Showing posts with label Beauty and the Beast. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beauty and the Beast. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 2, 2021

Warriors In Gowns and Other Plot Twists by Gina Pfleegor

Gina Pfleegor
"Plot Twist" (oil paint on panel)

 Gina Pfleegor is a "pop-surrealist" artist we've recently discovered, thanks to Beautiful Bizarre Magazine's RAYMAR Traditional Art Award contest, 2021, in which the delightful painting above was chosen as a finalist. 

We adore the title: "Plot Twist", which is the perfect introduction to the series this painting belongs to

While not focused completely on fairy tales, it's both fitting and not surprising to find fairy tales referenced; specifically, The Frog King, Beauty and the Beast, and Rapunzel but also alluding to Fairy (Tale) Land in general. The series endeavors to reconsider femininity and heroism (or heroine-ism); exploring the struggle between defining strength (for women especially, but the struggle isn't limited to those who identify as "she/her") and just what being female - or how to incorporate a sense of femininity in one's life, means.

“In this series of paintings, I found myself drawn to a subject I know well; that balance of feeling strong yet feminine as a woman in our society today. Attempting to depict a sense of authenticity regarding what this can often feel like, I used symbolism to show that we can be both without sacrificing the other. Sensual can be strong, determined can be vulnerable, and sometimes warriors wear gowns into battle.”

Gina Pfleegor (Artist statement on the series via West End Gallery)

Redefining the narrative is what this series is all about and that becomes very clear when you learn the titles for each of the pieces. We found musing on the paintings in conjunction with their titles so fun we thought we'd share our personal commentary. Please note, the artist hasn't commented much on her intent for each piece so every viewer is free to see what they wish... ;)

"Plot Twist" gives us a sinister but refreshing and cathartic ending to The Frog King (more popularly known as The Frog Prince). The lily pad wallpaper, with its sperm-like design seeking to devour its fellow "lily pads" shows the futility of doing so against this princess. One eyebrow is raised in challenge to the viewer, while the little crown is left on the plate for her to consume, take or leave as she chooses. 
"Plot Twist"
"And She Lived Happily Ever After" focuses on a very satisfied looking Beauty (or Belle, since the yellow dress, and jowls above are both a Disney callback), with the Beast almost out of frame, behind her, no longer an obstacle but a trophy, even as her own story continues (with a lot more to come, judging by how big that book is!). 
"And She Lived Happily Ever After"
"Slay" portrays a Rapunzel with lopped-off hair, (we like to think she did it herself with that sword!), looking post-battle sweaty, sunbeams shining down triumphantly as she sits, sword remaining at the ready, a dead dragon relegated to her background. The dragon might be closer to her than the tower she was once trapped in, but it's still left well behind as she looks to her future from her (literal) rock-solid base. 
"Slay"
The tea-drinker, ear cocked toward the flying bluebird is titled "Do Tell" and, while not obviously referencing a particular fairy tale, clearly bears the marks of one. (Snow White came to mind immediately with the combination of domestic and "ladylike" motifs being disrupted as well as her obvious affinity to nature but she could easily represent quite a range of fairy tale heroines.) Birds in fairy tales are not only linked to the soul but are agents of transformation, and bringers of knowledge. The savvy princess, also in blue like the bird - a color strangely rare in fairy tales - even as she drinks tea, pinky finger held just-so as per the rules of polite society, she has her ear attuned for secrets and knowledge. Whether via gossip or riddling out tidbits of information from strange sources, the blue hints at the supernatural; a connection to nature and knowledge beyond the norm, (and, we like to believe, a sign of potential happiness), while the orange-gold not only suggests class but that underneath lies a resistance to rules, perhaps even a rebel on the rise. Curiosity, the thirst for knowledge, is both women's hallmark of agency and, traditionally, the "vice" warned against for leading her to female downfall. The bird and woman sharing blue speaks of trust, and a bond that works together against opposing forces, while the orange marks them as rebellious collaborators. There's a lot suggested in this piece but clearly, the woman is poised for something new - be it knowledge or action. No passive princess here.
"Do Tell"
We wanted to include another piece that not only has a clear connection to the land of the Fairy Tale but holds an additional clue to its potency that the average viewer might easily overlook. The title for the piece is "Charmed", and it appears the queen here has charmed the serpent, instead of it being the other, traditional, way around. Behind her head, though, the sun holds another clue: the Latin words "amor et melle et felle est fecundissimus" meaning "love is rich, with both honey and venom*". This is not a girl to underestimate or a woman to be ruled over by another. She is just as potent as the creature she holds gently around her neck and in her hands and meets the viewer's gaze shrewdly and confidently. She is the fairy tale heroine with agency, with personality and if her nemesis - or partner - is given a name, you can be sure she will have one too.
"Charmed"
Just like the direct gaze of these female characters challenges the viewer to reconsider their first glance at these pieces, the narratives implied by the symbolism used in each, ask that you redefine and rewrite the assumptions - something very central to women's issues, as well as issues of narrative, today.

