Friday, January 26, 2018

Topic Brainstorm

Topic Idea #1: Dogs

I picked this topic because I really love dogs! I have a dog at my parents house,  but I don't have one in Norman with me so anytime I see someone else's dog I have to  pet it! I also have a lot of experience with dogs as I've always had one in the house growing up.  There are lots folklore stories that involve dogs including Aesop's Fables, as well as long lists of mythological dogs.   Some mythological dogs that interest me are the idea of the "black dog".  A symbol that can be used for many things, usually the image of a black dog is seen as eerie or as a bad omen, but I think it would be fun to tell a story about a misunderstood black dog who is the complete opposite of that and told from his perspective.  I also enjoyed the idea of the Chinese zodiac calendar that cycles through different animals every 12 years.  So, every 12 years there is the year of the dog, and I think this could be a good idea for a story plot!

Not so mean after-all: A misunderstood black dog

Links: The zodiac Dog
Black Dogs 
Aesop's Fables 



Topic Idea #2: The nutcracker

I had a difficult time finding sources about The Nutcracker in our sites that were provided but with a little extra researching, I was able to find some good stuff! Going to see the Nutcracker is a yearly tradition for me around Christmas time, as well as when I was younger I danced in Tulsa Ballet's version for 6 years as a soldier and a party scene girl, and in high school I danced the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy in a children's ballet company.  Needless to say, it is near and dear to my heart. Everything about it, the story line, the magical settings, the music, all brings me goose bumps.  I think it would be really fun to retell the story of the Nutcracker, maybe from the perspective of the evil mouse king.  Everyone has their side to the story right? Or simply tell the back story of one of the main characters.  This idea of retelling this famous story with a twist is very exciting!

The Nutcracker. Web Source. 

Links: The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker and the Mouse King
No Sugar Plums: The Dark roots of the Nutcracker
Nutcracker and Mouse King



Topic Idea #3: The Wizard of Oz

I know this topic has been done a lot in the past but I can't help but be interested in doing it myself! When I was browsing though past projects in a previous assignment, projects done with the inspiration of The Wizard of Oz really peaked my interest and were ones that I enjoyed the most.  Not only is the whimsical story line, characters, and setting just fun- it also has an unlimited potential in how the story can be retold.  Some ideas that came to me while I was researching were telling the back stories of certain characters.  I also found that the original book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is not the only book in the series! There are books about the scarecrow, tin man, Glinda and many more! I think with these resources I would be able to create an entirely new story while still including the original story line. 

The original book- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.  

Links: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz 
The Road to Oz
The Scarecrow of Oz
The Tin Woodman of Oz
Glinda of Oz


Topic Idea 4: Witches

The idea of witches intrigues me because there are so many kinds! Good witches, bad witches, witches from fairy tales, real "witches throughout history such as the Salem witch trials and so on.  I am not 100% sure what route I would want to take with this topic however some ideas would be to tell the stories of multiple witches, retell the history of the Salem witch trials (possibly one real witch making everyone believe that innocent women are witches), or a "good witch" disguised as a "bad witch" and vise versa. 

Links: Myths and Legends of Our Own Land- 4: Tales of Puritan Land
The Witches who Were Mice at Night 


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