Showing posts with label Joseph Jacobs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joseph Jacobs. Show all posts

Thursday, March 26, 2020

Review: Christian Bärmann’s “The Giant Ohl and Tiny Tim”

(Review written by Lily Stejskal)

Giants typically get a bad rap in fairy tales, so if that’s where you met all your giants, you might automatically assume they were all evil and hateful towards humans. Our folklore “giants”: Charles Perrault, Joseph Jacobs, and the Brothers Grimm, all seem to agree that giants are liminal—neither fully human nor fully beast. They universally portray the non-human parts of giants as evil or wrong, just because they’re different.

Translated and edited by Jack Zipes
I must admit I have never met a giant, but if they exist, I’m sure I’d be just as likely to meet a gentle giant, like Christian Bärmann’s Giant Ohl, as the vicious giants littering more famous fairy tales.

After reading The Giant Ohl and Tiny Tim, I’m honestly surprised that Ohl even had the courage to try living among humans. Humans like Jacobs’ “Molly Whuppie” and Perrault’s “Little Thumb” steal from the giants they encounter. Then, when the giants try to retrieve their stuff, they’re killed (just read “Jack and the Beanstalk”). Sometimes the humans even kill giants just for the heck of it, like in “Jack the Giant Killer”.

Even in one of the kinder tales about giants—Grimm’s “The Young Giant”—there’s the underlying message that humans and giants can’t mix. In this tale, a baby no bigger than a human thumb (much like Little Thumb), is nurtured by a giant. Male giants are apparently able to “suckle at their chest”, but this results in the boy growing so big that he eventually becomes a giant himself.

However, this giant clearly believes humans have no place among giants, because he gives the supersized boy back to his human parents. But the parents don’t want him back. This leads the boy to hurting and deceiving others. If either side had accepted him, perhaps he would have turned out alright. But in the Grimm’s world, it’s simply not possible for giants and humans to live together in harmony.


Gulliver Awed by Three Giant Beggars in the Land of Brobdingnag
by Paul Gavarni, 1862. Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
With all that in mind, when our gentle Giant Ohl is told by a fortune teller that he’ll find happiness with humans, why does he believe them? The book doesn’t say. I can only give kudos to Ohl for being brave enough to seek out companionship among the creatures who have caused his kind such pain.

Ohl is lucky because the humans in this book don’t automatically label him as evil.  They’re afraid of him, and probably willing to kill him to protect themselves, but are also curious about him, which is why, intentionally or otherwise, they end up giving him a chance.
That’s progress as far as I’m concerned.

Ohl may not suckle any human children, but he certainly loves them and knows how to be kind to them. He carries them on his back as they take summer trips together. None of this would surprise a modern audience, but it may have surprised people at the time. Bärmann wrote in the years surrounding World War I, right after the Victorian era, when parenting was often done at a distance and playtime wasn’t a high priority in many households. In that way, perhaps The Giant Ohl was ahead of its time.

Any fairy tale scholars out there have ideas about why Bärmann had such love for giants? Information about him online has been tough to find. His Goodreads page says that he was a German painter who published most of his work in the early 1900s. At first, I thought it might stem from a general cultural shift between the time of Perrault (the 1600s) and Grimm’s (early 1800s), but that doesn’t fully explain it. Because Joseph Jacobs, of the infamous Jack stories, was a contemporary of Bärmann, and clearly had zero fondness for giants. (Fun fact: Jacobs was from Australia!)

I can see why Jack Zipes chose this story to revive as a part of his new “Forgotten Fairy Tales” series. If you’re a fan of Roald Dahl’s The BFG or Harry Potter’s friend Hagrid, you should check out The Giant Ohl. You can purchase it directly through the Wayne State University Press' website and I think you’ll find it delightful.
L'ogre et le petit poucet
by Honore Daumier, 19th century. Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

About the reviewer:

Lily Stejskal has enjoyed reading, telling, writing, studying and re-imagining fairy tales, as well as other stories, all her life.  She started seriously interpreting and analyzing fairy tales at age fourteen. This served her well in college, where she studied English and Psychology.  Since then, Lily has been working on new fairy tale retellings and other types of fiction, for both children and adults.