You can see the rest of this series by Pfleegor HERE and stay up to date with her projects and appearances through her blog on Facebook HERE. To finish we found an earlier fairy tale-themed piece, from 2018, titled "The Sorrow Of The Snow Queen" that we insta-loved. While it doesn't really fit into the spirit of the current 2021 series it also says a lot more than what you see at first glance. Instead of telling you what we see this time, though, we'll let you think about what it says to you.
"The Sorrow Of The Snow Queen"

*To be accurate the full quote, by Roman playwright Titus Maccius Plautus is:

amor et melle et felle est fecundissimus;

gustui dat dulce, amarum ad satietatem usque oggerit.

Which translates as:

“Love exceedingly abounds both in honey and in gall: it yields sweetness even in a taste, and produces bitterness to sufficiency”.

Friday, April 3, 2020

Beauty and the Beast-The Corona Version, Rapunzel in the Kingdom of Corona & Other Fairy Tale Commentary On Surviving This Pandemic

So how are you all?

We will catch you up on our new year, new surgery, and new challenges (typing = headaches!!) another time but for now our focus, is just like yours: surviving this pandemic, and that's a complex thing.

There were pleas from authorities to not joke about Covid-19 on April Fool's Day two days ago, because there are too many people afraid, or sick, or fighting for their lives while others are risking their own lives (and their families) daily by being on the front lines to help combat this pandemic, and we agree.

We do think, however, that humor can help alleviate stress and this video walks the line between funny parody and sobering truth - hopefully it's a good combo for you. Just going to leave this here for you all to... enjoy? Cringe at? Sober-up over? Heh.. oh boy.
"I've yet to see a reckless fool quite like her,"
"Without a mask or gloves she goes?..." 

Why is this so difficult for folks to adjust to??
For the first time everyone around the world - all at once -  is having to think about everything they do, in every aspect of their lives (from the most basic "how do I get food?" to the more complex "how do I educate my kids?") and that's an overwhelming adjustment to make, especially as it's not something someone else can do for us. We're each having to do it, individually, for the most part, but that doesn't mean we're as alone as we may feel.

The Fairy Tale Profs at The Carterhaugh School of Folkore and the Fantastic, have - inspired by the iconic "maiden in a tower fairy tale" story - put together a list of resources, or, as they delightfully title it "Rapunzel's Toolkit, or How To Nuture Magic and Sanity in Your Own Tower".
It's varied, extensive and wonderfully tailored for fairy tale and folklore folks to be inspired by during our confinement. You can find that awesome list HERE or by clicking on the image below.
While we have you here - and thinking of people locked in places they don't want to be - we wanted to remind folks that we could all use a little more kindness and gentleness in dealing with our current "cellmates". Everyone is having some sort of issue with the restrictions. Perhaps most obviously, extroverts quickly got cabin fever in a just a couple of days and are finding each additional 24 hours more difficult (and depressing), but introverts too are struggling with having no place to escape their co-confined families for some sanity-reviving alone-time and are feeling suffocated. More importantly than either of these groups, though, are two others that desperately need our awareness, support and care:

1) those quarantined with people they don't get on with (relationship fallout is already happening across the globe)
2) women & children in abusive and violent homes (domestic violence is on the rise the world over)

We thought this might be a good image for a sober reminder:
And there are other "at risk for additional violence" groups too: the homeless, the elderly in nursing homes, displaced youth, those in "halfway houses", the incarcerated...
Compassion and kindness isn't just about all the various "Rapunzels" that we are, getting through this more humanely, and creatively, but it may, in fact, save lives in a different - but very important way - too.

