Week 2: Prompt 1: The Modernizing of Hansel & Gretel (A Fairytale)

Prompt: Thinking about the discussion of Hansel & Gretel today, how would you make the story more meaningful for millennials?  Be sure to give specific examples.

Being that I am not a millennial, I am not sure how I would change the modern adaptation.  It seems modern enough.  But, here’s my attempt at making it meaningful to the youngins’.

First, I would take it out of the woods.  I would put it in a modern metropolitan area.  Then, I would have the parents drive them to the country, and leave them there.  This would probably make it almost impossible for the children to get back because they may not be able to get back to the city.  That might defeat the whole purpose of the story.

Instead of dropping something to leave a trail of M&Ms or bread crumbs as referenced in the original story, I would have the kids take pictures of the various landmarks.  That would be more effective in getting them home.

I would have them walk for a few miles until they found a farmhouse, where the lady of the house welcomed them in with open arms because she was lonely, and wanted companionship.  She would feed them, then treat them well, lulling them into a false sense of security before she puts them to work as farmhands.  Of course, the man of the house would come in and crack the whip.

The kids would eventually grow tired of the hard work, and then steal the farmer’s truck, and drive home using the pictures they took as their parents drove them to the country.  They would come back home with a new appreciation for what they have, and what their parents gave them.  They would go to college, and become productive citizens, learning the lesson to be appreciate and work for what you have.

But knowing millenials as I do, if they were allowed to keep their cell phones, they could just call an Uber or Lyft, and get back home.  Yes, this would not teach them a lesson, as a fairytale is supposed to, but they use their resources.

Works Cited
“Hansel and Gretel: A Modern Adaptation.” Rhetoric and Civic Life, Penn State University, 26 Sept. 2013, sites.psu.edu/rclsen/2013/09/26/hansel-and-gretel-a-modern-adaptation/.