Coraline and the magic pills
Statement
Adapted in turn from Neil Gaiman’s book of the same name, Coraline is a cartoon movie directed by Henry Selick, first released in the United States on February 5, 2009. It is about a girl named Coraline (voiced by Dakota Fanning) who, while exploring her new home, discovers a secret door, behind which lies an alternate world that closely resembles her own but, in many ways, is better. Or so it seems, until Other Mother (voiced by Teri Hatcher) and the rest of her parallel family try to keep her there forever, by sewing buttons on her eyes . Coraline will eventually use all her resources and bravery to make it back to her own family and life. This is a movie that speaks to very different types of audience: it can be found somewhat amusing by a kid, as much as creepy and very disturbing by grownups; it has, in fact, several angles of interpretation and understanding.
I think that the creepiest and most uncanny message of the movie, the real one, can be grasped only by mature and grown-up people. Starting from the setting, the story takes place in an isolated house complex where Coraline and her family move, inhabited by very weird characters. She feels isolated, her friends still live in her old town, and she receives no attention from her parents. Coraline feels, in fact, somewhat of a misfit in her new home. She is brave, sociable, active, but most of all, she is extremely curious. Moreover, this movie is the glorification of the uncanny, since what is there of more familiar that your own family? And what could be more terrifying than discovering a fake family that seems better than your own, but in reality is evil and eager of sewing buttons on you to seize your soul? This curiosity of her will make her isolate even more from the social context of her new life, eventually leading her towards the other world. Another reason behind his curiosity and need of amusement is, as I mentioned before, the total disinterest shown by her parents, who work all day long and have no time to dedicate to Coraline; moreover, they seem to obstruct her curiosity, thus impeding her to be herself, by never paying attention to her questions and discoveries. The main theme that comes through, by an adult point of view, is how loneliness leads to isolation, and to making very extreme decisions such as finding shelter in a fake and evil parallel reality.
My idea for the adaptation is to turn young and candid Coraline into a teenager, in order to better convey the feeling of daily domestic uneasiness that the original character has. While little girl Coraline reached her shelter, a parallel and better world, through a magic door, my teenager Coraline reaches the same world through pills, given to her by her old friends, that she is more and more eager to take as the days go by. The symbolism behind this choice is the abuse of drugs among teenagers and the reasons that often lead to the consumption of these substances. Clearly, the perks offered by the other world vary a little bit from the original ones, since the age, thus the interest, of teenager Coraline are different from the ones of child Coraline. I really like the setting of the original movie, the sense of creepiness and isolation that it suggests are very significant for the aim of my adaptation. The only character that, besides Coraline, is subjected to a significant change is Wybie Lovat, who was originally a weird guy in her new neighborhood that stalked her around and admired her unique personality. He will become her crush, a guy in her new neighborhood that she immediately falls in love with but that, in the real life, barely talks to her. The topic I want to explore with my adaptation is essentially the original theme of isolation in a domestic world and the search for shelter in something fake and ephemeral, only made more straightforward, contemporary and relatable for today’s teenagers society.
I think that the creepiest and most uncanny message of the movie, the real one, can be grasped only by mature and grown-up people. Starting from the setting, the story takes place in an isolated house complex where Coraline and her family move, inhabited by very weird characters. She feels isolated, her friends still live in her old town, and she receives no attention from her parents. Coraline feels, in fact, somewhat of a misfit in her new home. She is brave, sociable, active, but most of all, she is extremely curious. Moreover, this movie is the glorification of the uncanny, since what is there of more familiar that your own family? And what could be more terrifying than discovering a fake family that seems better than your own, but in reality is evil and eager of sewing buttons on you to seize your soul? This curiosity of her will make her isolate even more from the social context of her new life, eventually leading her towards the other world. Another reason behind his curiosity and need of amusement is, as I mentioned before, the total disinterest shown by her parents, who work all day long and have no time to dedicate to Coraline; moreover, they seem to obstruct her curiosity, thus impeding her to be herself, by never paying attention to her questions and discoveries. The main theme that comes through, by an adult point of view, is how loneliness leads to isolation, and to making very extreme decisions such as finding shelter in a fake and evil parallel reality.
