Political Cartoons & Fairy Tales 2017: 'The President Who Cried Wolf'

Artist unknown - Source HERE

Using fairy tales in political commentary, and especially political cartoons is something of a tradition. The current state of US politics and national division being what it is, it's no surprise to see certain fairy tales making regular appearances again. Always popular for referencing politics are Pinocchio, The Emperor's New Clothes and Jack and the Beanstalk, all making regular appearances in tense times and The Boy Who Cried Wolf, though usually less used, is a regular 'go to' for 2017, accompanying cries of fake news and 'alternative facts'.

Above is a political cartoon by Tom Toles, from The Washington Post, focusing on distractions - the other, related, theme of Cry Wolf.

Charleston City Paper has regular cartoons, drawn and written by Stegelin, and uses fairy tales regularly for social commentary as well. The latest makes use of The Boy Who Cried Wolf, with the emphasis on 'alternative facts'.

We'll just leave it here for you to critique. (Click to view full size.)

#RRR

Review: 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice - An Anthology of Magical Tales' aka Harry Potter Tales for Fairy Tale Folk & Fairy Tales for Harry Potter Folk

Fairy tale lovers will delight in these spellbinding tales, where young heroes comply with or rebel against teachers with magical powers. 

One of the lights of our Fairy Tale News Hound's childhood was her father's record collection, particularly the classical LPs* and the tales the music told her. Dukas' score for The Sorcerer's Apprentice, in particular, didn't need narration. It created images of magic and peril in her head long before it became associated with Disney. By the time she got to see Mickey overrun by legions of brooms she already knew the story, as well as that learning magic is a hard thing; that magic doesn't really create shortcuts but comes with complications of its own, and learning - and teaching - magic guarantees a life filled with hard work and frustration, where things (and people) often won't behave as they ought, but also that the possibilities for wonder and adventure are endless. That tale, and it's lesson, have been a touchstone ever since.

Harry Potter & Dumbledore by Jim Kay

Is it any wonder Rowling's Harry Potter books appeared on the scene and stole so many hearts with her relatable series? Now we have a fairy tale collection that not only pays homage to the popularity of Rowling's creations but collects Potter's many 'ancestors' from around the world.

Yes - you read it correctly: we finally have a book of Harry Potter stories for fairy tale folk and a book of fairy tales for Harry Potter folk! 

Edited and introduced by esteemed fairy tale expert Jack Zipes this collection isn't just a handy volume of tales of this type, but also presents some good and chewy food for thought on why this type of tale - the magical learner, the wizard assistant, the sorcerer's apprentice - is more popular than ever.

"The Sorcerer's Apprentice"
poem by Goethe, artist unknown

Here's an excerpt from a paper Zipes' wrote on the Sorcerer's Apprentice tale a couple of years ago (note: the weird sentence formatting is ours, to help pace the reader as if we were saying it aloud, so you can 'hear' the emphasis and relevance for today): 

To know who we are, where we are, and where we are going, we need... storytellers who are consciousness raisers and stories that are consciousness raising.

Otherwise, living in the world is but an illusion and delusion.

Otherwise, we are controlled by self-serving masters who are not aware of how blind they are and try to lead us blindly along paths of destruction and self-destruction.

Otherwise, we will be controlled by authoritarian magicians who cast spells with words of deception and self-aggrandizement that celebrate nothing but their powers to dominate, if not mutilate and annihilate, other human beings. 

Bearing this in mind, I continue to ponder why J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels (and all the similar and imitative narratives)... have achieved such astounding popularity.

