"Glass Cages" - Lisa Stock Takes An Adventurous Look at Beauty & the Beast

"Glass Cages" by Lisa Stock
InBytheEye

Mythic filmmaker, Lisa Stock, of InByTheEye, just released a lovely new image, once again taking us on a mythic journey. (I strongly recommend seeing it large HERE, where it's far more luminous!) This one, though, isn't from the realm of the mystical and otherwordly but is far more at home in a cityscape (at least, the concept is, even if the players themselves are not..).

Although not driven to creation by the fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast, this easily falls into the category for contemplating that parallel, just as its inspiration, King Kong, has, since it first hit the silver screen.

Those fairy tale folk who love Beauty and the Beast will have seen King Kong discussed in the context of this fairy tale many times before, so I won't re-hash any of that. What I do want to draw your attention to, however, is how Lisa has framed her musings (literally!) on the connection between the two.

On her blog HERE, she discusses her image, the inspiration and the concept of adventure, not primarily (although it can include) the safari-type. She's talking about The Great Adventure: the grand quest of Life (to find one's own true form, true reason for being and all that means) and also of Love (in all it's forms).

From Lisa's blog:

[“King Kong” (1933)] ...opens with an Arabic proverb, “And lo, the beast looked upon the face of beauty. And it stayed its hand from killing. And from that day, it was as one dead.“

This is a story about one’s changing nature, and the impetus that causes it. In relation to Kong, they put that responsibility on Anne Darrow (“Twas Beauty killed the Beast”).  In relation to the other characters, it starts with the ship’s adventure, daring to go into the unknown and then having to deal with what you find.

It was beauty killed the beast: Esther Hannaford in King Kong (stage show - Australia 2013)

The lovely thing about Kong and Anne's story in relation to the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale is that there are so many different ways to look at it. Though the juxtaposition of their sizes (and their species) means a true happy ending (or any form of marriage) is not possible in this version, it does, by this distortion, bring into focus some of those issues which the fairy tale holds.*

In true mythic form, this talented filmmaker says it all in one image.

To read her whole post on creating Glass Cages, click HERE.

*Lisa's note, about dream-casting Andy Serkis, points out a missed opportunity that would have been perfect... You'll have to read what she says, to see what I mean.