The Queen in Tim Burten's movie is a lot different in this scene then in Carroll's novel. The character when the queen first walks in in Burten's story seems to be a lot more understanding and nice. The characters are similar by the questioning of asking "who is this?" but in the novel the queen seems more abrupt, where as in the movie, she seemed more open to listening and formulating a rational response.
3) Pick one of the two Queen of Hearts we saw today and discussion appropriation. Remember: appropriation means, "to take something and make it your own." What was the creator (either Tim Burton or Walt Disney) taking? What were they making their own? What do you think the creator was trying to accomplish with this version?
I saw more appropriation in the King than I did the Queen when I compared the Disney version and Carroll's novel. In the novel, the King asks about the Cheshire Cat, and is half making decisions himself behind the queen, whereas in the movie, the king is basically the Queen's slave, repeating her orders and doing whatever to please her. I believe Disney decided to make the King have less of a title just to enunciate the importance and cruelty of the Queen.
4) Lastly, why a Queen of Hearts?
I believe that the character is a Queen of Hearts through nonsense and humor. Typically, a king runs a palace, so to have the Queen run the palace is nonsense, especially in this time period. I believe the hearts is for humor purposes, because the queen doesn't have one.
1. To me, the queen in the Disney version seems most similar to the one in the book. For one, she has a bit more of a temper, much like the one in the book, as seen with her shouting "Off with his/her/their head(s)" throughout pages 62-64.
ReplyDelete2. Tim Burton's version seems the least similar to the original story. The most obvious reason being her very large head, which is not mentioned in the text. Her temper also seems a bit more childish, and she is not seen shouting "Off with their heads!" as much as the Disney queen.
3. In terms of appropriation, I think Tim Burton had a very interesting way of designing his Queen of Hearts. As mentioned in the previous question, Burton decided to give his queen a very large head. I believe this was done to make the pun of her shouting "Off with her head!" much more humorous.
4. I think the reason that Carroll made her the Queen of 'Hearts' is meant to be a play on the fact that most people think that a queen is supposed to be adored by her subject. Using 'hearts' as a metaphor for their admiration and respect. However, this is very ironic, because we see multiple times in the adaptations and story, how she is very mean and should lose the love of her subjects.
1, The Queen of Hearts in Disney's adaptation is most like the Queen of Hearts from chapter eight in the novel. She gets angry very easily. For example, on page 62, It says "The Queen turned criticism to fury, and, after glaring at her for a moment like a wild beast, began screaming...". In the movie, the Queen got very irritated at the littlest things and began shouting.
ReplyDelete2. The Queen in Tim Burton's film is most unlike the one in the novel. She is more passive and has a lot more understanding indeed of jumping to conclusions and shouting. When she sees Alice, she asks "who is she" whereas when the Queen saw Alice in the Disney version, she became very angry.
3. I think that Tim Burton's Queen of Hearts was appropriated the most. She has a pretty unique look whereas the Queen in the Disney version looks very similar to the novel illustration. I think Tim Burton wanted a Queen of Hearts that was very recognizable and memorable.
4. A Queen of Hearts because the novel follows the motif of games. A Queen of Hearts is from a regular deck of playing cards.
1) Disney's version of The Queen of Hearts displays a more enthusiastic, sarcastic, yet fearful antagonist that i think Carroll was aiming to describe. The consistent "Off with your/their head!" exclamations keep the scene comical yet tense, as victims are dragged to their fates. The illustration of the Queen made by Tenniel is also very similar to Disney's representation of her: plump and threatening.
ReplyDelete2) Though Tim Burton's version of the Queen of Hearts is still my personal favorite, the movie is made more a more adult audience, and therefore there is less humor put into it, and more to give the feeling that you yourself may lose your head. The Queen's head is made obnoxiously large (which the Hatter makes clear), and her face is as pale as a ghost with makeup.
3) Tim Burton's appropriation of the Queen started with her appearance. He made the queen a dwarf compared to the other characters, expanded her head to the shape of a lightbulb, made her entirely pale, gave her less flamboyant card-related clothing. The King is also made to be what appears to be a foot tall, to express his lack of power compared to the queen.
