"Princess Furball" (Allerleirauh, a Grimms Fairy Tale) 2016 by Timea Tallian
The offerings on fairy tale studies online during the pandemic have been one of the very few bright spots of the pandemic. If you're serious about learning more on fairy tales and folktales, there are affordably priced events, programs, and courses happening almost every week at this point, as well as the occasional free one - like this event we're posting today. (The most difficult issue is having to choose which ones to go to and which to skip, while juggling full-time work and full-time homeschool all in one day!)
While this isn't focused on "the fairy tale", the talk will be of interest if you're at all familiar with Dr. Clariss Pinkola Estes, who uses a wide variety of fairy tales and folktales in her discussions, but it will be especially interesting to those who are drawn to the group of fairy tales that include Donkeyskin, All-Fur, Thousand Furs, Catskin and Allerleirauh.
As the information for the Women Who Run With the Wolves event is quite detailed we will just add the information below:
A discussion about Paloma Varga Weisz's sculpture in relation to Clarissa Pinkola Estés' feminist study, Women Who Run with the Wolves.
We are delighted to introduce a new online format for our rescheduled research events. You can now attend our series of lectures, symposia and discussions online. We invite you to watch recorded talks, submit your questions and attend a later live discussion.
"Dr Estes defined wildness as not uncontrolled behavior but a kind of savage creativity, the instinctual ability to know what tool to use and when to use it." - Dirk Johnson, The New York Times
This event brings together a diverse range of speakers to discuss the Henry Moore Institute's current exhibition, Paloma Varga Weisz: Bumped Body, in dialogue with Clarissa Pinkola Estés' renowned cult classic and revisionary feminist study, Women Who Run with the Wolves: Contacting the Power of the Wild Woman (1992).
Central to the research questions of the event is the place of feminism in contemporary art, as explored through the creative interpretation of its many methodologies.
Pre-recorded talks will cover psychoanalysis, metamorphosis, embodied storytelling, fairy tales and gender. Speakers are artists, choreographers, curators and literary scholars working both internationally and locally, offering a range of viewpoints and new interdisciplinary approaches to the interpretation of narrative sculpture.
We would like to thank Dr Catriona McAra of Leeds Arts University for convening the speakers and leading the event.
Programme From 11 November
by Madchen Photography Studios
These talks are available to watch after registering for this event. You can watch them on our website, henry-moore.org/wolves, or here on Eventbrite by accessing the event portal (click the 'Access the event' button). You will need a password to watch them, which will be sent to you upon registering for the event (scroll down your confirmation email to the 'Additional Information' section).
Introduction: The Fur of the Fairy Tale - Dr Catriona McAra (Curator, Leeds Arts University)
Clothed (in) Animals: Contemporary Women Artists Reimagining Fairy-Tale Creatures - Dr Mayako Murai (Writer, Kanagawa University)
Beneath the Surface, A Vibration Through the Bones - Rachel Goodyear (Artist, Manchester)
The Shapeshifting Woman and Other Tales of Becoming - Hannah Buckley (Choreographer, Leeds)
Wednesday 18 November, 6pm (please check the website to calculate the starting time for your timezone.)
A live discussion with speakers Dr Catriona McAra, Rachel Goodyear and Hannah Buckley. They will be answering any questions you might have once you've watched their individual talks. You can submit your questions live during the event or in advance. This session will take place on Zoom.
For much more additional information about the speakers, please check the event page HERE, where you can also REGISTER FOR FREE.
Publisher Papercut, has just acquired a new fairy tale graphic novel and it's one to watch for fairy tale and folktale folks.
The Eisner award-nominated graphic novel creators of The Little Mermaid (winner of The Excelsior Award Junior 2018) and The Red Shoes, Metaphrog, are already getting high-level kudos from The Walking Dead artist Charlie Adlard, and others well-known in the field, making it quite an anticipated addition to the world of graphic novels. (Images below are linked to their page on Amazon - each has an extensive preview available.)
Metaphrog, who have as the tag-line on their website 'The Dark Side of Fairy Tales: More Than Just Graphic Novels' are no strangers to adapting fairy tales for modern readers.