My idea for the adaptation is to turn young and candid Coraline into a teenager, in order to better convey the feeling of daily domestic uneasiness that the original character has. While little girl Coraline reached her shelter, a parallel and better world, through a magic door, my teenager Coraline reaches the same world through pills, given to her by her old friends, that she is more and more eager to take as the days go by. The symbolism behind this choice is the abuse of drugs among teenagers and the reasons that often lead to the consumption of these substances. Clearly, the perks offered by the other world vary a little bit from the original ones, since the age, thus the interest, of teenager Coraline are different from the ones of child Coraline. I really like the setting of the original movie, the sense of creepiness and isolation that it suggests are very significant for the aim of my adaptation. The only character that, besides Coraline, is subjected to a significant change is Wybie Lovat, who was originally a weird guy in her new neighborhood that stalked her around and admired her unique personality. He will become her crush, a guy in her new neighborhood that she immediately falls in love with but that, in the real life, barely talks to her. The topic I want to explore with my adaptation is essentially the original theme of isolation in a domestic world and the search for shelter in something fake and ephemeral, only made more straightforward, contemporary and relatable for today’s teenagers society.
Annoted Bibliography
Henry Selick’s Coraline is a creepy, uncanny movie for children, which explores the topics of loneliness, curiosity and shelter. My idea for the adaptation was to turn little girl Coraline into a teenager, in order to better convey the idea on loneliness and misfitting correlating it with the world of teenagers. From my personal point of view, I did not love the juxtaposition of creepy and scary concepts such as loneliness and misfitting over a character such as little girl Coraline. Turning Coraline into a teenager, will make my work more direct, with very little left to imagination. Instead of a magic door, which is a typical fairy tale element, my Coraline will reach the Other World with pills, one each night, that her friends gave her before she moved. This change is meant to be a connection to the abuse of drugs among teenagers, who often, when abandoned by their families, find shelter in drugs and alcohol. After having taken this pill, she will fall asleep and slowly slide into her parallel perfect world. By changing this few details, I want to highlight very clearly themes that I felt were more hidden in the original work.
Annotated Bibliography
“Coraline and Freud. Distinguishing Being and Semblance”
This online magazine article analyses the correlations between Coraline’s
psychological structure and Freud’s philosophy. As Timofei Gerber points out, the
main connection between the two in certainly the concept of uncanny, which in the
movie shines through very clearly.
“Coraline realizes that this world that she’s discovered, and that was becoming more
and more, as Freud would say, uncanny, is actually fake, artificial: a ‘Small world’”.
The whole article is a thorough analysis of Coraline’s behavior and choices, guided by
the main concepts of children psychology. I thought this article would come in very
helpful in terms of better understanding why little girl Coraline acts the way she does,
in order to better juxtapose her to my teenager Coraline. Reading the article, I noticed
that the Freudian philosophy behind the main character of the movie would be
perfectly applicable to my adaptation: “[...]fabricating daydreams that “serve as the
fulfillment of wishes and as a correction of actual life”.
“And eye for an I: Neil Gaiman’s Coraline and Questions of Identity”
In this University article, the author analyses several fears that Coraline demonstrates
to have throughout the movie. Again, most of them are associated with Freud’s
concept of uncanny, and developed under a psychoanalytic point of view. Starting
from Coraline’s loneliness, to the uneasiness she feels in finding a better, unknown
version of her life. “worry that we will either not be noticed (being invisible and
isolated), or we will be completely consumed by the attention of another” (David
Rudd). “Coraline is centrally concerned with how one negotiates one’s place
in the world; how one is recognised in one’s own right rather than being either ignored
on the one hand, or stifled on the other” (David Rudd). Moreover, while in the original
Neil Gaiman’s book, there is a scene involving the word and the concept of “mist”, in
the movie it is never explicitly brought up, but the audience can notice how in the
Real World most of the outdoor set ups are dark and misty. This natural element serves
as a tool for a significant symbolism for another of Coraline’s insecurities: “she
refusing to be contained by the mist (insisting on her independence) or would she like
to be part of it, having the mist descend and embrace, or envelop her (something the
other mother – see below – offers)?” ( David Rubb).
“Coraline introduction”
In this summary of Coraline, I found a reflective part about the concept of bravery in
the movie, and how significant of a message it sends to the audience. “Coraline is a story of bravery, and according to Coraline herself, being brave is ‘when you're scared but you still do it anyway’ (5.80). Coraline's bravery might be the epic, fairy tale kind: she does fight monsters, after all. Coraline reminds us that we don't need to ride a BMX over a box jump or poke a raccoon with a stick to be brave. Bravery can be a much more everyday occurrence. No matter what it is, if we do it, we'll gain confidence and feel better about ourselves after – just like Coraline did. That's not to say it's easy (and neither was battling the other mother), but that's what makes it worth it” (Shmoop Editorial Team).
Bravery is something that we all need both in childhood and adulthood, we just
perceive it differently as the years go by, and it is certainly a feature that I will include
in my teenager Coraline characterization.