Friday, October 21, 2016

Our Fairy Tale Mixtape

The soldier lifted the dog down on the floor and opened the chest. Hans Tegner
Adam of Fairy Tale Fandom had a great post quite some time ago now, on Andrew Lang, whom he describes as a sort of (slightly rebellious) "mixmaster", putting together mixes of tales that, at the time, went against trends and sensibilities and crossed many countries and boundaries and even strayed over into myth and legends in some of his color books. (Go see HERE for the whole recap on Lang's contribution to fairy tale book and collections.)

To quote Adam,
If the books of other fairy tale collectors are essentially albums, then Lang is the guy who takes tracks from all these different albums and puts them together into epic fairy tale playlists.  Sometimes it’s familiar hits you know.  Other times it’s stuff you’ve never heard of.  Sometimes he’ll just surprise the heck out of you by including something crazy like Gulliver’s Travels.  Every color fairy tale book is the equivalent of a fairy tale mixtape (or mix CD or Ipod playlist depending on your generation) all set to rock your weekend.
Charles Mikolaycak - Green Mantle
With this image (of Andrew Lang, fairy tale DJ) in mind, Adam created his own epic fairy tale anthology-mixtape and asked us to think what we would include if we made our own.

We've made lists before of favorite fairy tales we'd want to include in a book, but not one based on the "little bit familiar, little bit not, little bit surprising" premise, so we thought we'd have a go.

Predictably, we instantly had over 50, but even our best whittling only got down to 20. At this point it became painful and like the punushment of Sisyphus, edit, add, edit, repeat, so we called a halt and decided we'd just admit defeat and post 20. (After all, who makes a mixtape with only 10 songs?)

In no particular order (we are still sweating from editing this monster down. No way we're up to managing some sort of order of favorites):

1. Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave (Afanasyev)
2. The Wild Swans (HCA)
3. Jack and the Beanstalk (Jacobs)
4. The Boy Who Drew Cats (translated by Hearn)
5. The Tinderbox (HCA)
6. Tam Lin (Childs Ballad)
7. Lady of the Green Kirtle (tale akin to the legend of Morgan Le Fey from the Narnia series)
8. Sweet Porridge (Grimm)
9. Diamonds & Toads (Perrault)
Sidone in the Forest - Kinuko Y Craft
10. Little Snow White (Grimm)
11. Cap O' Rushes (Jacobs)
12. The Pied Piper (Legend, Grimm, Browning)
13. The Day Boy & The Night Girl (MacDonald)
14. Hansel & Gretel (Grimm)
15. Boots That Made the Princess Say "That's A Lie!" (Asbjørnsen and Moe )
16. The Black Bull of Norroway (Chambers/ Jacobs)
17. Jorinde & Joringel (Grimm)
18. The Heart's Door (Finnish fr Scandinavian Folk & Fairy Tales - Ed. Claire Booss)
19. Swan Lake (Russian & German tale hybrid)
20. The Boy Went Forth To Learn What Fear Was (Grimm)

Ta da!

We have a feeling, that as soon as we post it, we're going to want to do a PART II of this post. You know, for the flip side... of (Album I of the Box Set).

We'd love to see your mix of 10-20 (some classic, some lesser known, some other stories altogether) as would Adam, of course. It's a good exercise in making you think about why you like certain tales too. Give it a go!

Reflecting on the rumblings in the newsroom here, wouldn't it be awesome if we had a "new millenium fairy tale bloggers collective mixtape-anthology" of fairy tale must haves? (With pictures please!) There'd be some overlap for sure (at least one of ours is on Adam's list too because it's also a "must" for all here) but there'd be a really interesting variety and cross-section of tales too.