John Chalmers & Sandra Marrs of Metaphrog
We loved fairy tales as children and we still love them now. We especially love them dark. Fairy tales bring the magic back into our lives, they tell us about ourselves and about others, about human nature, and link us to our ancestors: fairy tales have been told and retold for generations. Lotte Reiniger, the silhouette animation pioneer and creator of The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) said: ” I believe in the truth of fairy-tales more than I believe in the truth in the newspaper.” Here we reimagine our favourite tales as graphic novels and hope to have created an immersive, lasting reading experience. (Sandra Marrs and John Chalmers aka Metaphrog)
Metaphrog, which consists of artist Sandra Marrs and writer John Chalmers, commented “’Bluebeard’ is one of the darkest fairy tales and resonated with us when we were children because of this darkness. It felt necessary to create a feminist retelling and so we developed our heroine’s backstory to highlight her struggles in the patriarchy. We hope the result is a compelling, suspenseful read. ‘Bluebeard’ is seldom seen in children’s books nowadays and has never been adapted into a graphic novel, and we wanted our version to appeal to adults and children alike.” (Multiversity Comics)
If the tale of Bluebeard fascinates you too, check out Metphrog's Tumblr account HERE which has a lot of Bluebeard artwork from different sources, movie clips, book covers and more. (And, yes, you can expect to see a little Beauty and the Beast in there too, since BatB is considered the flip side of the Bluebeard coin.)
Little Mermaid Wave by Metaphrog
Near the end of 2017 both members of Metaphrog were interviewed by Threadless, as they had just created a line of merchandise for the first time through the company, using their artwork. The interviewer, Carlyn Hill, asked specifically about Metaphrog's views on fairy tales and we thought we share that here. Here's an excerpt of the interview with Sandra ('S) and John ('J') of Metaphrog:
What inspires you most about finding the dark side of fairy tales? What are some of your favorite stories to put a darker twist on?
S: Fairy tales and folk tales often have a dark side, and that darkness holds a lasting power and helps get the core message of the story across. The darkness and light of such stories are held in balance.
J: For example, in The Red Shoes, although the story is dark and treats themes of obsession, possession, and hope, it still has a lightness and a strangeness. The reader is encouraged to suspend disbelief.
What do you think the importance of fairy tales – both light and dark – is for all of us as story lovers and as human beings?
J: Fairy tales and folk tales tell us what it is to be human. They tell us about ourselves and about others. Their messages are so powerful that they speak to us still, even after centuries. Sometimes there is more truth in a story than there is in the news.
Photographer unknown
S: Human beings need stories. Not only as something to provide escapism but also to allow us to learn and grow, to sympathise and empathise. Some stories carry powerful warnings while others provide hope or allow us to suspend disbelief and dream.
J: Both of us felt the thrill of reading as children and fairy tales, in particular, made the hairs on our necks stand on end.
Official synopsis of Bluebeard: A Feminist Fairy Tale:
“Award-winning duo Metaphrog transform the classic folktale into a feminist fairy tale, about the blossoming of a young child to womanhood striving for independence. Eve spends an idyllic childhood of long summer days with her sweetheart Tom, and together they dream of exploring the world. But that dream is soon shattered as she comes of age. The mysterious Bluebeard is looking for a new bride and has his sights set on Eve, and rumour has it that his former wives have all disappeared. What will Eve find in the castle beyond the enchanted forest? A forbidden chamber, a golden key and the most terrifying secret, take on a new life in this gothic graphic novel.”
Bluebeard: A Feminist Fairy Tale will be available through all major booksellers on May 2020 in both the UK and the US. You can pre-order through Amazon (US) HERE right now.
Note: The Red Shoes and Other Tales includes another Andersen story, "The Little Match Girl", and an original story, "The Glass Case". ("... about a boy who runs away to be with a living doll in a museum—and then turns into one." Description from School Library Journal)
NB: Amazon links are for your convenience. We do not receive any commission from them and are not currently an affiliate.