4) Although I don't know where the idea for the deck-of-cards theme began, the irony of the heart symbol and the Queen's hatred for anyone but herself seems intentional. The deck of cards also provides a clear chain-of-command, where the King and Queen are at the top.
1. I believe the walt disney adaptation was closer. I think this because their demeanor is almost the same in the book and disney version, i.e Very easel angered, but very clumsy and relies heavily on her subjects to make her happy. Also the look of the queen is almost the same in the disney version as the book.
ReplyDelete2. The Tim Burton version of the queen is the most different from the original. I believe this because not only does she look drastically different she also is very intent on finding and killing alice which she was not in the original. In the burton version she is also much more forgiving in the croquette scene because she does not request for anyone to be beheaded.
3. The queen of hearts in walt disney version takes several aspects from the original. One is her unbridled temper, this is important because it is her most prominent feature. In disney version he makes the queen slightly more goofy than the original by making her clumsy and content with winning even though no skill was involved on her part. I think with this version disney was trying to make her still angry and dangerous but a bit more silly and forgiving than the original.
4. I believe that she is a queen mostly because she is a satire of the queen during that era and she is the queen of hearts because it is ironic that she is very heartless and yet is the queen of hearts.
1) Disney's Queen of Hearts is the most like the one that appears in Chapter 8, "The Queen's Croquet Ground." They look very similar: wide, short, wearing a dress, etc. They also are both loud and obnoxious, each demanding, "Off with their heads" (63).
ReplyDelete2) Tim Burton's Queen of Hearts is the least like the one that appears in Chapter 8. She is much less extreme and seems to enjoy Alice's company. She seemed less strict and more calm.
3) Tim Burton was very successful in taking Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and making it his own. The Queen in the original story wouldn't have worked for his version so he changed her character around. He still kept the Queen in the story but he changed her attitude and overall feel.
4) A Queen of Hearts fits the child part of the story greatly. Children often play with cards so it's something they're familiar with and can relate to.
1) The Queen of hearts that is the most alike to the one in the book is Disney version. In page sixty-two just like in the movie the Queen screams "off with her head" but the king says "consider, my dear: she is just a child" she is as intense and hotheaded like in the movie or should I say they make her seem that way in the movie.
ReplyDelete2) The Tim Burton version of the Queen of hearts is the least a like the queen of hearts in the book.The queen in Burton's version seems very indecisive as well as very gullible she let the mad hatter talk her into setting his hand free from the cuffs so he could see what hat would fit her head.The complete opposite of the queen of hearts.
3)Tim Burton was definitely appropriating he took the concept of the book it's self and made it his own.Then he took the queen of hearts and made her completely different than in any other adaptation of any of he movies.She is not loud and doesn't seem as violent as the Disney version is not as hot headed either.
4)They choose a Queen of Hearts because a queen wasn't really someone you saw having all the power back in that century's well as who has a deck of cards as her soldiers.
1) In your opinion, which Queen of Hearts is the most like the one that appears in Chapter 8, "The Queen's Croquet Ground" (60-67)? Please use specific textual evidence.
ReplyDeleteDisney 1951 adaptation of the Queen of Hearts is most like Lewis Carroll's version. When the Queen of Hearts become angry her face turns bright crimson. She would yell "Off with ___ head!" She shrieks a lot, and she only wants situations to go her way. Anybody who is involved with her have to be careful with how they act because she gets easily offended.
2) Vice versa, which Queen of Hearts is the least like the one that appears in Chapter 8?
Tim Burton's Queen of Hearts is least like the original version. Tim Burton made the queen slim, with a big head. She is least similar to Queen Victoria's looks, which is who the original Q of H is based off of. Of, course Tim Burton recreated a whole new wonderland, so pretty much everything is off from the original storyline.
3) Pick one of the two Queen of Hearts we saw today and discussion appropriation. Remember: appropriation means, "to take something and make it your own." What was the creator (either Tim Burton or Walt Disney) taking? What were they making their own? What do you think the creator was trying to accomplish with this version?
