Document Type
Thesis
Degree
Bachelor of Arts in English
Advisor
Margaret Case, Ph.D.
Abstract
ABC’s television show Once Upon a Time (2011-present) blurs the distinction between fiction and reality, which is both the entertaining premise and the subtle yet powerful conceptual foundation of the show. Drawing on popular culture theory, Bruno Bettelheim and J.R.R. Tolkien’s definitions of fairytales/fantasy, the psychology of defense mechanisms, new critical close reading, and deconstructionism’s insights into false binaries, this thesis will argue that Once Upon a Time demonstrates a depth of complexity that transcends its ostensibly simple status as popular culture.
Recommended Citation
Danielle, Reagan, "Once Upon a Time: Breaking the Binary between Fiction and Reality" (2012). English Theses. 81.
https://docs.rwu.edu/english_theses/81