A passage from the ballad-folktale "Lord For A Day" caught our eye this week and, though it's not meant to be an important part of the text, it got us thinking about mattresses and peas; that is, tests of nobility or worthiness. Here is the passage, with a little context:
... the Khalif went in to the women of the palace, who came to him, and he said to them, "Whenas yonder sleeper awaketh tomorrow... say to him "Thou art the Khalif." ... Then the rest of the women of the palace came all to him and lifted him into a sitting posture, when he found himself upon a couch, stuffed all with floss-silk and raised a cubit's height from the ground*.
*That is, a mattress eighteen inches thick.
***
So in this tale, a man sitting on a pile of mattresses, or a very high mattress, is supposed to be 'proof' of royalty? (Even if, in this case, it's set up falsely.)
Where is the next step of proof with the 'pea'? Why is it girls in tales always have to provide the pudding whereas men just get to eat it?
In The Real Princess, the bedraggled girl is immediately assumed to be falsifying her identity, to be common, and must prove she is royal - at physical cost to herself. In Lord For A Day, the ruse is getting a beggar to believe he is rich, then not, then rich again by turns. He is released from this weird torment because he makes the nobleman laugh. Despite being the butt of the joke, he ends up wealthier than he ever was and becomes a part of the noble's household. In The Real Princess, she is "black and blue" before she is accepted to be the person she says, and actually, is - a princess. She is "tamed" before being able to resume her station and be eligible for a new one (royal bride). The man is "freed" before bring raised to his.
Taming of the Shrew by Willy Pogany
Interesting that the Lord For A Day tale/ballad is considered one of the folkloric sources for The Taming of the Shrew. All of the other folktales that this play of Shakespeare's is based on are difficult to read because they are so very cruel; actively, sometimes viciously, stripping a woman of all individuality, autonomy and agency (not dissimilar to what happened to the Real Princess, by some interpretations). Why Lord For A Day, came back around to be used as commentary on suppressing the rights of a potential wife, is worth considering all by itself. The contrast between a man and a woman being raised/accepted in their station, gives great pause for thought, especially as Shakespeare uses a good part of Lord for A Day at the opening of Shrew; a direct set-up for the plot to come.
It's also interesting that most readings of Katherine have her as "feisty" (a word which in essence means the weaker, underdog naturally fights against convention and against the odds), even bawdy, and Hans Andersen's tale of the rain-soaked princess can also be read as feisty and (very) bawdy too.
An interesting note on Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew:
Stephen Roy Miller argues that “Shakespeare was not adapting the folktale straightforwardly, but ironically” (1998, 14). He points to the changes that make Petruchio less of a violent ogre than the folktale husband, and concludes that “Shakespeare overwrites the ‘old testament’ of Type 901 with the ‘new testament’ of domestic relations,” a humanist emphasis on eschewing domestic physical abuse (Miller 1998, 14). Shakespeare alters the traditional shrew-taming tale, like and through Katherine (and Petruchio, who is constantly performing as tamer), by following it closely and overenthusiastically, caricaturing it. (Extract from paper by Charlotte Artese 2009, quoting Miller, The Taming of a Shrew: The 1594 Quarto, 1998)
Petruccios Hochzeit (Petruccio's Wedding) by Carl Gehrts
Given the connections between Shrew, Real Princess and the folktale sources for Shrew, and the fact that Shakespeare is generally thought to be running social commentary on old and new relations between men and women by use of parody and exaggeration, it makes us wonder if Andersen was making (subconscious?) reference to this story group Shakespeare's play used in Taming of the Shrew, todo his own form of 'story taming'? Or, was he, in complete contrast, making his own caricature of these still entrenched conventions in society, having his own commentary safely hidden within a 'proper' tale of correctness and the required fragility of noblewomen?
We never made a connection between The Taming of the Shrew and the Princess and the Pea before. Now we cannot disconnect them.