We can dream...
Rima Staines

Saturday, October 15, 2016

Article: Remembering Joseph Jacobs 100 Years On

If you don't know who Joseph Jacobs is and love fairy tales, you owe it to yourself to find out.

Herbert Cole
Fairy Gold: A Book of Old English Fairy Tales
There's a short article HERE which gives you the highlights about the Australian born, Jewish folklorist, in love with English fairy tales.

Here's an excerpt:
...the stories this Jewish man collected and popularized bear such familiar names as “Jack and the Beanstalk,” “The Three Little Pigs,” “Lazy Jack,” “The Three Sillies” and “Tom Thumb”—every one of them a classic English fairy tale. 
John Batten - More English Fairy Tales
... throughout his life, it was the English “fairy tale” that was his core interest. All the collections compiled by Jacobs were accompanied by detailed notes on the origin and meaning of the stories, and it is in those notes and observations that one gains insights into the creative process that made these stories memorable. First, Jacobs points out the obvious: few of the stories in the collections involve fairies. Rather, Jacobs chose that term to include all stories in which “something extraordinary… [occurs].” It will typically involve giants, dwarfs, fairies and talking animals. It will also include, in Jacobs’ words, “tales in which what is extraordinary is the stupidity of some of the actors.” For Jacobs to include a story in his collection it had to combine a sense of humor and dramatic power.
You can read the whole article HERE.

[Joseph Jacobs was born in Sydney, Australia, August 29, 1854. He died January 30th, 1916 in Yonkers, New York, USA.]
John Batten - More English Fairy Tales

Friday, January 23, 2015

"The Mythology of Grimm" by Nathan Robert Brown

Spotted (and snagged) in Barnes & Noble last week was the relatively new release The Mythology of Grimm. (Actually, for the first time in a VERY long time, the fairy tale and folklore section was both full and had a good selection of newer books I hadn't seen in the wild before.)

The book is not authorized/endorsed by anyone affiliated with the NBC TV series Grimm but is written by someone who has published several works with regard to mythology and pop culture.

The book is much more than a fan discussion of the TV show elements. It begins with a condensed but clear historical overview of popular fairy tales collectors and their work. As you would expect, the Grimm brothers and their work on Household Tales feature prominently, but also Perrault, Joseph Jacobs and the Aarne-Thompson-Uther tale classification system and other well known names (to readers here anyway) are mentioned as well.
It then heads into a discussion of the weaponry used in Grimm, which is what you'd expect from a fan-aimed book but in the show a weapon is usually creature/Wesen-specific and directly related to the mythology surrounding the creature or tale the overall story is drawing from. in this way, it's a good overview of the types of challenges and creatures within the stories.

The rest of the book goes into (essentially) tale types used and retells the Grimm version of the most popular incarnations. For example, Little Red Cap is retold with a brief introduction to the tale's context/history but with commentary and a good sense of humor).

Here are the chapter titles discussing the tales (I'll put an explanation next to the title in brackets, in case you're not familiar with the show and the titles reference isn't obvious):
The Illustrated Grimms Fairy Tales - Pop Up Book
by V L A D I M I R stankovic

  • Red Hoodies and Cross-dressing Blutbaden
  • Bears, Blondes, and Butchery
  • Dancing to the Piper's Tune
  • Ultimate Showdown - Blutbaden vs. Bauerschwein (Three Little Pigs)
  • Sexy Goats and Eager Beavers (The god Pan and Bluebeard)
  • Wild Chicks with Long Hair (Wild children & Rapunzel)
  • Giants, Ogres, and Giant Ogres
  • Bread Crumbs and People Eaters
  • Coins of Blessing, Coins of Curse
  • And Now... Dragons! Or Dåmonfeuers (The Four Skillful Brothers)
  • Cabbages andCookies, Donkeys and Love Spells (Donkey Cabbages)
  • Chicks in Comas
  • Weird Little Guys with Funny Names
  • Foxy Fuchsbau (The Fox and the Cat)
  • Wesen of the NewWorld (multiple legends/folktales/lore)
  • Greco-Roman Wesen (Greek myths - Minotaur & The Slave and the Lion & Pompeii

After the retellings, the author discusses how each tale was referenced in the TV show with well considered research details that won't overwhelm a non-academic. I think he's done a good job at drawing people into the tales this way.

