Contrary to what modern audiences might think, Thurber's parody is not necessarily also the Trope Maker: among the many traditional folktales of the Red Riding Hood family, there are many in which the heroine escapes from danger by her own wits, and some in which the villain dies. The Trope Codifier is James Thurber's "The Little Girl and the Wolf" (1939), in which the titular character blows the wolf away with an automatic gun she carries in her basket. Any "updated" version of the character who is shown to be capable of taking care of herself is valid. Note that, despite the title, Red does not have to be an Action Girl to qualify as this trope. If she says "What big eyes you have" it will be a Pre-Mortem One-Liner right before putting one right between said eyes.Ī more subtle version simply has a young woman entering a dangerous situation dressed in a red jacket, seemingly to invoke Little Dead Riding Hood, only to then subvert it by revealing her toughness. This variant will feature a teenage or adult Red, who will naturally be Hotter and Sexier, making her double as a Lady in Red. This updated version will almost always be named "Red."Ī popular, Grimmified variant is to give her a gun, an axe or some other weapon and have her hunt down the "wolf" (Who may or may not be a literal wolf) herself. Modern versions of " Little Red Riding Hood" tend to have a feminist vibe, making her tough, streetwise, and able to take care of herself, thank you very much. However, given the popularity of the Fractured Fairy Tale, it was inevitable that this story would recieve modern updates. The story has become so ingrained into Western culture that any time we see a little girl dressed in a red hooded coat on television, it is reasonable to expect that something terrible is going to happen to her. In her commonly known fairy tale incarnations, Little Red Riding Hood was a naive, helpless little girl who was at the mercy of a vicious predator. "The Little Girl and the Wolf" by James Thurber
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