Note: We are currently reading Shakespeare and the Folktale: An Anthology of Stories by Charlotte Artese. We hope to put up a review of the whole anthology soon, but at this moment we can tell you that this is a very interesting read so far and great food for thought. Obviously, Andersen's The Real Princess a.k.a. The Princess and the Pea, was written many years after Shakespeare's time and has no bearing on the Bard's writing. The speculation above came out of reading the book below (and a little further afield) and wondering if Shakespeare, in turn, had an influence on Andersen for the famous mattress tale. The two short extracts below sum up extremely well what we are enjoying about this book and why it's worth a read for people who love fairy tales and folklore - even if you're a little rusty on your Shakespeare.
Folktales often served as common ground in Shakespeare’s theater. The playwright and some members of his audience would have read literary versions of a play’s folktale source, and those who could not read might have heard those tales told. In our own culture, when a movie or television show (or short story or novel) adapts a fairy tale, the creator knows the expectations the audience will bring, and the audience knows that the creator knows. The audience waits to see how this version of a well-known story will conform to tradition and how it will vary. Will Red Riding Hood fall in love with the wolf? Will the evil fairy repent and rescue Sleeping Beauty? When we learn the folktale traditions that Shakespeare adapts, we can join this interplay between playwright and audience.
Belsey+ concludes that the resemblances between Shakespeare’s plays and folk narratives help to explain Shakespeare’s place at the center of the Western literary canon. By absorbing the narrative traditions on which Shakespeare drew, we may peer into the heart of what makes him great: a profound connection to his audiences through the centuries and around the world.
+Catherine Belsey (author of Why Shakespeare? 2007), quoted in Artese's introduction to the volume.
A short film and different take on Rapunzel is currently a Vimeo Staff Pick (August 2019) and an Official Selection for the Shivers International Film Festival, 2019. Watching it, we can see why.
Animator Juan Pablo Machado looks at Rapunzel from a different point of view and, not surprisingly, since it's in the Shivers Festival, things get a little dark.
What might not be at first apparent though, is that Machado - whether intentionally or not - also asks us to redefine the age-old idea of "rescue". Machado's opening scene follows a knight, who, just like Sleeping Beauty's prince, bravely climbs the tower past corpses of past would-be rescuers, and must navigate the towers own 'maze of brambles' before he can find the trapped girl.
Following this adventure from the (initially heroic) knight's point of view, it's made clear that even well-intentioned knights (perhaps especially those) need to seriously consider their motives before rushing in.
Machado does all this at a wonderful pace, with succinct storytelling and characters explored just enough to get a wider sense of the story beyond this episode. It even makes us reconsider just what a tower might be.
Enjoy!
Knights climb the tower to find Princess Rapunzel and deliver her from a monster in this new interpretation of Rapunzel by Juan Pablo Machado, student at Emile Cohl.
You can find Juan Pablo Machado's website with portfolio and much more HERE.
Doesn't this poster look amazing?! Fairy tale writers, storytellers and revolutionaries make for a great lens to view this period in history and we're guessing d'Aulnoy will feature... (please let it be so!) What a wonderful concept for a play. (We can't believe this is the first we've heard of this play from 2015!) The conversations and storytelling in a fairy tale salon, layered with all the social and political intrigue and chaos of the time, would be fascinating to watch. We wish we were local to check this out.
Here's the info:
THE SALONNIÉRES
October 25-November 11, 2018
World Premiere
by Liz Duffy Adams
Directed by Weylin Symes
In pre-Revolutionary Paris, a young girl is promised in marriage to a Duke to pay off her father’s debts. She flees to the literary salon of her late mother’s friends: aristocratic women who conceal radical politics within reinvented folk tales. Which of them is her fairy godmother, and which the cruel stepmother? Is the Duke a Prince Charming or a Beast? And is the maid just a maid, or the hero of a story none of them knows they are in?
Here's a different description from New Plays Exchange (where the GBSC found the play!):
The SalonniéresbyLiz Duffy Adams
Cast: 5
Genre: comedy, drama, period, political
Keyword: revolution, feminism, Fairy Tales, France, strong female leads
In pre-Revolutionary Paris, Madeleine, a girl fresh from the convent, is promised in marriage to an older nobleman to pay off her father’s debts. She flees to the literary salon of her late mother’s friends, aristocratic women who conceal radical politics within reinvented folk tales. When her promised husband shows up too, the women must use their wits to save Madeleine. But in the end, the maid Françoise is revealed as the real hero of a story they didn’t realize they were in.