But it doesn't stop there. The chapter on Red Hoodies and Cross-Dressing Blutbaden, looks at legends that echo the motifs, violent crimes and mental illnesses that could be seen to be related to the tale and much more. Each chapter discusses real world related scenarios, personalities, legends and more, giving the idea that perhaps these tales aren't quite as fanciful as they first appear.

Each chapter also has "sidebars" (though they're often at the top of bottom of the page) of related trivia (titled Tasty Morsels) and definitions of less-common words (eg "nosegay"), a breakdown of what a German word used in the show means and more (these are titled Grimm Words). I'm a big fan of side bars and these aren't just for show. They definitely are designed to intrigue and keep the reader going back to the text (in other words, they do their job well).

I haven't read much of the book yet but it's only due to time. For me this will be a quick read (if I can get more than ten minutes in a row to concentrate!) and while readers looking for a light read will go more slowly, it should still easily keep their interest throughout. The reviews I've seen are in the very good to excellent range, which is great to see, especially as all the reviews I've read are by people who don't really read fairy tales or even had any idea there was a whole field of fairy tale scholarship.

So far, I'm impressed with the book (especially since I expected it to be more along the lines of fan writing and not really be "scholar-light") and am really glad to see it sitting with other pop culture studies such as those of Supernatural and True Blood. These shows have all inspired people to study myth, folklore and fairy tale in depth and I couldn't be happier to see that happening.

My one complaint is that the books focuses on the first season of Grimm and the show has referenced many, many lesser known tales since (and some popular ones too, but it's the lesser ones that are fascinating to me). But I wouldn't want it to be any bigger. It's already a little hefty and any larger would be daunting so instead of really complaining I'll just request that a second book is written and released so all the tales and folklore and legends are covered/revealed to the fans (and spawns more folklorists!).

Note: For easy reference two glossaries are included at the end: "Wesenology" and Grimm Terminology.

Here's the blurb:
NBC’s hit television series Grimm pits modern detective Nick Burkhardt of the Portland Police against a cast of terrifying villains—lifted directly from the pages of classic fairytales. In the world of the show, the classic stories are actually a document of real events, and Nick himself is descended from a long line of guardians, or Grimms, charged with defending humanity from the mythological creatures of the world. From The Big Bad Wolf to Sleeping Beauty, The Mythology of Grimm explores the history and folkloric traditions that come into play during Nick’s incredible battles and investigations—tapping into elements of mythology that have captured our imaginations for centuries.

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Lisa Stock's "The Buried Moon"


The Buried Moon (Self portrait) by Lisa Stock: InByTheEye
(See larger version HERE)
Mythic filmmaker and fairy tale friend Lisa Stock has once again found a new expression to explore hers - and our - connection with fairy tales and the universal themes and questions they hold.

The new image is actually a very unusual, and beautiful, self-portrait, inspired by the fairy tale The Buried Moon.

From Lisa's filmmaker blog (for InByTheEye):
A big thank you to Lisa (Lisa Derrick of Fire Dog Lake) for sharing this (fairy tale, The Buried Moon) with me. I was so moved by the mutual admiration between humans and the moon.  It’s also one of those stories where you can see yourself in every character: days when you’re the mischievous crawler who wants to hiss at any thought of vibrancy; or perhaps your light has been diminished, and you feel like you’re sinking in the muck; but there too are humans, that part of us that goes out and faces our fears to regain our light.  Therefore I decided to make this image a self-portrait (that’s me inside the moon).
Read more about her inspiration and the process of creating the image HERE.