“Dealing With Loneliness In Teens”
This online magazine report is a behavioral insight into the life of a lonely teenagers,
supported by a psychologist that explains the effects. “Research shows that lonely adolescents are more likely to be bullied and feel depressed. And they are at a higher risk for suicide than other teens. The impact can last into adulthood, making loneliness an important public health concern” (Your Teen Magazine Staff).
I wanted to learn more about teenage sense of loneliness and the way it affects social
life and behavior, in order to better characterize my adapted Coraline.
“A 'Coraline' way for child's play: tuner taps eccentric story”
This article talked about another adaptation of the original Coraline book, by Neil
Gaiman. Coraline is a musical written by Stephin Merritt and David Greenspan.
Despite the very faithful plot of the Broadway show, there is one peculiarity of the
production that gets some significant distance from the original masterpiece: the
actress that interprets Coraline is sixty years old. Sam Thielman, the author, reports
Gaiman’s thoughts about it: “There were people who grumbled about how faithful or otherwise the film was; now, I can point to the stage play and say, this is completely faithful to the book. On the other hand, you have to come to terms with a world in which Coraline is played by a 50-year-old lady”.
By reading this article, I wanted to have more information about other Coraline
adaptations and choices made by the adapters.
“Teen drug abuse: bringing the message home”
This article analyzes how drug use, and abuse, has spread among teenagers more in the last few
years than ever before. In touches on the fact that families should be present and involved in the
process of rehabilitation. Moreover, parents and families can prevent their children from starting
to use drugs, “Just by talking to your kids you can decrease drug use probably by about a
third,”(Thomas Gleaton). I thought this article would be useful to give me a specific insight of
the exact numbers and amount of teenagers with a drug addiction in today’s society.
Works Cited
Gaberber, Timofei. “Coraline and Freud. Distinguishing being and Semblance”. Epoché. Epoché, 20 December 2017. https://epochemagazine.org/coraline-and-freud-distinguishing- being-and-semblance-f5b70ccb4a40. Accessed 10 December 2018.
Perry, Patrick. "Teen drug abuse: bringing the message home." Saturday Evening Post, May-
June 1998, p. 16+. General OneFile, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A20642954/ GPS? u=maine&sid=GPS&xid=23ddab08. Accessed 6 Dec. 2018.
Rudd, David. “An Eye for an I: Neil Gaiman’s Coraline and Questions of Identity”. Springerlink. Springer, 17 May 2008. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10583-008-9067-7. Accessed 10 December 2018.
Shmoop Editorial Team. “Coraline”. Shmoop. Shmoop University, 11 November 2008. https://www.shmoop.com/coraline-book/. Accessed 10 December 2018.
Thielman, Sam. "A 'Coraline' way for child's play: tuner taps eccentric story." Variety, 25 May
2009, p. 25+. Business Collection, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A201085761/ GPS? u=maine&sid=GPS&xid=35a1529c. Accessed 6 Dec. 2018.
“Dealing With Loneliness In Teens”. Your Teen Magazine. 29 November 2018. https:// yourteenmag.com/health/teenager-mental-health/dealing-with-loneliness. Accessed 10 December 2018.
Annotated Bibliography
“Coraline and Freud. Distinguishing Being and Semblance”
This online magazine article analyses the correlations between Coraline’s
psychological structure and Freud’s philosophy. As Timofei Gerber points out, the
main connection between the two in certainly the concept of uncanny, which in the
movie shines through very clearly.
“Coraline realizes that this world that she’s discovered, and that was becoming more
and more, as Freud would say, uncanny, is actually fake, artificial: a ‘Small world’”.
The whole article is a thorough analysis of Coraline’s behavior and choices, guided by
the main concepts of children psychology. I thought this article would come in very
helpful in terms of better understanding why little girl Coraline acts the way she does,
in order to better juxtapose her to my teenager Coraline. Reading the article, I noticed
that the Freudian philosophy behind the main character of the movie would be
perfectly applicable to my adaptation: “[...]fabricating daydreams that “serve as the
fulfillment of wishes and as a correction of actual life”.