Jordan Elizabeth Henry: 29 Apr. 2018“ This wonderful period piece blew me away with its accessibility, its honoring of story, its depth of character, its crazy-high stakes, and its charm. The ending made me want to stand up and shout; I had fiery grateful feminist tears in my eyes. THE SALONNIERES is full of humor, horror, and badass women. I'm obsessed. ”
Kristen Palmer: 22 Oct. 2017“ This play is so sharp. I got to hear it read recently and it soared off the page and into my head. It's a wonderful play for the moment - and puts the male canon firmly into the hands of the too long over looked women of its era - with the revolution rumbling just outside the door. ”
This is one play we'll be watching for reviews of. (And if you're in Boston and want to go in exchange for a review, please let us know. We might be able to help you get there...)
Check out the 2018/2019 season line-up at The Greater Boston Stage Company HERE.
Writer and actor Siobhan McMillan explores the effects of social media on mental health, through the fairy tale lens, in her one-woman show, Mirrors.
In the same year that our actual mirrors became "smart mirrors" and can now comment on their owner's health and beauty (!), with more and more studies being published that confirm an adverse effect of regular social media use on our sense of self, this play seems right on point.
When asked "why fairy tales" McMillan commented:
I’ve always loved the whole fairy-tale thing: the language and the characters and the fact you can say so much while within this magical world where almost anything can happen, and you can be a little dark too.But at the same time the fairy-tale conventions create a kind of distance. (Stage Review)
It's a distance people might truly need to absorb what's being said, as McMillan comments on this topic - and lifestyle - so very close to home for the average online consumer these days
While the Queen in Snow White is the obvious fairy tale parallel to focus on, that character isn't the only one she explores. But let's take a quick look at the press release and trailer before looking closer at the show.
Press release:
Inept vlogger Shy Girl has been stood up. Again. Humiliated and a little intoxicated, she stares into her bedroom mirror and decides it is time to act. Shy Girl conjures up Shivvers – a wicked witch, distant relative of Snow White’s stepmother and the most gorgeous person in the universe. When her mirror announces that her beauty has a rival, Shivvers embarks on a mission to track down and destroy whoever dares to be more gorgeous than she.
Both a black comedy and a modern fairytale, Mirrors is a provocative and poetic exploration of narcissism and neurosis. Siobhan McMillan’s remarkable performance takes the audience on a fabulous flight of fancy in search of validation and vodka.
Here are some insights on the show from the Chicago Critic's review:
(On being stood up for a date and taping the wait - as she stares into a mirror for her vlog - she breaks) ... her mirror for informing her she is no longer the most beautiful. No! No!! No!!!
The resulting plunge into her imagination to find this new beauty coughs up a dazzling array of characters. All her alter egos are here, from the combination Wicked Witch Of The West/Baba Yaga/Cinderalla sister to the most beautiful (and hated) girl, object of her desire and envy (‘I must be a lesbian!…but I can’t be – there aren’t lesbians in fairy tales!*).
... All this wit and playwrighting skill allows Miss McMillan, herself a beautiful and wondrously expressive actor, a myriad of emotions to share, without ever inviting pity or sympathy. One actually smiles through her painful and intimate moments, for there is magic in the air and a uniqueness in this fabulous performance.
Reviews seem to be very favorable for this one-woman show, which is great to hear, as a topic like this, complete with mirror-staring (and breaking) and watching one woman have somewhat disturbing musings on stage for 70+ minutes, could be difficult to take. But it would seem McMillan has found a good balance between honesty in emotion and subject and comedy/satire in dark moments.
Being unlikely to be able to see the show in person, our first thought on reading the review consensus is that it feels like it could be redone as a vlog series, and released online... Of course, it may be more difficult to watch that way, as it sits alongside its real inspirations.
Mirrors opens at the Leicester Square Theatre Lounge on April 11th (through the 14th), after acclaimed runs at the Rosemary Branch and King’s Head Theatres in North London.