Yeah - this subject gets heavy REAL fast!

By the way, anyone else begin picturing a whole lot of Rapunzel-type towers sprouting up through a kingdom, trying to figure out how to keep daily life and functions running while we're talking about this? Just us? :D That would make for an interesting and twisty, fairy tale challenge...
(Feel free to write that fairy tale and we'll publish it here!)

Let's finish with a little extra giggle bonus, because we can't help but feel that despite the incredible gravity of this situation, a roll of toilet paper will be the ultimate symbol for this era in world history...
PS: A PSA (because we cannot get complacent about this!)
  --WASH YOUR HANDS -- (at least 20 seconds - you should know how by now!)                           -- STAY AT HOME --  (ie. in a single place - no visiting people who don't sleep in the same place you do! Shop once a week OR LESS for necessities only.)
-- KEEP AT LEAST 6ft BETWEEN YOU AND OTHERS WHEN OUT --
(the length of a turkey vulture's wingspan!) 
A Personal Note from the OUABlog Fairy Tale News Room
Question: Is Once Upon A Blog still open for business then?
Answer: Yeeesss. Sort of. It's a qualified yes. We wish to be but computer work has become a very real physical challenge and posts are likely to be random, short and erratic. We wish we could do more right now but healing has to be our priority. We hope you understand and forgive the inconsistency. We were working with doctors on this before the world-wide emergency hit, so progress in this department is taking a backseat until our docs are available again. Keep up your "habit of Wonder", practice creative living, focus on healing (like Mother Nature is doing, despite all this!) and you'll see us in your orbit again very soon.
Gypsy & the Fairy Tale News Team

Saturday, March 3, 2018

Fairy Tale Oscar Watch 2018

One thing you may have missed in the all the Oscars advertising hype:
Best Picture is (very likely) between two fairy tale related films:
"The Shape of Water" and "Get Out".

The 90th Academy Awards  have quite a large representation with regard to folklore and fairy tales this year. With the Beauty and the Beast-like The Shape of Water up for a slew of awards (13!), including Best Picture and Best Director, the 'flipped' Beauty and the Beast/Bluebeard thriller/horror Get Out also up for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay (4 in all), the not-at-all-revolting Revolting Rhymes putting fairy tales front and center in the short film category, Disney's live-action Beauty and the Beast getting noms for costume and production design, and the highly folkloric Coco up for best animated feature, fairy tales are likely to be a strong theme at the awards show this year. 

There's a good possibility there will be lots of water and beast type imagery, musical numbers, spoofs and jokes...
Illustrator Yoshitaka Amano (famous for character design of Final Fantasy) created a collaborative art piece for The Shape of Water, directed by Guillermo del Tor. Amano commented "I imagined he wraps himself in his cloak of water".
(Click for full size)
Fairy tales and fantasy have been in high demand the past year, meaning that in a year of great social unrest and confusion in the US (and inevitably, due to being a major world power, the rest of the world), fairy tales (and fantasy) are being turned to for many and varied reasons. They're a source of distracting - and positive - entertainment, they're used as a method for processing confusion and challenges and as a medium for expression for hope, anger, despair, and a call to change. From newly-desperate wishes for a happily-ever-after in a time of extreme difficulty and stress for many, to reflecting on simple truths that can cut clearly through a swath of fake news, to a beacon of creative inspiration that connects to human truths, fairy tales are surfacing everywhere. Fairy tale themed ads on TV tend to be split between sorting truth from fiction and being an inspirational element of hope despite various circumstances. Fairy tale based books, while always prolific, this past year have been hitting the bestseller lists when exposing their teeth, their dark underbellies and their smart, wily and take-no-prisoners heroines. 