(from The Master Slave Dialectic in The Sorcerer's Apprentice by Jack Zipes. Academic Journal Article in Storytelling, Self, Society Vol 11, No. 1, April 2015)

by Robin Muller

It's not difficult to imagine such tales have intriguing people centuries ago. Life was hard - really hard - and magic would have been a great shortcut to happiness, or at least getting a little needed shut-eye. Interestingly, while this is undoubtedly the initial appeal, the tale content is often the opposite, as in "magic isn't for idiots" and "you think life is hard work? Add some magic and make it worse!". Now, however, in an age of invisible technology, when science daily achieves the unimaginable, and there appears to be no corner left for Wonder to be discovered, the yearning to have 'a touch of magic' in our lives is, if anything, stronger again, as testified to by the popularity of Harry Potter and his magical education.

Rowling, fortunately for generations of readers, found the 'sweet spot' of telling fantasy to show truth - something the author is passionate about in all her storytelling and in her personal projects and causes. Her stories of magical apprenticeship, of balancing the non-magical (muggle) life with the magical, don't shy away from ll the complications contained in the two types of tales we find in Zipes' collection: both 'The Humiliated Apprentice' who is a bumbler and encourages deference to teachers with more experience, as well as 'The Rebellious Apprentice' who follows their own path to self-empowerment and new discovery. Both types of stories continue to resonate with people around the world but it could be the combination of the two into one 'era of learning' at Hogwarts, that has infused the genre with new life. Even so, they are not new, but the tales of our generation/s, created in a long tradition of these types of stories, and this new volume both tracks and pays homage to that history of disobedient enchanted objects, magical inexperience and mishap and in taking back power that is rightfully ours to wield... when we've learned how.

Here's the press release:

Disney's Mickey as The Sorcerer's Apprentice from Fantasia

"The Sorcerer's Apprentice" might conjure up images of Mickey Mouse from the Disney film Fantasia, or of Harry Potter. As this anthology reveals, however, "sorcerer's apprentice" tales—in which a young person rebels against, or complies with, an authority who holds the keys to magical powers—have been told through the centuries, in many languages and cultures, from classical times to today. This unique and beautifully illustrated book brings together more than fifty sorcerer's apprentice stories by a plethora of writers, including Ovid, Sir Walter Scott, and the Brothers Grimm. From Goethe's "The Pupil in Magic" to A. K. Ramanujan's "The Guru and His Disciple," this expansive collection presents variations of a classic passed down through countries and eras.

A female apprentice retelling by Nancy Willard

Readers enter worlds where household objects are brought to life and shape-shifting occurs from human to animal and back again. We meet two types of apprentice: "The Humiliated Apprentice," a foolish bumbler who wields magic ineffectively and promotes obedience to authority; and "The Rebellious Apprentice" who, through ambition and transformative skills, promotes empowerment and self-awareness. In an extensive introduction, esteemed fairy-tale scholar Jack Zipes discusses the significance and meaning of the apprentice stories, the contradictions in popular retellings, and the importance of magic as a tool of resistance against figures who abuse their authority. Twenty specially commissioned black-and-white illustrations by noted artist Natalie Frank bring the stories to visual life.
The Sorcerer's Apprentice enlightens and entertains readers with enduring, spellbinding tales of sorcery that have been with us through the ages.

As mentioned in the blurb above, a bonus in the volume is the introductory chapter - which is more of an extended work and 'mini-thesis' in its own right - titled The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Harry Potter and Why Magic Matters. We're listing the sub-headings to show you why this is a volume you should really consider adding to your collection as, it turns out that The Sorcerer's Apprentice tale truly is "a story whose ‘story' needs to be told." (whether or not the apprentice's name is Harry - or Hermione):

