asserting an argument about each primary text: Andersen’s The Little Mermaid book, Disney’s The Little Mermaid film, and Miyazaki’s Ponyo film. CLAIM about what each text means (also called an ARGUMENT or a THESIS), and provide nuanced close-readings of specific examples from each text to support your claims. bring in one of the ideas from (Hutcheon’s “Beginning to Theorize Adaptation”) and explain how that principle or concept applies to an analysis of the primary texts.
All three versions of The Little Mermaid feature young girls choosing to leave their families and risk their lives to win the love of boys they barely know. Compare/contrast the way that Andersen’s text, Disney’s film (dir. Clements & Musker), and Miyazaki’s film treat the motif of the girl making great sacrifices for a boy—especially considering the extremely different outcomes in the three versions. What does each text suggest is true about how and for whom young girls should perform their sexual and/or romantic societal roles? Do the texts have similar or different messages about (hetero)-sexuality and/or women’s sexual identities? How do the differences in these three versions create different messages about how young girls should behave and perform their sexual identities?