Fairy Tale Redoux

[WildChild]

Many fairy tales were originally teaching stories that were twisted to teach other ideas later on. I thought it might be fun to recreate some popular fairy tales into something more empowering. What would you do to give them a better message? Why is there always a wicked older woman instead of a helpful one? Why does the girl always have to be rescued? Why can't she save herself? Maybe we could do this like some other story threads where everyone adds their bit?

One I wondered about as a kid was Rapunzel. Why, I wanted to know, didn't she cut own hair and climb down? What if she did?...

Once upon a time there was young woman named Rapunzel who's father had thought he owned her and he sold her in exchange for some magic veggies. Now the wise woman who had made the deal knew the girl needed to be protected from such strange thinking parents...

[Isabellacat]

I always think about Cinderella(the Disney cartoon version) cos that's always been my favorite. She was a victim of her stepmom and family.I could relate to that. I don't feel she was entirely helpless tho.She did kinda help herself out of it but with a helping hand from the fairy Godmother,but if I was her I would have just ran away. I always wondered why she did'nt just run away in the first place but she needed the fairy goodmother to have a talk with her.

I'd so love if someone made a modern live movie of that tale.Have the Prince be all super uber hot and stuff lol.

[rcoreyus]

Even modern adaptations of stories can be annoying - in Mulan why did the girl want to marry the obnoxious twit?

[Nats]

Snow White...

Once upon a time there lived a girl with hair black as night, skin white as snow...blah blah blah...Father loved her but mother died...she was the fairest in the land...Evil stepmother with talking mirror thats jealous because Snow White is the fairest...blah blah...One day evil stepmother gets the royal hunting dude to take her into the woods and kill her....blah blah...bring back her heart as proof that she died...blah blah...When he gets into the woods and is about to stab her with his hunting knife, Snow White kicks him in the groin and is able to get his knife away from him in the process...She then stabs him with it and runs back to the castle, bloody knife in hand...

[WildChild]

One question is who is served by the reoccuring evil stepmother or wicked witch stuff? Why is it always a man who has to rescue the woman? Why is she always passive or comatose? Why does it always end with marriage being the happily ever after? What, the prince never gets POd and reminds Cinderella how he recued her from out of the ashes? Look how much trouble Diana who came from a priviledged background had learning to be a princess, these women who were scrubbing floors or locked in towers all their lives just sail into it?

[OhThereYouAre]

Lol - I think you're forgetting some characters here.

I think you forgot about Jafar, Gaston, Kay, Prince John, the Sheriff of Knottingham, Scar, Quasimoto, Shrek, Captain Hook, Shere Khan, Gargamel and the Peculiar Purple Pie man of Porcupine Peak, lol.

Not to mention Cinderella's fairy godmother, Tinkerbell, Alice, Miss Bianca Mary Poppins, etc etc.

Women aren't the only gender to suffer from fairy tales perpetuating stereotypes.

[Nats]

Lol - I think you're forgetting some characters here.

I think you forgot about Jafar, Gaston, Kay, Prince John, the Sheriff of Knottingham, Scar, Quasimoto, Shrek, Captain Hook, Shere Khan, Gargamel and the Peculiar Purple Pie man of Porcupine Peak, lol.

Not to mention Cinderella's fairy godmother, Tinkerbell, Alice, Miss Bianca Mary Poppins, etc etc.

Women aren't the only gender to suffer from fairy tales perpetuating stereotypes.

Who is the Peculiar Purple Pie Man of Porcupine Peak?

[WildChild]

I wasn't really thinking Disney so much as the more orignal tales. I grew up with the blue, red, yellow and whatever other colors were in the series, fairy tale books and the original "My Book House" set and others that were more the "classic" fairy tales.

The Hunchback in the original was quite a bit different than Disney and very a dark story. Robin Hood comes out of a mix of folk tales and historical events, rather like Arthur which was originated out of a much earlier time period than it is generally presented in.

Having a grown up exposed to Native American stories which are full of symbolism and are purposely intended to teach, I understand that many European tales had similar purposes and have roots in very old teaching stories that were warped to serve other purposes.

Kids grow up with these tales, the male charactures most identified with are heros, recuers and problem solvers. The female charactures most identified with are either evil, helpless victims or magic.

[OhThereYouAre]

Kids grow up with these tales, the male charactures most identified with are heros, recuers and problem solvers. The female charactures most identified with are either evil, helpless victims or magic.

I think its safe to say that kids these days have more of a tendency to pop in a disney dvd than to read an old fairy tale book.

With characters like Ariel, Nala, Princess Jasmine, Pocahontas, Belle and Mulan....I think its safe to say we're making steps in the right direction.

[WildChild]

Iffy.
Ariel gives up her voice (the ability to express oneself and ones needs) in order to get legs to attract a man she has never met and only seen once. He is attracted to what? Her complete inabiltity to function in society? Silence? Looks? It certainly isn't her intelligence or wit (she has no voice and is unknown to him, trying to fit into an alien world). In the original story she ceases to exist becoming sea foam. Disney takes her from her family and loved ones to live separated from her true self.

Princess Jasmine has some spunk and in later stories is apparently a black belt but it gives an impression of cultural freedom that absolutely does/did not exist in the world she comes from.

Pocahontas's story isn't quite what might be thought. Did you know that colonial America had so many people "going native" that entire villages emptied? They passed laws with a penalty of death for joining tribes in some areas. Pocahontas had sad end disconnected from her people and trying to live in an alien culture.

The Story of Belle, teaches what? That abusive, self focused men can be transformed into loving princes? If a woman is good enough - ah yeah, right.