@article{
author = "Baković, Krinka",
year = "2023",
abstract = "U radu se razmatra integrativna moć rekreiranja različitih folklornih motiva
u popularnoj i nagrađivanoj video-igri poljskog studija CD Projekt Red – The Witcher
3: Wild Hunt (2015). Počivajući na osnovama literarnog serijala o pustolovinama vešca Geralta iz Rivije, proslavljenog pisca Andžeja Sapkovskog, u video-igri dominiraju
elementi folklora slovenskih naroda koji su – u skladu sa opštim tendencijama pripovedanja svojstvenih epskoj fantastici – isprepletani sa sličnim motivima iz drugih
(evropskih) tradicija. Premda je video-igra obimna, a njen narativ kompleksan, posebna pažnja će biti posvećena jednoj fantastičnoj pojavi. To su Gospodarice Šume
(The Ladies of The Wood), tri sestre-veštice, koje zauzimaju važno mesto u prvom
aktu igre. Upotrebom koncepta folkloreske (folkloresque) kao heruističkog oruđa za
razumevanje dinamičnog odnosa između folklora i popularno-kulturnih proizvoda,
koji su skovali folkloristi Majkl Dilan Foster i Džefri Tolbert, u radu ću mapirati poznate folklorne motive na kojima počivaju deskripcija, uloga i funkcija Gospodarica
Šume, te ću ukazati na njihov integrativni karakter. Vodeći se datim primerom, cilj
rada je razumevanje načina na koji video-igre rekreiraju folklorne aspekte i prilagođavaju se savremenim društvenim i kulturnim tokovima., The paper discusses the integrative power of recreating various folkloric
motifs in the popular and awarded video game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (CD Project Red 2015). Based on the famous high fantasy literary series of the Polish writer
Andzej Sapkowski, this video game is dominated by Slavic folklore elements. These
elements are intertwined with similar motifs from other (European) traditions, in
accordance with the general tendencies of storytelling typical of high fantasy narratives. Although the video game is extensive and its narrative complex, particular attention is dedicated to one fantasy phenomenon ‒ three witchy sisters known as The
Ladies of the Wood.
Using the concept of folkloresque as a heuristic tool for the understanding of
the dynamic relationship between folklore and popular culture, the paper focuses on
the integrative form of this concept, which is understood as an amalgamative process within which popular fiction consumes folklore, separating its elemental components and composing them into a product that retains its connection to the previous
content (Foster & Tolbert 2016). According to the given explanation, The Ladies of
the Wood in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt video game are an amalgam of the Eastern European folktales about Baba Yaga, Grimm’s folktale about Hansel and Gretel, various
traditional beliefs about fate demons, the witch in Slavic and Balkan traditions, and
the beliefs about the Great Goddess of fertility from various polytheistic pantheons,
popularized thanks to the neopagan Wicca movements during the 20th century.
In popular culture, folklore is constituted as a kind of Frankenstein’s monster, a “cyborg” that is formed of a series of thoughtfully borrowed existing aspects
in order to revive the “body” through a creative selection of segments which can be
attributed a potential folkloric value. In this way, video games nurture folklore riched with elements from different traditions that, with their integrative power, constitute the boundaries of a new space for reflection about the existing myths, legends, fairy tales, and also contribute to the understanding of their transformation and
adaptation to socio-cultural changes and the needs of contemporary society.
Thus, the permeation of the motifs belonging to different traditions in the given case can be understood as ambiguous: on the one hand, it contributes to perceiving the creation as an independent product that has a potential folkloric value; on
the other hand, it can serve as a place of compression, appreciation, and mediation
of different influences and multicultural elements in the context of the popular culture “global arena.",
publisher = "Београд : Удружење фолклориста Србије, Београд : Универзитет, Филолошки факултет, Београд : Универзитетска библиотека "Светозар Марковић"",
journal = "Фолклористика: часопис Удружења фолклориста Србије / Folkloristika: Journal of the Serbian Folklore Association",
title = "O jednoj strašnoj priči za nestašnu decu: rekreiranje folklornih motiva u video-igri The Wicher 3: Wild Hunt na primeru fantastičnih bića Gospodarice Šume, Of a Scary Tale for Naughty Children: Recreating Folkloric Motifs in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Video Game ‒ The Example of Fantasy Creatures The Ladies of the Wood",
pages = "143-158",
volume = "8",
number = "1-2",
doi = "10.18485/folk.2023.8.1_2.7",
url = "https://hdl.handle.net/21.15107/rcub_dais_16370"
}
