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Fairy tales and their movie counterparts have, for decades, been a means of socialising children and audiences regarding gender (e.g., Shewmaker, 2015; Whitley, 2013). Specifically, Disney movies that portray fairy tales have strongly influenced how young children learn gender roles and gendered behaviours, yet deeper examination is needed of how Disney portrayals of masculinities have evolved among these films and across character type to understand how Disney may be reflecting or impacting dominant representations of masculinity that privilege certain identities and characteristics over others (Brode, 2016). While previous work has examined Pixar films as socio-culturally meaningful for representations of boyhood that remain grounded in traditional, hegemonic notions of masculinity (Wooden & Gillam, 2014), this chapter adds to the body of work by employing a critical content analysis of Disney films from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to Disney's most recent addition of Strange World to answer the questions about how masculinities are portrayed. Through answering these questions of evolved representation throughout close to a century amount of work, we contribute to scholarship that attempts to understand media influences on boyhood culture, which is considered in crisis due to overemphasised representations of powerful, strong male characters that hide their emotions (Brode, 2016; Wooden & Gillam, 2014).

Fairy tale narratives have placed significant emphasis on depicting female and male protagonists through a binary understanding of gender roles. Major male characters are portrayed with traits associated with hegemonic masculinity, reinforcing concepts that uplift masculine superiority, such as independence, exercise of power, authority, and strength. Conversely, female protagonists are often represented in ways that emphasise hegemonic femininity, aiming to disempower and marginalise them by highlighting traditional feminine traits like passivity, dependence, and helplessness. Any female characters deviating from these norms and depicted as powerful and dominant are positioned as villains in relation to the main female protagonist, embodying non-hegemonic feminine characteristics.

The representation of women in these ways primarily serves one purpose: to uphold masculine superiority. Hegemonic femininity portrays women as damsels in distress, awaiting rescue. On the other hand, non-hegemonic femininity manifests through villainous women performing antagonistic acts towards conforming female protagonists, thus forcing them into a helpless position. This is the critical juncture where the main male protagonists' step in – rescuing the helpless female protagonists and defeating the female villains – reinforcing masculine values in both scenarios.

However, the 21st century fairy tale narratives have challenged this ideology. I argue that recent fairy tale narratives have adopted the technique of ‘Feminist Quest Heroine’ to challenge and deconstruct male characters' heroism through the re-portrayal of female and male characters. The selected fairy tale narratives include Frozen (2013) and a comparative analysis of Sleeping Beauty (1959) and its cinematic adaptation Maleficent (2014). The findings suggest that these fairy tales rework the representation of male characters in three ways: the application of post-feminist masculinity, the modification of heteronormative temporality, and the prominence of sisterhood upon the critique of patriarchy.

This chapter examines two 21st-century Disney fairy tale adaptations, Frozen (2013) and its sequel Frozen II (2019), focussing on the representation of male characters and the discourse on masculinity that can be inferred from both films.

Despite featuring two prominent female protagonists – Queen Elsa and Princess Anna – and dealing with themes such as sisterhood and female bonding, a close reading of the two films reveals that they are as much about masculinity as they are about femininity. For instance, filmmakers introduce heterosexual romance where there was none before, as well as male characters Prince Hans and Kristoff, who are not present in the literary source that they draw from, Hans Christian Andersen's ‘The Snow Queen’ (1844).

Furthermore, these male characters are given names, personalities, and motivations, which cannot be said of previous Disney fairy tale Prince Charming-type figures. Therefore, Hans and Kristoff are proposed to be variations of this archetype and can be read as an attempt on Disney's part to complicate it, undermine the patriarchal masculinity that it stood for in its previous Disney renderings, and propose alternative models for the implied 21st-century audience.

Although Prince Hans is initially presented as a stereotypical Disney fairy tale prince, he is eventually revealed to be a narcissistic lover and a patriarchal villain. Kristoff, by contrast, is the humble, lower-class, sensitive ‘new’ man who is presented as a socially acceptable alternative and finally takes Prince Charming's place by becoming the princess's love interest and partner. Frozen can be read as a cautionary tale that urges young women to choose their romantic (male) partners wisely and warns both male and female audiences against the dangers of fragile patriarchal masculinity.

The purpose of this conceptual article is to examine the role of villainification and heroification in social studies through critically analyzing the author’s place-based encounters with three civil war narratives.

The article describes the author’s critical reflections on three narratives involving confederate figures and examines theoretical and pedagogical implications.

The article introduces a spectrum of ethical judgments which plots villainification and heroification on opposing ends. The author advocates for more nuanced ethical judgments that contextualize decisions as understandable or defensible based on evidence. The term understandable reflects a concept of being able to explain (i.e. demonstrate understanding) why a curricular figure made certain choices without agreeing with or supporting those choices. The term defensible denotes the existence of evidence that provides a rationale for a choice such that the person making the ethical judgment would feel comfortable making (i.e. defending) the same choice.

The article introduces a theory of nuanced ethical judgments in social studies that maps onto existing literature on heroification, villainification and place-based education. Pedagogical implications for social studies education are also identified.

The breadth of research and study on the topic of fairy tales is rich and abundant. However, there exists a gap in the research of the genre where it pertains to the meticulous study of male fairy tale.

The character Hook has enjoyed some status in film including the notable portrayal by Dustin Hoffman in the 1991 film (Spielberg, 1991), this character relied heavily on traditional fairy tale tropes and depicted little in the way of character evolution or progression. Nevertheless, a more progressive and complex version of Hook was depicted in the Once Upon A Time series (2011–2018). This version of the character enjoys not only an extended and complex narrative journey but comprises several layers of nuanced character construction that implores a contemporary exploration thereof.