A few weeks back, Lisa was interviewed at Fire Dog Lake about her filmmaking, her journey to becoming a filmmaker, her work, current projects and her love of myth and fairy tale. I've been aiming to transcribe the portion of the Q&A in which Lisa discusses fairy tales but it's taken me a while to get all the notes and comments in order (it was conducted in a comment-and-reply-to-comment fashion so multiple threads were being discussed simultaneously at some points!). I've finally managed to finish putting together the sections discussing fairy tales, to coincide with her releasing a new fairy tale image we can enjoy and reflect on.
Here's Lisa Stock on fairy tales (and her work using fairy tales) excerpted from the interview at Fire Dog Lake:

You directed a Neil Gaiman play–that’s pretty rad! Tell us a bit about that… (we're getting to your films, honest!)
“Snow, Glass, Apples” was a great experience. I was working with a group to raise money for the East Atlanta community association. I contacted Neil to see if I could adapt the short story. It’s done as a radio play – but I did my own adaptation. I’ve always really loved that story and the way it unfolds. The narrative structure is so interesting. He said Yes! And I directed it as an immersive theater experience. The audience literally walked into the market where the play took place. BUT… my favorite part about the play – was my forest chorus. I created a traditional Greek classic chorus using dancers who had branches in their hands – and they would guide the audience and sometimes interact with the characters. I loved them!
Neil Gaiman's "Snow, Glass, Apples"
with the Forest Chorus and Victoria Hay as The Queen poisoning the apple
We also tricked the audience a bit. We drew them in close in the beginning as the princess was walking among the trees and then the huntsman cuts her heart out right there in the very beginning in front of all of them. Blood everywhere – it was so gross. But we had fun.
Created for Snow, Glass, Apples
by Jen Parrish of Parrish Relics
Wow! Theater should surprise and excite.
You live/create in place where the veil between world is very thin (you contributed to a book about mythical origins of favorite foods). Did you read a lot of fairy tales as a child (I did, and I see most things that go in my life on a few different story tellling levels).
Yes – Primal Picnics! Great book and it comes with recipes from each of the authors. What I like about that book and its tie to food – is that food is so important in so many fairy tales. It’s the breath of life, food, sun, earth.

The little girl who trod on loaf…one of the creepiest stories ever!
I read a lot of fairy tales – I also read a lot of things with fun language, Dr. Suess, Shel Silverstein. When it came to fairy tales – I more wanted to see paintings and the pictures, I was very visual. Then I’d make up my own stories to with the pictures. My parents put big pictures on my walls as a child – animals and trees, and I’d lie in bed at night and just make up stories in my head until I fell to sleep. (After they had read me a story or two)- I still do that just on a bigger scale now.
So re Persephone (which Lisa recently finished filming a web series on) –I have a version in my head that I think is true–that humans got lazy with the endless sun and harvest and stopped worshipping the Olympians, and in despair turned to the Titan Hekate, who had been given to Hades as his bride. She came up a plan to make Demeter weep–and more importantly ne which allow her to go above ground for part of the year.
And Persephone thought hades with his black steeds and smoke was kinda hot (like a rock star on his Harley), so she wasn’t exactly “kidnapped” she ran off with the bad boy who promised her gems and and a kingdom…
I like it!
Several years ago – I had the amazing opportunity to see Clarissa Pinkola Estes give a talk on Little Red Riding Hood and she traced it’s origins back to the myth of Persephone. Amazing!
The same idea though – Red was in charge of her own fate in the earliest versions of the tale.
It was important to me that my Persephone make her own decision by the end of the series. She’s a very different person from episode 1 to episode 8.
I just started watching it! Can’t wait to see all 8! Wow…I hadn’t thought of that (Persephone being traced back to Red).
Let me know your thoughts!
Production photo from Persephone
One of my favorite stories is from Andrew Lang’s More English Fairy Tales: "The Buried Moon".
The creatures who live in the swamp capture the moon and bury her so they can do their mischief. It’s very scary for mankind, but luckily the wise woman tells them to look for a cross, a candle and a coffin…they see the moons hair flickering (candle), the rock covering her (coffin), and the vines used to bind her hand (cross) and set her free..
Oh – that sounds beautiful. Haven’t read that one. (adding to nook list) Have you read Calvino’s Cosmic Comics? Not a fairy tale, but the first story is a larger than life look at the moon.
Every once in a while I just like to have a project where I have no deadlines and no expectations and can go out with my camera and see what the landscape brings, and then take it home, put the footage in my edit system and see what happens. I often come away with something I’ll use in a larger project.
I used PERSPEHONE to do a lot of experimenting, visually, but also emotionally as well. I wanted her to grow just a bit in each episode. Discover something new about her world and herself. How did her world, reveal something more about herself?
I think some feminists are gonna show up brandishing torches and pitchforks when I say this, but i do feel a difference in the directorial styles of women and men filmmakers, even going back to Ida Lupino and Leni Riefenstahl.
Triptych Heart (experimental film inspired by Maya Deren)
I agree. I think men and women have different ways of looking at the world. But above that – it’s the unique eye of the woman – whether me, or Sophia Coppola, or Julie Taymor. A BIG influence on me is Maya Deren.