‘Siobhan’s stage presence is infectious… her audience is embraced by her energy, enchanted by her command and captivated by her vitality and mischief.’ - Marc Limpach, Kassematten Theatre, Luxembourg
'Evokes everything from Salome to Lorca, Ken Russell to Zelda… the scene in which Shivvers feasts on the eyes and toes of men was one of the most electric moments I have experienced at the theatre.’ - Facebook review
We don't know quite what to think of that last review comment either, but please let us know if you get to see the show! We'd love to hear some first-hand accounts from fairy tale folk in the audience.
*We're guessing the character in the play didn't do her research in this respect.
“Barbara Thorson is your new hero. A quick-witted, sharp- tongued middle-schooler who isn’t afraid of anything. As the only girl in school carrying an ancient Norse warhammer in her purse and killing giants for a living, why wouldn’t she be? I Kill Giants is the sweeping, bittersweet story of a young girl struggling to conquer monsters both real and imagined as her world crumbles at the feet of giants bigger than any one child can handle.”
Anywhere you have a child, or young person, dealing with giants, the comparison to Jack (of giant slayer and beanstalk fame), is inevitable, and with this film, and it's graphic novel source, there is some sense to that. Despite the lack of enchanted, cloud-reaching plants to climb, this world of the bunny-ear-wearing 5th-grader heroine, Barbara Thorson, is filled with all the magic and peril of Jack's, and the metaphors work too, with or without the, er, flora. And with the trailer showing the lines between reality and fantasy being more than a little blurred, the echo of "Jack themes" is stronger than ever.
Take a look at the newly-released trailer. (Note: it's followed by a pre-released scene, with Barbara showing her new friend one of her "Giant traps".):
In Joe Kelly and J.M. Ken Niimura’s comic book, I Kill Giants, it’s unclear just how much of young Barbara’s giant-slaying adventures are real and how much are part of an elaborate fantasy world she’s created in her mind to escape from the emotional stresses of her actual life. The new trailer for the film adaptation does a good job of getting that point across. (iO9)
The graphic novel*, and the movie, take the nerdy outcast type and, unlike making her silent and withdrawn as is typical (especially for female characters), Barbara is outspoken, witty and takes no prisoners with her speech and humor, very much like the typical Jack of the various Jack tales (from beanstalks to giant slayings and much, much more). Although she's just as brash and energetic (and imaginative), it's clear that, unlike most versions of "Jack" we've seen, she is dealing with a lot of pain. Uniquely, this loner type is a character whom you can't simply pity, despite her situation and life-troubles; she requires the audience's respect as well. It's great to see and, from what we can tell, strikes a fairly rare balance in drawing a girl who is very different from, and still very like, any regular kid, and it's clear that this emotional balance has made loyal fans and readers out of many different people.
Here's a description of Barbara and the graphic novel premise by Joe Kelly, the writer & creator of the comics, and screenwriter for the movie adaptation, from an interview with CBR.com:
“The story follows Barbara Thorson, a troubled but resilient fifth grader who’s a bit of an outcast — Dungeons & Dragons, fantasy and general mopery are her hobbies. But it looks like she’s taking the fantasy thing a little too far. She’s always talking about giants, reading books on giants, setting traps for giants, getting ready to kill a giant. Almost the entire story is told from her point-of-view, so we see what she sees: pixies, critters, and a monster that lives upstairs in her house, so terrifying that Barbara only sleeps in the basement. So is she crazy, or does she know something that we don’t? Does she have an active imagination, or does she see another world? The story kicks off as this fantasy world begins to crack because of some outside forces–a bully, the school psychologist, and her first real friend.” (Joe Kelly, from an interview with CBR.com)
I Kill Giants deals with issues similar to those in A Monster Calls** (highly recommended by the way), of sickness and family concerns, as well as bullying, loneliness and friendship, anger, the very real pain children can have, and a different "coming-of-age", but it also has it's own mark to make, and, might be even more in touch with present societal concerns. In other words, Barbara may just be the heroine many people - girls in particular - are looking for right now.