Fairy tale films, in particular those with a happy ending, have caught the imagination and attention of the general public. While a film like The Shape of Water would be considered excellent at any point in history, we believe it's appearance at this time, has helped boost its profile, as this is the type of triumphant story of love winning over all odds, and the little people beating 'the big machine' that has resonated so strongly. It's the inspiration - and reassurance - people are searching for. Once again, a film's popularity has risen to meet its excellence in filmmaking, and it's a joy to see that being recognized at the Academy Awards - doubly so because its not at all shy about its fairy tale roots.

Here's the rundown of fairy tale and folklore-related films that are in the running, and for which category:



Film: The Shape of Water
Fairy Tale/Folklore Tie-ins:
  • Beauty and the Beast
  • The River God of the Amazon (Brazilian folklore meets The Creature From the Black Lagoon/Gill-man pop culture/urban legend)
  • The silent heroine/hero and those keeping secrets [ATUs: 451 (eg. Six Swans), 442 (eg. Old Woman in the Forest), 533 (eg. Goose Girl),  945 (eg. Princess Who Couldn't Laugh/Speak), 923 (eg. Love Like Salt), and The Little Mermaid/Undine/The Fisherman and His Soul]
  • There are even parallels that can be made with Sleeping Beauty (ATU 410) 
  • There's even a little of the Moses story - both fishman and found in a river, grows to become savior of enslaved people, *spoiler* (highlight to view) disappears behind a wall of water to destiny *spoiler over*
Nominated for:

  • Best Picture
  • Best Director
  • Best Actress
  • Best Supporting Actress
  • Best Supporting Actor
  • Best Original Music Score
  • Best Original Screenplay
  • Best Cinematography
  • Best Costume Design
  • Best Film Editing
  • Best Sound Mixing
  • Best Production Design
  • Best Sound Editing

Oscar Favorite? Yes - especially for Best Picture, Best Production Design and possibly Best Director

Film: Get Out
Fairy Tale/Folklore Tie-ins: Beauty and the Beast, Bluebeard
Nominated for:
  • Best Picture
  • Best Director
  • Best Original Screenplay
  • Best Actor

Oscar Favorite? Yes - contender for Best Picture, Favorite for Best Original Screenplay (Note: this film appears to have Maria Tatar's vote)




Film: Revolting Rhymes
Fairy Tale/Folklore Tie-ins: 
  • A mix of classic fairy tales
  • Red Riding Hood
  • Snow White
  • Three Little Pigs
  • Cinderella
  • Jack and the Beanstalk (etc)

Nominated for: Best Short Film (Animated)
Oscar Favorite? Yes




Film: Disney's Beauty and the Beast (live action)
Fairy Tale/Folklore Tie-ins: Beauty and the Beast (Villeneuve as well as Disney's animated classic)
Nominated for:

  • Best Production Design
  • Best Costume Design

Oscar Favorite? No




Film: The Breadwinner
Fairy Tale/Folklore Tie-ins: Afghan storytelling and fables
Nominated for: Best Animated Feature
Oscar Favorite? No




Film: Coco
Fairy Tale/Folklore Tie-ins: 
  • Mexican Day of the Dead/Land of the Dead
  • Mexican spirit animals
  • Dante (dog's name)
  • Aztec gods
  • Alebrijes (Mexican folk art imaginary creatures - newish 'lore' dating back to 30's)

Nominated for:
  • Best Animated Feature
  • Best Music (Original Song)

Oscar Favorite? Yes - both for Best Animated Feature & for Best Song

Fairy Tale Bonus of the Day:
Check out this wonderful essay by Dr. Jeana Jorgensen:
This essay (available to read online for free) explores the use of silence in fairy tales, for both female and male heroes, discussing the many aspects of silence/mutism (voluntary, non-voluntary, tasks, spell-breaking etc) and looks at the variations from different cultures and eras.
Highly recommended!

In that vein, we bring you a timely reinterpretation of Oscar statues for a group of people long silenced in Hollywood: women. These re-visioned statues were created this year by A-list artists, especially in the wake of the #MeToo era. (If only we could see more of these on the red carpet as opposed to the 'casting couch' statue, that appeared days before the Oscars*, making a similar, but very differently focused, statement.)