“And eye for an I: Neil Gaiman’s Coraline and Questions of Identity”
In this University article, the author analyses several fears that Coraline demonstrates
to have throughout the movie. Again, most of them are associated with Freud’s
concept of uncanny, and developed under a psychoanalytic point of view. Starting
from Coraline’s loneliness, to the uneasiness she feels in finding a better, unknown
version of her life. “worry that we will either not be noticed (being invisible and
isolated), or we will be completely consumed by the attention of another” (David
Rudd). “Coraline is centrally concerned with how one negotiates one’s place
in the world; how one is recognised in one’s own right rather than being either ignored
on the one hand, or stifled on the other” (David Rudd). Moreover, while in the original
Neil Gaiman’s book, there is a scene involving the word and the concept of “mist”, in
the movie it is never explicitly brought up, but the audience can notice how in the
Real World most of the outdoor set ups are dark and misty. This natural element serves
as a tool for a significant symbolism for another of Coraline’s insecurities: “she
refusing to be contained by the mist (insisting on her independence) or would she like
to be part of it, having the mist descend and embrace, or envelop her (something the
other mother – see below – offers)?” ( David Rubb).
“Coraline introduction”
In this summary of Coraline, I found a reflective part about the concept of bravery in
the movie, and how significant of a message it sends to the audience. “Coraline is a story of bravery, and according to Coraline herself, being brave is ‘when you're scared but you still do it anyway’ (5.80). Coraline's bravery might be the epic, fairy tale kind: she does fight monsters, after all. Coraline reminds us that we don't need to ride a BMX over a box jump or poke a raccoon with a stick to be brave. Bravery can be a much more everyday occurrence. No matter what it is, if we do it, we'll gain confidence and feel better about ourselves after – just like Coraline did. That's not to say it's easy (and neither was battling the other mother), but that's what makes it worth it” (Shmoop Editorial Team).
Bravery is something that we all need both in childhood and adulthood, we just
perceive it differently as the years go by, and it is certainly a feature that I will include
in my teenager Coraline characterization.
“Dealing With Loneliness In Teens”
This online magazine report is a behavioral insight into the life of a lonely teenagers,
supported by a psychologist that explains the effects. “Research shows that lonely adolescents are more likely to be bullied and feel depressed. And they are at a higher risk for suicide than other teens. The impact can last into adulthood, making loneliness an important public health concern” (Your Teen Magazine Staff).
I wanted to learn more about teenage sense of loneliness and the way it affects social
life and behavior, in order to better characterize my adapted Coraline.
“A 'Coraline' way for child's play: tuner taps eccentric story”
This article talked about another adaptation of the original Coraline book, by Neil
Gaiman. Coraline is a musical written by Stephin Merritt and David Greenspan.
Despite the very faithful plot of the Broadway show, there is one peculiarity of the
production that gets some significant distance from the original masterpiece: the
actress that interprets Coraline is sixty years old. Sam Thielman, the author, reports
Gaiman’s thoughts about it: “There were people who grumbled about how faithful or otherwise the film was; now, I can point to the stage play and say, this is completely faithful to the book. On the other hand, you have to come to terms with a world in which Coraline is played by a 50-year-old lady”.
By reading this article, I wanted to have more information about other Coraline
adaptations and choices made by the adapters.
“Teen drug abuse: bringing the message home”
This article analyzes how drug use, and abuse, has spread among teenagers more in the last few
years than ever before. In touches on the fact that families should be present and involved in the
process of rehabilitation. Moreover, parents and families can prevent their children from starting
to use drugs, “Just by talking to your kids you can decrease drug use probably by about a
third,”(Thomas Gleaton). I thought this article would be useful to give me a specific insight of
the exact numbers and amount of teenagers with a drug addiction in today’s society.
Works Cited
Gaberber, Timofei. “Coraline and Freud. Distinguishing being and Semblance”. Epoché. Epoché, 20 December 2017. https://epochemagazine.org/coraline-and-freud-distinguishing- being-and-semblance-f5b70ccb4a40. Accessed 10 December 2018.
Perry, Patrick. "Teen drug abuse: bringing the message home." Saturday Evening Post, May-
June 1998, p. 16+. General OneFile, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A20642954/ GPS? u=maine&sid=GPS&xid=23ddab08. Accessed 6 Dec. 2018.
Rudd, David. “An Eye for an I: Neil Gaiman’s Coraline and Questions of Identity”. Springerlink. Springer, 17 May 2008. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10583-008-9067-7. Accessed 10 December 2018.
Shmoop Editorial Team. “Coraline”. Shmoop. Shmoop University, 11 November 2008. https://www.shmoop.com/coraline-book/. Accessed 10 December 2018.
Thielman, Sam. "A 'Coraline' way for child's play: tuner taps eccentric story." Variety, 25 May
2009, p. 25+. Business Collection, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A201085761/ GPS? u=maine&sid=GPS&xid=35a1529c. Accessed 6 Dec. 2018.
“Dealing With Loneliness In Teens”. Your Teen Magazine. 29 November 2018. https:// yourteenmag.com/health/teenager-mental-health/dealing-with-loneliness. Accessed 10 December 2018.