Milica Popovic

Legends are Lessons, They Ring with Truths: The Modern Myth of Scotland in Disney’s Brave

The aim of this paper is to discuss the adaptation and appropriation of Scottish mythology and culture exhibited in Disney’s feature film Brave (2012), with a particular focus on the film’s depiction of Scotland and its feminist storytelling based on folklore, fakelore and modern culture. The paper shall analyze the image of Scotland that Brave presents to its target audience, its place and influence in pop-culture and children’s media, its multifaceted protagonist Merida, and her coming of age story which is closely tied to feminist Scottish narrative traditions.

This paper is a part of the PhD research conducted at the University of Iceland under the supervision of Dr Ingibjörg Ágústsdóttir. The main aim of the dissertation is to bridge the existing gap in academic research of children’s storytelling based on Scottish and Gaelic folklore, with a particular focus on cultural appropriations and adaptations. The thesis is to analyze transformations of storytelling, the historical background of myths and legends used in works of popular culture adapting Scottish and Gaelic folklore, and the important role of myth in the future of children’s storytelling.

Milica Popovic, University of Iceland, Iceland