This program is an innovative fusion of folktales and courtroom drama. It imagines putting the famous characters that children know on trial. The theme of the first episode is the tale of the three little pigs. In the folktale, the wrongdoer is the wolf who comes to eat the pigs. But in this program, the defendant is the youngest pig. He is on trial for murder because he caught the wolf (who had come down the chimney) in a cauldron of boiling water and slammed the lid on. This setup denies the prejudice of the folktale right from the beginning. Did the little pig act in legitimate self-defence, or did he commit a premeditated crime? As children watch the defendant, prosecutor, lawyers, and witnesses play their parts in the trial, they ponder whether the defendant is innocent or guilty. The program does not give a verdict. Children watching must put themselves in the position of lay judges and decide the verdict for themselves. The program is designed to help kids learn how to read people’s feelings, examine things from various angles, and express their ideas properly and accurately in discussions.
- Tags
-