FROM FOLKLORE TO SCREEN: TRANSFORMATION OF VALUE NARRATIVES IN A FOLK TALE (BASED ON THE FOLK TALE ANAHIT BY GHAZAROS AGAYAN)

Abstract

The paper examines the transformation of a literary text into a media text through the example of the the Armenian folk tale Anahit by Ghazaros Aghayan. The study explores various forms of folk tales — from its folkloric origins to its screen adaptation — by analyzing narrative structures, layers of meaning, socio-cultural influences, and technological contexts. Through a close examination of the folkloric versions of the tale (ATU 888A*) and their literary developments, the paper traces the plot and ideological transformations the story underwent as it evolved from folk to a literary work, culminating in Anahit (2014) the most notable and widely viewed cartoon of Armenian’s post-independence era. The research attempts to identify the auditory, visual, and semantic transformations of the original texts, as well as changes in value-based narratives in the process of screen adaptation. In the cartoon, complex semantic structures are simplified, and moral values such as diligence and spirituality acquire an entertaining function tailored to a mass audience. At the same time, this adaptation balances ethno-cultural identity and the demands for entertainment. As a result, the cartoon standardizes the literary version of the folk tale, liberalizing its value narratives and transforming the author’s work into a universal media text.