Presenter: Andrea Cueva
Faculty Mentor: Sheila Rabun, Rachel Branson
Presentation Type: Oral
Primary Research Area: Humanities
Major: Folklore
In an exploration of fairytale literature, my research examines and evaluates how the widely overlooked portal motif in fairytales in fact plays a role in our daily lives—lives that function in a strictly social reality, not a magical one. The use of portals in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, by J.K. Rowling, leaves readers with a sense of longing for a more magical world, and a disappointment in our, by comparison, non-magical reality. Similarly, the use of modern day portals that provide us with access to other realities, such as the internet, can have detrimental effects on perception and unfulfilled expectations. Specifically, a study on Facebook has found that using Facebook consistently compromises a person’s “inherent well-being,” directly referring to their mental state. Because we compare our very in-depth and complicated lives to another person’s highlight reel on Facebook, young adults specifically are especially vulnerable to this degradation of mental well-being from longing for something more, and when they don’t seem to find it walk away feeling unfulfilled instead. Building on the research of Jack Zipes’ Why Do Fairy Tales Stick, I discuss the ethical choices an author has to make when writing a piece that is designed to be absorbed en masse, such as the Harry Potter franchise.