Adaptations of The Grimm Brothers Tales

It may be interesting reading a novel or watching a movie or show in this time period which seems similar to other things or familiar to the eyes, ears, and memories. Perhaps an archetype or cluster of archetypes was noticed in the entertainment of the modern world. Some and many of these archetypes may originate from the tales collected by the Grimm brothers. Some of the archetypes are based on physical elements of the tale, things of symbolic significance, or similar events or plot structures.

In the Grimm Brother’s collected version of Hansel and Gretel in which Hansel and Gretel get lost in the woods after being abandoned by their parents. The two siblings find a house made of candies, cookies, and breads and approach. A witch approaches the two and invites them in and locks up Hansel and chains Gretel so that she cannot flee but can work, clean, and help to fatten Hansel. Hansel, being aware of the witch’s visual impairment, tricks her into thinking he is not getting fatter. The witch grows impatient and attempts to trick Gretel into half going into the oven, but Gretel tricks the witch into doing so instead and kicks her into the fire, flees with her brother, and comes back with diamonds, gems, and jewelry they had found. The plot structure and archetype is similar to that of the movie The Human Centipede (Tom Six). Two women are driving their car in the rain and all of a sudden it breaks down after they hit something. The road is in a huge shady forest-ish area and the girls walk around looking for a temporary shelter or house. They approach a house and ask for help, and the man questions if they’re tourists. Later, it is revealed that the man is a mad scientist-surgeon who wishes to complete this “human centipede” pro...

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...d shouting his name out out loud. In Demon Detective Neuro Nogami, the impossible task is for Yako to guess Sai’s past, origin, and “inspiration,” which is seemingly not doable since Sai, himself, cannot remember his own past outside of the few months at which his memory is erased from his mind. Yako is able to guess correctly and also saves her life for a bit of time and allows to be saved by Neuro also.

Despite other specific details and differences, archetypes are still used from decades, centuries, and even millenniums. The old is simply reused with slight changes in plot structure, characters, and events. “Matter and Energy cannot be created nor destroyed— only converted or changed in form.” Perhaps it is similar to archetypes, they are not necessarily created from nothing or destroyed completely, only changed or converted into something of similar value.