Hey there, little "Red Riding Hood" 2/4

The ELC is a very interesting place to visit and view very creative works. I chose to write about "RedRidingHood" by Donna Leishman. I have mixed feelings about this piece--some good and some not so good. I guess the overall concept of the story of red riding hood was called into question, from the beginning, which is probably a good thing. The thing that I found so different from reading an actual book was that I didn't read and I had the chance to participate in the outcome. It was also a more modern rendition of the classic children's story. Red looks kind of bad-ass and she and her mother live in this tall apartment building. You click on the blinking light in order to take Red out and lead her to her grandmother's house.
Along the way, Red meets a boy on a scooter. Obviously he looks like a bad seed. Red keeps walking and sees some flowers. The flowers are all "X"s which to me, would mean, don't touch them. But Red does and they are apparently drugged, as she falls asleep almost immediately. The "reader" is then given the option of letting her dream, or waking her up. If you let her dream, she begins to dream about sperm and eggs, and you keep clicking and eventually it becomes a fetus, then a baby, then grows into a child about Red's age. However, if you wake her up, you see the boy/wolf going to grandmother's house. When Red gets there, she looks as if she knows something isn't right. But then it skips and it shows Red in the bed, but unlike the traditional story, she is not in danger of being eaten by the wolf, but she is pregnant. I believe that this did show another way the story could be interpreted--young girl, doesn't listen to her mother, talks to a "bad boy," one thing leads to another and she ends up pregnant.
Some things that I absolutely did not like in this piece was the dark way in which the story was set. It was no longer the cute little kids story. However, I understand why it is that way. I didn't like that you had to click on something every other minute in order for the story to go on. I give the writer props for keeping the audience engaged and also giving them something to think about, with a little more meaning. Personally, I love to actually open a book and read and I worry that with all of this electronic literature, reading for children will become not as necessary of a skill. That worries me a little bit. But I did find it an interesting version of the story and as an adult, I found that it had a very good moral. I guess I just expected electronic literature to be different-perhaps with a bit more actual reading...but then again, I also didn't really know quite WHAT to expect. I would put this piece in the genre of fiction/children's literature.