One of the twenty paintings for

The Sorcerer's Apprentice Anthology of Magical Tales

illustrated by Natalie Frank

• The Harry Potter Novels As Fairy Tale (with lots of useful ATU discussion and references in the mix)
• The Humiliated Apprentice (curiosity killed the cat kids!)
• The Rebellious Apprentice (take back the night!)
• Hegel's Master-Slave Dialectic (don't be put off by the title - it discusses the push and pull of both the above tale forms and how systems of thought in different cultures have been attracted to both, making them popular)
• Memes, "Magicity", and Cultural Memory (basically how kids, and their love of Grumpy Cat fit into the mix, along with stuff that used to be categorized as magic and patterns of magic in tales and more - you'll have to look up 'magicity' for yourself! [No, Grumpy Cat is not specifically named but she is represented. Yes, Grumpy Cat is female.])
• Krabat, the Rebellious Apprentice in Lusatia and Central Europe (basically commenting on the last, largest Harry Potter craze before our current one and the theories of 'why' behind it)
• The Curious Cinematic Struggle Over the "True " Sorcerer's Apprentice (discussing how fairy tales, films, fantasy and politics have all held hands in films telling stories of these tale types, as well as how this struggle was magically and visually represented [think iconic and 'unforgettable sequences'] - and also - why have we not heard of, let alone seen, Sidney Levee's stop motion, 10 minute, black and white film 'The Wizard's Apprentice' of 1930, that predates 'Fantasia'?!)
• Overcoming Abuse in the Novels and Stories About Apprentices (what it says - but also discussing the wide divide between children's picture books that take the didactic route of 'curiosity killed the cat', versus the next level - teen and YA novels that feature 'humiliation and rebellion', and developing beyond that to novels like 'Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell' who must come to terms with magic and eventually restore it to the world.)

As a book of tales for 'now' in this political and social climate, there is much wry smiling to be had as we find parallels in the tales to the commentaries of today's media. Indeed, contemporary American artist, Natalie Frank's specially commissioned black and white paintings for the book, printed throughout, certainly echo the types of illustrations one sees in political satire and commentaries of such publications as The New Yorker, and that's not a coincidence.

As a result, you should not be surprised that this book qualifies for our Recommended Resistance Reads. #RRR

Cover spread - click to view full size

Endorsements:

"Jack Zipes has always been a kind of sorcerer himself, skilled in discovering, transforming, translating, and understanding the old tales of magic that appear in different but similar forms all over the world. This is a wonderful collection."—Alison Lurie, author of Don't Tell the Grown-Ups: The Subversive Power of Children's Literature 

"In this rich and wonderful anthology, Zipes makes a powerful case for the salience and enduring timelessness of the sorcerer tales, not only historically in light of the vastness of the variants that have come down to us but also because of the social, psychological, liberationist, and subversive relevance of the tales even today. This is a story whose ‘story' needs to be told."—Donald Beecher, Carleton University 

"Zipes's outstanding and important book presents a compelling look at the traditional tale ‘The Magician and His Pupil,' and the copious international, intercultural variations of this story. Readers will find trenchant insights and may be surprised to learn that a tale they thought they knew has much greater complexity than they imagined."—Pauline Greenhill, coeditor of Fairy-Tale Films Beyond Disney

Note: We'd love to further entice you with a list of tales but it's a decent collection and makes for a big list, so you can look those up for yourself right HERE. And true to Zipes-form, it includes a fantastic bibliography of both works referenced and cited, but also of where each of the tales can be found. (Seriously - doing some 'fairy tales that came before Harry Potter and similar novels' research? This is your go-to list, right here.)

* Truth be told it was also the source of her getting her hide quite severely tanned, when at age three she imagined the music of each disc playing in her head as she practiced skating smoothly across the floor on their shiny black surfaces... but that's another tale.

'The Handmaid's Tale' Proves More & More Relevant As Trailer Released & Air Date Approaches

The Handmaid's Tale will be premiering on Hulu this month and a lot of people are very excited for it. Or perhaps 'excited' is the wrong word. Since November 9, 2016 (and again January 20th 2017), The Handmaid's Tale has once again become a best-seller. The timing of this is perfect for the new series, though even the Atwood (who wrote the award winning book) and the Producers, aren't thrilled about the circumstances that make it so.