Does Barbara bring to mind another modern fairy tale-type heroine as well? How about Fionna, (of Fionna and Cake) in the animated TV series Adventure Time? And it's not just the bunny ears. In the Adventure Time universe, Fionna is the hero of the time, and this version of the 'universe' in which she appears, is deliberately gender-swapped. Not only is she not Finn, (of Finn and Jake), she's not a boy. Boys are typically the loners who "go out and save the world" and have tales created around their adventures - their angst, their journey to maturation and their eventual triumphs. In the gender-swapped universe of Adventure Time, it's Fionna who fills this role, much to the delight of audiences*** and fans who loved seeing a weird-but-strong female character saving princes who needed saving, and in I Kill Giants, it's Barabara Thorson who takes it upon herself to save the town and school from impending destruction by giants. It should be noted that the town and school typically view her with either derision or concern and unlike most heroes, she's not given a pass for her quirks, let alone respect. In this respect, a female hero is often more alone than a male hero. At least boys, who are derided for their crazy ideas, are still ultimately respected for 'wanting to be a hero'. In a girl, this quality and the various manifestations of that, is just seen as "cray-cray". It's great to see this addressed and these issue being given the respect they deserve. Using the lens of a fairy tale is playing a major part in this, and that's no coincidence. Nothing tells us the truth, quite like a fairy tale.
I Kill Giants, directed by Anders Walter and also starring Zoe Saldana and Imogen Poots,hits theaters March 23, 2018.
*The graphic novel has been nominated for a lot of different awards, including an Eisner, and received the International Manga Award in 2012. **I Kill Giants was apparently pitched and began development around the same as A Monster Calls, but the latter, made with a bigger budget, ended up making it to the screen a year earlier. *** The debut airing of the Fionna and Cake saw "a dramatic increase in all boy demographics" and "marked a 42% increase in viewers compared to a year earlier". (Source)
A thought-provoking video was posted this morning on YouTube and we felt it so important, we decided to do a full post, rather than just retweeting. (Video is embedded below.)
This interesting - and wonderful - analysis of the iconic 1950's Cinderella, couldn't have come at a more opportune time. And it might just make you pull out the movie for a re-run too, because, yes, it's that empowering.
By the way - important to note here, is that it mentions that even the Disney Company itself, now considers the Cinderella animated movie as passive, and not the best role-model for girls, with the title character relying on others to be rescued.
Yet, from the video:
But the criticisms (of the film) usually focus on our culture's shared interpretation of Cinderella, not what the character actually says and does in the film.
And yes, ironically, that conversation has been largely influenced by Disney's own marketing!
Critics of the movie probably feel they're espousing girl power by attacking the damaging idea that a happy ending equals a handsome prince. But counterintuitively, the tendency to dismiss Cinderella might actually be a little sexist.
Perhaps there was more thought - possibly even respect - put into the movie than anyone has realized. From this video analysis, it would suggest so, or at least that the fairy tale source variants it drew on had enough substance there to subliminally affect - for the better - how Cinderella was portrayed (credit was given to Perrault as the source, but other variants were looked at during research in early stages of development as well).
KenAnderson - development for Disney's Cinderella (1950)
For the 'timely' context - and why this conversation is important to have right now - (since this post will quickly go to the archive and found later, when the world is, hopefully, different), we are in the midst of a deluge of accusations against many figures in positions of power, citing sexual misconduct, abuse and rape. These allegations are being made by people in the wake of the Weinstein accusations, who have finally felt able to come forward and be heard (though for many this is not the first time they are telling their stories).
As the backlash continues, with people scoffing at the stories, even sometimes attacking those abused, we feel it's important to keep explaining, that reporting abuse, standing up to abuse, is very, very difficult. It's not overstating it to say "silence has equaled survival" for many, many people, on many levels, including physical safety. No one owes anyone their stories - or the details, or names. #metoo It is the first time, the pervasiveness of this abuse is clear and the victims are not being dismissed. So many are coming forward now, precisely because there is safety in numbers, but never underestimate just how hard that is to do. It changes everything and affects not only the individuals but their families too.
