User blog:The Bespectacled Guy/RWBY / Fresh Prince Connection?

The 'Fresh' Connection
Right, here we go...

So, recently, Kerry posted a picture on Twitter that displayed some of the things he considered to have inspired the events of RWBY.

pic.twitter.com/eOD5H1MrMo

The picture depicts three items: a book of Grimm's Fairy Tales, and two DVDs: Seasons 1 and 2 of hit '90s TV show The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air.

The connection between the fairytale world and RWBY has already been established, showing in the design of the characters (and, to an extent, the environments in which they find themselves). For example, Ruby is fairly blatantly inspired by Little Red Riding Hood, the fact that Weiss Schnee is German for 'White Snow' is a pretty big give-away, and the lines in Red Like Roses, 'Black the beast' (Beauty & the Beast?) and 'Yellow beauty burns gold' (Rapunzel or Sleeping Beauty?).

But what about the link with The Fresh Prince?

For all of you not in 'the know', here is a brief summary of the plot of The Fresh Prince (henceforth TFP).

(ahem)

In a tale not too dissimilar to the Jane Austen novel Mansfield Park, TFP stars a teenage boy from Philadelphia in the USA who, after getting into a fight with some troublemakers, is sent to live with his wealthy aunt and uncle in Bel-Air, California. The lead role, incidentally, is played by Will Smith and called, imaginatively, 'Will Smith'.

The show features many colourful and funny characters, such as the titular character and protagonist who isn't used to living a privileged life in upper-class society; his cousin Carlton (calm but uncool, disapproving of Will's 'freshness'); another cousin, Hillary ("Daddy! I need $500 so I can go shopping!"); and the pompous, over-worked butler Geoffrey.

So, what does this have to do with a mystical, fantastical, almost dream-like world of RWBY?

The Grimms Brothers' influence on RWBY is, as I said, glimpsed in the design of both the characters and the world. So, I conclude that the hallmarks of TFP must come in elsewhere, and I have two suggestions as to where it may have been incorporated.

Firstly, the storyline of the show may mirror TFP (I shall refer to this concept as Theory 1). Alternatively, it may instead be the characters' personalities that are reminiscient of TFP (Theory 2).

Theory 1
Hypothesis: The plotlines of RWBY and TFP (and therefore also Mansfield Park) share some similarities or are at least close in terms of episode structure.

Suggestion: Perhaps Ruby is sent away from her former life to live with some relatives or friends in very different conditions to her previous home, and the show is partly about her struggling to cope with these strange conditions (and of course partly about beating up some outlandish monsters).

Evidence: Kerry's picture was posted under the hashtag '#RubysLifeGetsFlippedTurnedUpsideDown', implying that this theory may hold some water.

Theory 2
Hypothesis: The RWBY characters are based on those from TFP.

Suggestion: For example, Ruby may have an attitude and outlook similar to Will's; Yellow may behave similarly to Hillary; Weiss might be like Will's other cousin, the playful and hyperactive Ashley (though this doesn't seem likely, given her trailer) or maybe even, dare I say it, Carlton!

Evidence: None, at time of writing.

So, what do you folks think? Tell me if you find any more evidence either way.