During the recent convention SXSW (South By South West) in Austin, Texas, dozens of 'handmaidens' walking around the city in costume made for very effective series promotion, perhaps with even more impact than was originally intended. Some called it 'effective street theater'. Some call it an eerie glimpse into an 'all-too-possible future'. (Even the 1990 film adaptation didn't have the same impact this series is already having, due to the current political and social climate in the US.) See some pics below:

The Handmaid's Tale deals with a lot of issues, the most obvious of which are the contemporary possibilities and parallels with real life current affairs and political news. But this is not a new thing and, this being a fairy tale blog, you may have been clued into the fact that it's firmly connected to fairy tales as well. The Handmaid's Tale is today's Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel, albeit in a form most wouldn't recognize, though Atwood inserts some lines in her narrative to make it clear the parallel is intentional. (The red clothing probably gave you the biggest clue.)

• In chapter 2 Offred sees herself as ‘some fairytale figure in a red cloak, descending towards a moment of carelessness that is the same as danger.'
• In chapter 17 she imagines herself as a figure, ‘In the wood at midnight,' seeking, ‘a magic flower'. (Garden tales and legends are regularly referenced.)
• In chapter 8 Offred comments on the barren wife she's assigned to as, ‘She's like my own reflection, in a mirror from which I am moving away.' (The fairy tale doppelganger.)
• And the red and blue comparison between the fertile and barren women, have always reminded us of Bluebeard, which doesn't feel like too much of a stretch!

What this means,of course, is that this (essential situation) is not a new problem. We will be telling our newer variations of these fairy tales now, even as we try to find our way through to surviving these old ones.

Here's the official new trailer. Be warned, although it's not explicit, it certainly hits close to home. Previous trailers have shown the barren versus fertile women and the form of control. With the emphasis in the new trailer on the changing state of the world (pre to mid tale) we have to wonder if it was created specifically to reflect the possibilities of the western world in 2017. It's certainly effective. Take a look:

The series not only has Atwood's seal of approval as the originator (and yes, she is also Consulting Producer) but her enthusiasm and praise, something you don't often hear, whether they hold a credit or not.

In a Reddit AMA*, Atwood had high praise for the first three episodes of the TV adaptation, the only ones she’s seen so far. “Based on what I’ve seen it’s a 10. My criteria: puddle of goo on the floor [by the] end of Episode 3. Gasp. Shriek. It goes farther than I did in the book…” (FTNH Edit: YIKES!) Personally, this has me even more excited for the premiere. 

Atwood herself will have a cameo in the show, as she revealed in a piece for The New York Times. In that same piece, she also reflected on all the historical events she drew inspiration from, her mindset when writing the book, and the way Offred’s narration work as a “literature of witness.” 

“Having been born in 1939 and come to consciousness during World War II, I knew that established orders could vanish overnight,” wrote Atwood, reflecting on the novel’s inception. “Change could also be as fast as lightning. ‘It can’t happen here’ could not be depended on: Anything could happen anywhere, given the circumstances.” (TheMarySue) *AMA is Ask Me Anything

One of the 'redeeming factors' of this show - that is, considering the current circumstances in which watching such possibilities brought to life are not only deeply disturbing but have the danger of pushing folks to real despair - is that the show's overall emphasis isn't on losing hope but about keeping it, despite what may come.

"It's unquestionably a dark world, says executive producer Bruce Miller, "but it's not a dark show. The show is about perspective and not losing the hope of getting your life back."

The show is, as The Mary Sue reminds us "an example of how powerful art has served as not only comfort but as a manual for resistance. In a new featurette, the team and cast of the Hulu adaptation talk about how the show is ultimately one that wants to foster hope." Take a look behind the scenes to see how the cast and crew are viewing the show, and how they see this as an effort to remind us we are never without choices.

The Handmaid’s Tale premieres on Hulu on April 26, 2017.

For those feeling the need for a morale boost, here's an excellent article on how not to lose hope, and how to resist when you feel it's hopeless and you're exhausted. How, even if you're small and quiet, you can still effectively resist. Click HERE.

