Kat with a K

Should Red Riding Hood Be Her Own Wolf?

Honestly, I am so excited for this movie. There's a new, longer trailer:

And Alyssa points out that based on these trailers, it's (almost) perfectly plausible that Red Riding herself is the wolf. (I say almost because it appears that there are a few scenes in which Seyfried sees the wolf.) I'm torn, because that would be a fascinating take, and I'd be really impressed if they did something so daring. But I also like the traditional symbolism of the wolf as the combined danger and appeal of sexual awakening. Which, sure, it could also be if it were Seyfried herself, but I'd almost rather they directly take on the idea of girls being told to think of men they like as dangerous monsters. Underlying this discussion, of course, is the fact that director Catherine Hardwicke also directed Twilight, and we all want her to use Red Riding Hood either to somehow repudiate Twilight or to at least show some sort of movement in her portrayal of adolescent girls and sexuality. In Twilight, men are literal monsters who will choose to make themselves utterly safe if and only if they are provided with a pure, innocent empty vessel worthy of adoration and protection but not agency. In Red Riding Hood, I think it would be enough growth if the wolf would just stay complicated and a little dangerous and the girl grow up to be mature and complex enough to meet him as a real partner.

Obviously Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs is essential listening here:

As are a few songs from Into the Woods:

And "I Know Things Now" wouldn't embed, but here it is. "And though scary is exciting, nice is different than good. . . . Isn't it nice to know a lot? And a little bit not."