The Adventures of What Land? is a comic series that consists of a linear narrative and a variety of branching narratives that contribute to the disruption of the Disney Peter Pan film released in 1953. The practical was a direct response to my theoretical investigation wherein I discovered that the traditional fairy tale contains common issues of exclusion, essentialism, gender expectations, racial othering and enforces normativity. This, I argue, contributes to the single story, which is further perpetuated by its linear narrative. The purpose of this practical body of work explores the possibility of providing a child reader with non-linear, alternative storylines that expand on existing characters that are being excluded and essentialised. By extending narratives in the form of branching comics, I aim to captivate the reader by proposing that the branching narrative method might create less essentialisms as it makes provision for alternative perspectives.
Additional narrative branches include Peter Pan’s story (The Human), Wendy’s story (The Dreamer), Tiger Lily’s story (The Fearless), Tinker Bell’s story (The Misunderstood), the Mermaid’s story (The Heroes) as well as Captain Hook’s story (The Innocent). Each branching narrative questions the constructs that gender and race indicate by providing alternative narratives that achieve equality, inclusion and non-essentialism, so as to possibly neutralise ideologies that each character enforces in the original tale. I have discovered that the interpretation of any single story influences children readers as they are the most vulnerable and impressionable in the face of a story. This opens up a whole new world for a child as the reader, as each character is far more complex than how they are portrayed in the film, which also reflects the complexity and multifaceted ideologies of society in general.
Through my practical exploration, I have discovered that branching narratives offer more complex woven storylines that mirror a variety of layers that construct identity, resulting in multiple perspectives rather than one essentialist belief. The Adventures of What Land? comic series consists of a variety of components such as comic strips, folds, chapbooks and posters. By disrupting the narrative structure together with the essentialised storyline, the reader is encouraged to gain new insights and knowledge through representation, association and the accommodation of more open-ended narratives rather than one single story.
Linear Comic Book
Business Cards
Branching Narratives
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