Daniel Frederick Digital Portfolio
Plot Synopsis
Merida (Kelly Macdonald), the impetuous but courageous daughter of Scottish King Fergus (Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson), is a skilled archer who wants to carve out her own path in life. Her defiance of an age-old tradition angers the Highland lords and leads to chaos in the kingdom. Merida seeks help from an eccentric witch (Julie Walters), who grants her an ill-fated wish. Now, Merida must discover the true meaning of courage and undo a beastly curse before it's too late.
Source - Wikipedia
Ruskin
Changefulness
“... if, as in Gothic work, there is perpetual change in both design and execution, the workman must have been altogether set free” (XXVI).
Merida’s quest for freedom is more personal than in regards to national identity, and what little violence there may be in the movie is dulled way down to suit an audience of children. While this is a recreation in a general sense, it inherits most of all the sentiments of Wallace from Braveheart. It’s execution, on the other hand, is vastly different. It was created for a different purpose; instead of letting the audience apply Wallace’s quest for freedom to what they will or leaving it as a semi-accurate recreation of actual history, Brave applies the sentiments of the time towards its vastly different purpose of empowering young girls.
Eco
Philological reconstruction
“This philological attitude can be applied either to great historical events or to the imperceptibility of underlying social and technological structures, and to the forms of everyday life” (p. 71).
Reconstruction of Braveheart to fit slightly different audience (children).
Braveheart