While Vladimir Propp's dramatis personae stands as, likely, the most prominent model for the study of fairy tales, its comprehensiveness can be called into question when applied to contemporary fairy tale characters. For example, whereas previously the female fairy tale character was confined to the role of damsel in distress, contemporary versions display substantial development in this area. And as illustrated through the complexity of Once Upon A Time's Captain Hook this is not, in contemporary times, confined only to the female character. Consequently, this chapter adapts the Looking Glass paradigm and utilises what the author has termed the Looking Glass Masculinity Matrix as an evaluative tool to unpack the contemporary representation, in line with current societal ideals and/or values.

In fairy tales, male heroes typically come from royalty and villains are categorised as pirates, evil Kings, various animal and supernatural creatures, for example, Scar, the Beast, Rumpelstiltskin, and Bluebeard. In Pirates of the Caribbean (2003), Captain Jack Sparrow lacks the villainous qualities that come from Disney's predecessor, Captain Hook. However, Jack does not possess the classic qualities of a prince. He tries to be heroic when he rescues Elizabeth Swann but turns on her to excel in his own motives. With beads in his hair, his eyes lined with kohl, and a love for accessories, Jack's appearance distorts traditional notions of masculinity. In Alice in Wonderland (2010), Tarrant Hightopp (Mad Hatter) is an untraditional character who has become detached from reality.

His madness, which is evident through his clothes, speech, and actions, comes from the destruction of his family. Jack and Hatter invert the expected order of things, ‘Now up is down’ (Verbinski, 2007). Their hats appear to be symbols of their obscure masculinity. Although they are both played by Johnny Depp, the Hatter and Captain Jack Sparrow possess unconventional male attributes which make them unlikely heroic characters. They offer a fluid perspective on the ever-changing aspects of masculinity. Unconventionality is becoming increasingly popular in Disney works. Therefore, this chapter aims to analyse two non-traditional male fairy tale characters with an emphasis on their fashion choices, lack of true love endeavours and unconventional heroic actions.

The modern fairy tale hero identity falls into a general spectrum of tropes that spans from the charming prince who seals the fate of the beautiful princess with a kiss to borderline villains with little break in this spectrum. The Witcher's Geralt of Rivia brings to light an often overlooked hero's identity by representing neither ends of this heroic spectrum but rather a different breed of hero entirely. We argue that Geralt of Rivia differs from the typical representation of the fairy tale hero by embodying the spirit of the Huntsman archetype as depicted in stories such as Snow White and Little Red Riding Hood.

This creates a new means of exploring fairy tales as genres by giving perspective to the bloodier, messier sides of these tales which have since deviated from their darker origins. Geralt exists as neither hero nor antihero, but rather a sword-for-hire who cleans up messes that ‘heroes’ otherwise cannot or will not handle themselves. Across his depictions in the books, games, and show, Geralt involves himself as a witcher; hunter of monsters. Geralt's method in overcoming this style of quest is unlike the usual hero. Standing in for the Huntsman, Geralt understands the nature and balance of man and beast and carries this responsibility while looking to accomplish his goals. In this chapter, we seek to document and bring to light this underrepresented style of hero that the witcher has to offer to show that such a hero needs not be black nor white.

Dark (Netflix, 2017–2020) is a German-produced science fiction television series, created by Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese. Set in the geographically ambiguous small town of Winden, Dark is an intricate time-travel saga primarily across different epochs. With its emphasis on uncanny natural settings and fairy tale tropes (such as lost children, mysterious travelers, magical devices, etc.), Dark can easily be interpreted as fairy tale. Central is young Jonas Kahnwald who loses his father and witnesses the mysterious disappearance of a local boy. These traumas lead to shocking truths about his heritage. Jonas is the hero (both victim and seeker, after Propp's definition) though his twisting quest brings him face-to-face with two older versions of himself: The middle-aged Jonas fulfils a mentor/donor role for the younger but is conflicted in his desires to both perpetuate and unpick ‘the knot’. Later, Jonas encounters cataclysmic extremist ‘Adam’, a mature version of himself who acts as antagonist. Thusly, Dark centres White male trauma, agency, and ego to reflect responses to historic cultural trauma (such as the notion of the ‘anti-Heimat’) whilst also critiquing traditional conceptions of masculinity through young Jonas's actions. This chapter maps the interplay and representation of ego and trauma. Through textual analysis and with reference to relevant cultural, psychological, and philosophical scholarship, my exploration follows the threads of what Dark communicates about contemporary German masculinity in the face of trauma and how it reflects Western, White cultural thinking about the self.

Generative artificial intelligence (GAI) has seen exponential growth in recent years due to its capability to generate original content through natural language processing and comprehensive language models. This paper aims to investigate the transformative impact of GAI on higher education, focusing on the evolving roles of faculty in the classroom.

Using a phenomenological perspective and a process approach, the study involved 25 semi-structured interviews with academicians in higher education.

The findings reveal that GAI currently creates biased and commercially driven learning environments, challenging traditional pedagogical models. Despite its potential for enhancing education, the autonomous nature of GAI often prioritizes commercial interests over pedagogical goals.

The study is limited to faculty perspectives, suggesting future research should include student viewpoints and diverse educational contexts.

The study highlights the need for higher education institutions to develop comprehensive policies, provide training for faculty and students and design new courses that leverage GAI for personalized learning experiences and enhanced faculty research.

This paper contributes to the emerging literature on GAI’s impact on education, highlighting its dual nature as both a transformative tool and a potential threat to traditional educational roles and outcomes.