The Oscar Statues Reinterpreted by A-list Artists for the #MeToo Era

*Only to be removed two nights before due to inclement weather. Reports are that it's unlikely to be reinstalled in time for the Academy Awards for the same reasons.

Saturday, July 8, 2017

Google Translate Sings 'Aesthetic & the Animals' (aka B&tB) aka the importance of good translation!

Ah Google Translate! Where would researchers and far flung friends and colleagues be without you? Performer Malinda Kathleen Reese gave us a glimpse of what non-English speaking folks, trying to translate tales and lyrics via Google Translate, might be 'hearing' instead...
This is a bit of (very well done) fun, of course, but it illustrates wonderfully why, when studying tales translated to English from other languages, you should be aware of the translator and how accurate they're considered to be, or (if you're lucky and have their notes) why they chose to use certain words and phrases instead of the more obvious ones... for instance the ones the Google Translate might suggest. ;)
             
One of the difficulties in translating to English is that it's a very imprecise language and definitions are constantly evolving, because social and popular meaning changes. And that's only half of the equation. The other is the original language and its quirks. If you've ever dabbled in languages with even minor translation endeavors, you quickly learned that there is rarely a 'correct' way to translate  - except that the guaranteed 'wrong way' is to try the word-for-word method - and that it's more of an art form than a science of substituting equal meanings.

You have to take into account:
  • the words and what they specifically mean (and their equivalent in the language you're translating too)
  • what the words also imply (the subtext of using that specific word instead of similar ones), which is influenced by...
  • the context at the time - and place - of writing
  • all of which usually has a 'tone' and style
(A very small selection of recommended books of translated tales with lots of great notes!)

And that doesn't include:
  • storytelling style - which is very important in translating tales
  • cultural expressions, idioms, similes and metaphors
  • those words that have no English equivalent
(And there are more factors too that a qualified folklorist or professional translator could discuss at length, but you get the idea.)

When you take these into account, even retelling old tales originally written in English can prove tricky..!

Speaking of untranslatable words, can you imagine a retelling of Rapunzel, in which these words - wonderfully illustrated  by Marija Tiurina - are used? (Click on the images to see full size.)

And what about this one for Riquet of the Tuft?

You can find a lovely bunch of many more 'untranslatable words', that have been wonderfully illustrated HERE.

It's a pretty fascinating subject and we're a little in awe of people who translate tales and other creative and social works (not to mention those who facilitate United Nations negotiations!). Be prepared for a fun ride down a rabbit hole if you decide to look into this subject further!

(Note: our suggestion, if you don't want a world of instant-overwhelm, would be to start with annotated tales, and tale collections in which the translators include their notes on the story origins, collection and translation process, sometimes summarized in a foreword on each of the stories. Be prepared to never read anything quite the same way again!)

And just because these are a lot of fun, here's Malinda's latest Google Translate Sings video with a compilation of Mary Poppins songs. Enjoy!
Want more? Malinda has a bunch of princess songs too, in which she sings the original and has a 'sing-off' with the google translate version. Funny stuff!

Friday, June 2, 2017

Gans' Gorgeous 'Beauty and the Beast' Is On Netflix!

We know lots of readers have been waiting a very long time to see this. Now Netflix has the English language dub of this sumptuous French live action retelling of Beauty and the Beast. (The original actors are the voice dubs -they just re-recorded their lines in English, but the movie was shot in French - so English dub, despite the great voices, doesn't match lip sync.) 

Other great news, you can also choose to watch it in the original French - with or without English (or Spanish) subtitles! (It's been very difficult to find a disc that gives this option.)
It's not Disney. It's French, luscious and has much more in common with the French literary versions. Here Beauty has siblings, her father is a merchant and there is a new-but-feels-old mythical aspect to the Beast's backstory that is probably our favorite addition to the story. There are also a heck of a lot of Cocteau homages and you simply can't help but be amazed by the visual aesthetic brought to the whole production. Even the 'pedestrian' scenes without magic have a glow about them, while any scene with magic is breathtaking.
It's biggest criticism is people finding the beginning slow, or that it has "all these extra things about the family", but if you're expecting a musical with animated objects, instead of the merchant backstory and the tale being told to children, perhaps it might seem that way. This version initially develops the character of Belle in the context of her family, like the written version, and shows the strain which they are all under, echoing other themes throughout the better-known parts of the story. Despite having no dancing enchanted tea sets, and some additional human drama, this version has a lot of magic - a LOT.