#RRR

#RecommendedResistanceReads: Kate Forsyth's 'The Beast's Garden'

'Ava fell in love the night the Nazis first showed their true nature to the world .' 

A retelling of the Grimms' Beauty and The Beast, set in Nazi Germany.

Readers of this blog will be aware of our admiration for Kate Forsyth's writing and unique use of fairy tales in her historical fiction, but this novel is especially appropriate for our #recommendedresistancereads (#RRR) theme at this time.

The Beast's Garden is more than a retelling of the fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast. It's a great book of inspiration and bravery. Ava's story, though fiction, rings with the truth of so many real lives. Perhaps those fictitious characters resisting (from the Gestapo to despair) did only one of these brave acts, perhaps they did many, but don't be fooled by the label of 'fiction' here. Throughout the pages are many TRUE stories, and the names and actions of real people, as historical records can testify to. Their stories join them to each other, and, now in 2017, as so many reach for inspiration, it joins us to them.

Here is Kate's summary for the novel, from her blog:

THE BEAST’S GARDEN is a retelling of the Grimm’s Beauty and The Beast set in Nazi Germany. Ava is a young woman who marries a Nazi officer in order to save her father, but she hates and fears her new husband and the regime for which he works. 

She becomes involved with an underground resistance movement in Berlin called the Red Orchestra, made up of artists, writers, diplomats and journalists, who pass on intelligence to the American embassy, distribute leaflets encouraging opposition to Hitler, and help people in danger from the Nazis to escape the country.  

Gradually Ava comes to realise that her husband Leo is part of a dangerous military conspiracy that plans to assassinate Hitler. As Berlin is bombed into ruins, and the Gestapo ruthlessly hunt down all resistance to Nazism, Ava unwittingly betrays Leo.  

When the Valkyrie plot fails, Leo is arrested and Ava must flee.  

Living hand-to-mouth in the rubble of Berlin, she must find some way to rescue her husband before he and his fellow conspirators are executed. 

The Beast’s Garden is a compelling and beautiful love story, filled with drama, intrigue and heartbreak, taking place between Kristallnacht in late 1938 and the fall of Berlin in 1945.  

As a bonus, on her blog, Kate has linked folks to some wonderful resources. One of our favorites is a Pinterest board of photos of people, many of them women, in the German Resistance Movement during WWII.

You can find that fascinating resource HERE.

Update: As this post was about to go live, Kate posted a special article on her blog, paying tribute to the women of the underground German Resistance in honor of International Women's Day. I'm inserting the link here, because her research on these women, and whose very real stories she expertly wove into the tapestry of The Beast's Garden, is one of the reasons it's in our recommended reads as we navigate the beginning of 2017 and all its personal and political challenges. The book is both mythic with the fairy tale resonance of timeless truths, and grounded in the inspiring true stories of amazing people who did their part to stand against tyranny, despite their fear and risk to their lives. You can read her fascinating spotlight HERE.

A bonus for fairy tale folk is that Kate makes wonderful use of The Singing, Springing Lark, a variation on the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale that has elements of East of the Sun, West of the Moon, especially with regard to the motif of 'the search for the lost/ disappeared bridegroom'. It turns out, this variant, fits beautifully in the torn and confused surroundings of Berlin during the rise to power of the Third Reich. The parallel suggests us the connection to stories both past and present, and sections of the novel are indicated with text extracts from the fairy tale, bringing a different light to both tale and history.

The Grimm Brothers published a beautiful version of the Beauty & the Beast tale called ‘The Singing, Springing Lark' in 1819. It combines the well-known story of a daughter who marries a beast in order to save her father with another key fairy tale motif, the search for the lost bridegroom. In ‘The Singing, Springing Lark,' the daughter grows to love her beast but unwittingly betrays him and he is turned into a dove. She follows the trail of blood and white feathers he leaves behind him for seven years, and, when she loses the trail, seeks help from the sun, the moon, and the four winds. Eventually she battles an evil enchantress and saves her husband, breaking the enchantment and turning him back into a man.  