Tim Burton appropriated the Queen of Hearts to make it fit with his own story of Alice in Wonderland. He really wanted to show how the croquet scene would happen by adding different emotion to it. The flamingo apologized to the hedge hog during the croquet scene because he feels bad for hitting him. Obviously the Q of H does not. In the Disney Version, everybody just went along with it to make her happy. Burton wanted to show how the Queen of Heart affects everyone around her.
4) Lastly, why a Queen of Hearts?
I believe she's the Queen of Hearts to create humor. She certainly doesn't have one.
1) I think that the Queen of Hearts in the Disney version is the most similar to Carroll's. She looked a lot like the queen in the illustrations, and also had the most similar personality, such as her short temper. Also in the Disney version, they used most of the original dialogue that the Queen used in the book.
ReplyDelete2) I think that Tim Burton's version was least like the original Queen in the book. She seems more coolheaded, and takes Alice in as "her new favorite", whereas in the story the Queen is constantly trying to teach her better manners. Also when looking at the illustrations, the Queen is short and a bit large, but in Tim Burton's version she is very tall and skinny.
3) You definitely see more appropriation through out the Tim Burton movie. He has pretty much taken the original story, and changed it all to be his own. When thinking about these scenes in particular, you can see that he made the most changes to the Queen. Like I said before, she is tall and skinny in his movie. In the other versions, the Queen was made bigger, to represent her power. The only thing large about the Queen in Burton's version is her head. I think that this can still represent her power, because she has given herself a big head from thinking so highly of herself.
4) I think that he chose her to be the Queen of Hearts, because the Queen typically "has the hearts" of all her subjects, because of the way she rules and leads herself. In this case, the Queen of Hearts feels entitled to their loyalty and affections, but doesn't really deserve it. I also think that he chose the Queen of Hearts, because of the playing cards and the nonsense it brings to the story.
1) In your opinion, which Queen of Hearts is the most like the one that appears in Chapter 8, "The Queen's Croquet Ground" (60-67)? Please use specific textual evidence.
ReplyDeleteI think that the queen most similar to the one in the book is queen in the Tim Burton version. She appears small, with a large head, and loves to say "off with your head." She is also very similar in attitude to the queen in the book because she constantly is making drastic decisions and nobody defies her when she speaks.
2) Vice versa, which Queen of Hearts is the least like the one that appears in Chapter 8?
I'd say the the queen in the Disney version is least like the one in the book because she is much larger, and almost seems not as mean or radical with decision making.
3) Pick one of the two Queen of Hearts we saw today and discussion appropriation. Remember: appropriation means, "to take something and make it your own." What was the creator (either Tim Burton or Walt Disney) taking? What were they making their own? What do you think the creator was trying to accomplish with this version?
One thing Burton made his own was the way the queen appeared. In the Burton version her head was very large and that was most likely to
show how highly she thought of herself. In the Disney version she looked much bigger and therefore less like the real Queen Victoria.
4) Lastly, why a Queen of Hearts?
Possibly because the queen consistently says off with your head, and red and hearts are often go along with blood.
1. I believe that the Disney's Queen of Hearts is most like Carroll's Queen of Hearts. I believe that she lives up to the "off with their head" characteristic that Carroll intended. For example, in Disney's version, she blames someone else and beheads them whenever the slightest inconvenience occurs, while Carroll writes, "'Off with their heads!' and the procession moved in, three of the soldiers remaining behind to execute the unfortunate gardeners, who ran to Alice for protection"(p. 63).
ReplyDelete2. The Queen of Hearts in Burton's version is least like Carroll's Queen of Hearts. Of course she was extremely demanding and everyone was afraid of her, but she kept her temper better and executed less people.
3. There was a lot of appropriation in Burton's version of the Queen of Hearts. Firstly, her head was significantly disproportionate to her body, and she wasn't a short person, like Carroll's Queen of Hearts. I think Burton was trying to emphasize the theme of the Queen of Hearts' "off with their heads."
4. I think a Queen of Hearts was chosen to be an ironic title. Because the Queen of Hearts is clearly heartless, Carroll wanted to add to the "nonsense" theme.