Every frame is beautiful and the magic is, well magical, rather than just fancy fantasy.

Take a look at the English trailer:
Yes, it's not Cocteau, but if you like fairy tale and fantasy films, you'll be doing yourself a disservice not to check this out. It's a well made and beautiful film. The costumes are gorgeous, the effects are amazing, and it incorporates the importance - and magic - of the garden and roses. (And we love the use of statues.) There's thrills and adventure, romance, mystery, and sweetness and Belle and the Beast have a feisty, interesting relationship that develops in an unusual way. Vincent Cassel as both Prince and Beast is very compelling, (complete with very decent creature make-up and VFX) and Léa Seydoux as Belle is the stunning and modern fairy tale heroine you wish more films had - accessible and gracefully adapting to princess mode without losing that appeal. Most notably, Belle is so independent and has so much agency, even when staying 'true' to her time period, that it doesn't have that whiff of Stockholm syndrome other versions are criticized for.

The Beast has a story, Belle has a story, everyone in this film has their own story and they weave together affecting each other but none of them change their essential natures until they're ready to take that step themselves. (And you're not disappointed when the Beast transforms at the end!)
           
Here's a full clip (in French with English subtitles) in which Belle is late in joining the Beast for dinner. Just know that his story is more complicated (and satisfying) than it appears, even here.
Possibly the most basic and best thing is that this is a full-on fairy tale film. It's a big story, with a lot of scope and once the magic starts happening you are neck deep in fairy tale mode, never to leave again until the credits roll. It also has all the 'original' Beauty and the Beast fairy tale bits and pieces missing from other remakes (though it doesn't get waylaid by fairies or fairy politics, thank goodness!).

We only wish we could have seen this in the theater.

Monday, May 15, 2017

'Bratty & the Beast' (Trailer Spoof)

Too fun not to share and doubles as a commentary on the generation that are watching the remake as well. Nice work by Toon Sandwich (of ArtSpear Entertainment)!

A bit of a much-needed laugh for your Monday.

Stay till the end once the credits & notices for the channel starts. There's a parody of 'Tale As Old As Time' sung over it which is pretty amusing as well.

Enjoy!

Friday, May 12, 2017

Disney's 2017 'Beauty and the Beast' on Blu-ray & Digital June 6

Here's the trailer for the release, giving you an idea of the special features included:
Here's a list of the special features included:
  • Enchanted Table Read – Join the cast for the movie’s elaborately staged table read, complete with singing and dancing to live music, set pieces and more.
  • A Beauty of a Tale – Explore the process of transforming a beloved animated film into a new live-action classic.
  • The Women Behind “Beauty and the Beast” – Emma Watson introduces several of the talented women in all aspects of production who helped bring this enchanted tale to life.
  • Making a Moment with Celine Dion – Celine Dion shares what it’s like to sing “How Does a Moment Last Forever” – and be a part of the legacy of “Beauty and the Beast.”
  • From Song to Screen: Making the Musical Sequences – See what goes into making some of the best-known moments from “Beauty and the Beast.”
  • Extended Song: “Days in the Sun” – Learn more about Beast’s childhood in an alternate version of this beautiful song, introduced by director Bill Condon. “Beauty and the Beast”
  • Music Video – Award-winning artists Ariana Grande and John Legend perform a moving version of this iconic song.
  • Making the Music Video – Go on set to capture the magic as it happens in Ariana Grande and John Legend’s “Beauty and the Beast” music video.
  • Disney Song Selection – Jump directly to all your favorite songs and sing along with the movie.
Best Buy Exclusive is a Steelbook Blul-ray + DVD + Digital, with unique cover artwork
Target Exclusive Blu-ray + Digital + DVD Combo Package - includes a 'storybook version'