(In 'The Beast's Garden') a young woman marries a Nazi officer in order to save her father, but fears her new husband and the regime for which he works... (from Random House)

It's a daunting task to please readers after garnering a huge award, as Bitter Greens did (her historical fiction retelling of Rapunzel, which won the ALA for 2014), but once again, the deftly woven historical details anchoring the romance, edged with the ring of true stories from inspiring and real people living at that time, has received much praise. Here are just a few:

"Set in World War II, this retelling of Beauty of The Beast will set your emotions on edge. Set against a tumultuous backdrop of the Nazi regime, the choices made by these characters will set them on a path that cannot be undone. Stunningly written, The Beast's Garden explores the transformation of people as their morals are tested while evil rules supreme on every front. A beautiful novel that easily stands up against so many others set in the same era." Dymocks Chermside 

‘Skillfully crafted, The Beast’s Garden is another magnificent historical novel seamlessly melding truth and fiction, from Kate Forsyth. A wonderful tale of daring and courage, of struggle and survival, of love and loyalty, this is a ‘must read’. Book’d Out 

‘Intensely emotional and stunningly written, The Beast's Garden is a must-read. It has definitely made an impact on me, and I couldn't stop thinking about it for days afterwards, If you're a historical fiction fan and love an enthralling story, then this is for you. You won't regret it.’ Genie In a Book

Needless to say (but we will anyway) this book is highly recommended - both as a fairy tale retelling and as a wonderfully researched and written story that explores history, bravery and aspects of these fairy tales in a different context. It's also a novel that is currently very relevant and can speak to the fears and hopes we carry today.

For all the wonderful things this novel offers, this is the one we treasure most: that we must keep sharing stories. To do so is to link to the strength of the many who've gone before, the many who have stood against the storm, the many who right now do the same; the many who find, as they join hands, that they still can love, still create and still live - truly live. And so can we.

Thank you, Kate. It's a book to treasure.

Fairy Tale Review's Charcoal Issue To Focus on Fairy Tales as Forms of Resistance & Protest (Submissions Open)

Artwork by Erika Rier

We feel this is possibly the only way to return to reporting regular fairy tale news at this time: standing with those who refuse to sit down. 

Thank you Fairy Tale Review. 

"Wands up!"

In a time when the shifting political and cultural landscapes of our world are becoming increasingly authoritarian, restrictive, intolerant, and frightening, we have decided to dedicate The Charcoal Issue to fairy tales as forms of resistance and protest. 

A remnant material left behind after a fire, charcoal is also a source with which new fires are created. So, too, is the way of resistance—born from the heat of difficulty and tragedy, but also the fuel we use to light the way forward. 

For the coming issue, we are most interested in fairy tales that challenge the current political climate, fairy tales that resist outdated norms or binaries, fairy tales that reconfigure the faults of older stories, and fairy tales that expose abuses of power. Fairy tales with, as Kate Bernheimer has suggested, “radical strategies of survival. Ways to get out alive.”  (Emphasis by FTNH)

Fairy tales that resist domination. Fairy tales that protest annihilation. 

Submissions will be open from January 1, 2017 to March 31, 2017. The Charcoal Issue will be published in early 2018.

Also, a comment from Fairy Tale Review's Instagram feed, posted with the image at the head of the post:

Sometimes, we feel as though we lack the words to explain what "fairy tales as forms of resistance and protest" mean to us. Sometimes, we need others to help us find the words. 

To that end, we feel very honored to have published "Suddenly," a short piece of nonfiction from Carmen Giménez Smith, earlier this week. 

If you are wondering how fairy tales or folklore could possible be resistance, we recommend reading Suddenly. It will also be very helpful to anyone wishing to submit to the Charcoal Issue.

We wish all those writers and artists looking to contribute, much inspiration, hope, bravery and the knowledge that you are not alone.

Very much looking forward to this issue, Fairy Tale Review!