Fairy tales are full of women who have been abused and people are drawn to different tales, not only because they sometimes see themselves in those characters, but also because they find hope in those stories too. The recent Disney/Branagh live-action action Cinderella, though not perfect, took care to more clearly show feminine strength at work in an abusive situation, making people take a second look at the Cinderella fairy tale, as well as the classic animated film it was based on, and garnering an appreciation for it that has been largely lacking for the past few generations.
This awesome video analysis that highlights the strength of that 1950's Cinderella, is wonderful to watch - clear, beautiful and explaining the points with clips. It's a little longer than your usual internet clips, at 13-ish minutes, but highly recommended (you won't be bored).
There are two specific sections for which we have taken the time to transcribe the narrative so that the observations/ interpretation won't be lost, should the video link ever not work.
The first excerpt, analysing the Fairy Godmother appearing, is new to us with regard to the Disney Cinderella movies (both of them), though in some of the Cinderella variants from around the world, this manifestation of the Fairy Godmother as Cinderella's 'wish', that is, a maternal figure of help and guidance, is more clear. Although we don't believe this was the intent of the filmmakers to show this (based on our longtime research, though, to be clear, we are not experts on the making of this film) it makes a wonderful sense and feels like one of those wonderful subconscious ideas that were included. Perrault, who was the writer to first include the fairy godmother, does not appear to have added the magical figure for this intention, but we are rather tickled that, using this interpretation, Disney's version is the one that links this idea back to many other versions of Cinderella.
We also love that this is another example of amplifying the potential of things - that transformation (of things and people) is possible because of what already existed.
Cinderella's inner strength and tireless imagination manifest physically as the Fairy Godmother. It's when she believes she's hit rock bottom that her Fairy Godmother materializes, and the reprise of "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" tells us that she is the embodiment of Cinderella's dreaming or her heart's wish. When she needs it most, Cinderella has willed a loving maternal figure into existence. Since she has no real family, the fairy represents her determination to mother herself.
The Fairy Godmother's magic work through imagination, creativity, and resourcefulness -- all qualities that Cinderella relies on for her survival, as that represent her true powers. Each magical transformation finds hidden potential in what Cinderella already has. A pumpkin becomes the carriage, the mice become horses, and Cinderella's horse, who assumes he'll pull the carriage, becomes the coachman.
Gus's transformation especially symbolizes how imagination can help us overcome our oppressors. When he's transformed into a horse, he's finally able to escape Lucifer's clutches.
This second transcription, looking at Bruno, the dog, being paralleled with Cinderella isn't a new thought, so much as it possibly the most succinct example we've ever heard of a victim juggling the ever-present issues of needing to sometimes to be passive for the purpose of survival, versus taking action.
Cinderella demonstrates that real kindness is active, not passive. Rescuing her friends in this oppressive household is brave and heroic... When Gus gets stuck in a mousetrap, we see that Cinderella is quick to help those who can't help themselves. And she's spirited -- she doesn't hesitate to tease her friends -- or stand up for herself in her interactions with Lucifer. These interactions are important to show us that Cinderella's not a pushover. She knows when she's being treated unfairly, and, when she can object, she does. But there's a distinction between this and someone who represents a truly grave threat to her safety. When Cinderella tells Bruno to stop dreaming of chasing Lucifer, it's because disobeying Lady Tremaine's orders could result in losing his home. She knows that Bruno's situation could become parallel to her own, and she's been forced to value practicality over justice in order to survive. Near the end we see a return to this parallel between Cinderella and Bruno. At this critical moment, Cinderella decides that Bruno should disobey orders, despite the dangers, because they have a real opportunity to escape.
To be able to recognize that moment, and then act, is strong indeed.
Artist unknown - created for Disney's Cinderella (1950)
Note: (Emphasis in bold on transcripts added by us.)
This event brings together a diverse range of speakers to discuss the Henry Moore Institute's current exhibition, Paloma Varga Weisz: Bumped Body, in dialogue with Clarissa Pinkola Estés' renowned cult classic and revisionary feminist study, Women Who Run with the Wolves: Contacting the Power of the Wild Woman (1992).