Here is a favorite quote from Maya Deren:
“Cameras do not make films; film-makers make films. Improve your films not by adding more equipment and personnel but by using what you have to its fullest capacity. The most important part of your equipment is yourself: your mobile body, your imaginative mind, and your freedom to use both. Make sure you do use them.” – MD
I hope though – that a woman would not be afraid to film the world as she sees it – because she feels it has to appeal to a certain demographic. I don’t really believe in those categories. There are audiences for all kinds of films.
One of the things I like about social media (is) I can see your work where I might not otherwise, say 10 years ago, have had the chance. It’s a great thrill to know that you can put your film up online and reach someone half way across the world. But more important to me, is that I can go out onto the web and find someone who is creating art that rally inspires me.
Connie Toebe's work for Through the Cobweb Forest
I collaborate a lot with Connie Toebe, a 3D artist in Chicago. http://www.connietoebe.com. We created an online allegory called “Through the Cobweb Forest” (www.cobwebforest.com) – it tells the story of a woman name Helena who gets shipwrecked on a mysterious island and finds her independence along the way. It’s interactive too – you can zap ships with lighting and make ghosts appear.
Wow! Wow!!
Cobweb Forest was taught to students at the University of Malaysia as an example of contextual storytelling. Again – absolutely thrilled and honored that it was being seen across the world. :)
Official 2014 In Production/Teaser Poster
That is astounding, how miraculous technology can be!
How far along is Tatiana, and can you tell us about it?

TITANIA – yes! We are in development on that film. It’s inspired by the fairy tale of the Armless Maiden. Titania (from Shakespeare’s fairy queen in Midsummer) has been exiled to an unfamiliar town and is missing her wings. It’s a story of healing and endurance. This one is very personal for me, as I find it has imitated my own life over the past few years. Another story of a woman coming up from her own “Underworld”. http://www.TitaniaFilm.com
We’re hoping to go into principle photography on TITANIA in the Fall. This is the biggest project I’ve ever worked on.
Making Titania - behind the scenes
******************************
Lisa Derrick discusses more of Lisa's filmmaking with her LLC, InBytheEye, and they go behind the scenes of her latest amazing short film HELL. They also talk about why Lisa recommends FilmAnnex for filmmakers and how it has helped her. 

I recommend going and reading the whole interview HERE (you will need to scroll down to the comment section to read the exchanges).

A special and personal thank you Lisa, for continuing to create new work with fairy tales. You show people how relevant these stories are and why we need to keep them all in circulation.