Now, it is a valid criticism of literature criticism to say that introducing meaning where none exists is not a very interesting line of reasoning. Postmodernists in particular are very guilty of this.

However, this neither means that looking for hidden meaning is a worthless pursuit, nor does it mean that apparently shallow works lack meaning which has been subconsciously introduced by the author, or meaning influenced by the society the author lived in.

And furhtermore, this statement is really showing a lack of insight:

> There have been countless analyses of Little Red Riding Hood which was targeted at a young-adult audience.

Little Red Riding Hood is a traditional folk tale. Saying that it is "targeted at a young-adult audience" is highly non-sensical. It is approximately true for the re-telling by the Brothers Grimm, if you ignore the fact that the term "young adult" is seriously anachronistic for the period it was published.

Even so, there is much to be analyzed - how was the traditional folk tale changed for this publication, what does that say about the intentions of the authors, and what does it say about society at the time, and how does it change the underlying message of the tale from the original folk tale? Furthermore, the orignal tale exists in many versions, as does any folk tale. Comparing these gives insight into many things.