The Do's & Don'ts of Social Distancing Fairy Tales by Erin-Claire

"DO be like Little Red Riding Hood: take essentials to elderly and isolated relatives (but don't bring home any wolves/viruses!)"

Important note: The need for human connection is directly linked to mental health, yet, right now, we need to stay physically apart from each other in order for us all to have our best chance at survival and to protect the most vulnerable. With mental health becoming a serious issue after months of being forced to keep in-person interactions to a bare minimum, and no end to the coronavirus threat yet in sight, it is now being suggested that we replace the term "social distancing" with "physical distancing", to emphasize the importance of maintaining physical precautions while encouraging people to have and create connections in other ways. 

When the pandemic hit and we all went into quarantine in a global effort to slow down the spread of coronavirus, Erin-Claire began making illustrations of fairy tales as both examples and cautionary tales about social distancing. 

It's a very fresh and timely reframing of fairy tales, showing how they can be read and re-read in constantly new ways, helping us to reflect on our current situations, telling tales to remind ourselves of both consequences and possibilities, but above all, that we are all human and struggle with similar things, no matter where we are.

The diversely talented Australian artist, storyteller, and speaker, Erin-Claire Barrow, better known as just Erin-Claire, has been working with fairy tales for quite some time now and is passionate about diversity and representation in stories and empowering people, women especially. Her feminist fairy tales illustration series led to her speaking at #TedXCanberra on this very subject (you can see that HERE) and she has many more stories to tell and feels fairy tales can help us in so many more ways.

The captions below each image are the companions for the illustrations and, in that mysterious and wonderful way of fairy tales, ground us amid a sea of false narratives, and encourage us to get to the heart of issues we're dealing with and face them, head-on.

With "vigilance-fatigue" setting in, sometimes it helps to get the same reminder in a different way to re-energize us into being vigilant and protecting each other again. We think Erin-Claire's #SocialDistancingFairyTales series might help to do just that. 

Enjoy.

DON'T be like the True Sweetheart: Now is not the time to travel the world looking for an ex who forgot about you, attend his wedding ball three nights in a row, win him back then abscond to YOUR castle for yet another wedding party.

DON'T be like the Pied Piper of Hamelin: encouraging large gatherings in public places.

DO be like Rapunzel in her tower: just two visitors and only ever one at a time.

DO be like the witch in Jorinda and Joringel (especially if elderly and vulnerable): if any visitors you don't want come too close, turn them into birds or freeze them in place.

DON'T be like the Twelve Dancing Princesses: sneaking out of your home every night to dance your shoes to pieces with enchanted (or enchanting) princes.

DO be like the Lady from Llan y Fan Fach: if your partner is violent towards you, it is absolutely ok to leave your home to travel somewhere safe or seek help. Also to take all their cows, horses and other livestock.

Fairy Tale Bonus of the Day:

We had to include one of our favorite ink illustrations by Erin-Claire. Though this piece was created for a previous #Inktober (a yearly challenge for artists everywhere), rather than a specific work for her portfolio, it immediately caught our eye and showcases some of the lovely storytelling that comes through in her illustrations. It is titled "Wise Women", and reminded us that though we have to remain socially distant, we can still send magic into the world from where we are and help build a better future.

Thanks, Erin-Claire!

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Fearnot by Erin-Claire

The Six Swans by Erin-Claire

You can find Erin-Claire in these places around the web listed below (click to go to her sites), and continue to follow her #socialdistancingfairytales as she adds any, along with her continuing feminist fairy tales work and possibly even discover some lesser-known tales along the way:

Website - erinclaireillustration.com

Facebook

Tumblr

Instagram

Twitter

Subscribers: We've Fixed the Email Updates! (We Think)

Hallmark Fantasy Pumpkins

We have been working on fixing an issue we've had most of the year with our subscribers not getting email updates for new posts. (In fact, we sincerely hope subscribers are reading this update via their emails, with morning coffees in hand, right now!)

If you are a Once Upon A Blog subscriber and are seeing this on the blog instead, please check you are still subscribed. If you are, but still haven't received an email update for the recent new posts in mid-October 2020, please let us know. 

We think we've gotten to the bottom of the problem but won't know for sure if there are any issues still needing to be addressed until we get some feedback. 

In the meantime, we will be working on our pumpkin coaches, which are our preferred transport of the season. 

One week till Halloween 2020!

Disney's "Raya and the Last Dragon" Pays Tribute to Diverse Cultures of Southeast Asia (Teaser Trailer)

It's clear there has been a deliberate shift to properly represent diversity in Disney's upcoming animated feature, Raya and the Last Dragon, and we are so here for this!

THE TRAILER:

Take a look at the just-released teaser-trailer:

Official description: Long ago, in the fantasy world of Kumandra, humans and dragons lived together in harmony. But when an evil force threatened the land, the dragons sacrificed themselves to save humanity. Now, 500 years later, that same evil has returned and it’s up to a lone warrior, Raya, to track down the legendary last dragon to restore the fractured land and its divided people. However, along her journey, she’ll learn that it’ll take more than a dragon to save the world—it’s going to take trust and teamwork as well.

REPRESENTATION:

People are already very excited about seeing real diversity in this teaser. Here are just a few of the many comments:

As for the specific efforts in representation during development and production, here are some examples of how the film's focus has shifted for this to become a major priority. From insidethemagic (August 2020):

"...it is clear that representation has become a major focus of the project.

Raya will be Disney’s first animated feature film to be inspired by Southeast Asia, and filmmakers Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada, and Producer Osnat Shurer, told Entertainment Weekly they’re working hard to accurately celebrate the influential cultures. They are making efforts to send creative teams on research trips to several Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam, and collaborate with linguists, dancers, Gamelan musicians from Indonesia, and a Laos visual anthropologist who is said to review every design before it is finalized.

Adele Lim, the screenwriter behind Crazy Rich Asians, and Qui Nguyen are penning the script. Nguyen said that both his and Lim’s life experiences are being used to write this film and that it has meant a lot, personally to see their cultures represented in costumes and martial arts, as well as references to his Asian American Identity.

“When you’re telling a story and you’re just doing it based on research, you end up always having to do it from the high end,” he said. “To have the artists who represent those cultures in there to be able to give the subtleties of what our families are actually like, what our relationships are actually like, has given a lot of nuances to this great adventure.

“To be able to have some [heroes] that look like me and my kids,” he added, “it’s gonna matter to a lot of folks.”

(Note: poster shown above is from the Disney Lunar New Year collection, for Disney China.)

NOT AN AUTO-ENTRY INTO PRINCESS FRANCHISE?

There is an important rumor about this representation though, and one that might be worth keeping in mind. It's being said that because Raya is not a musical the main character won't automatically enter the Disney Princess franchise. It's going to depend on numbers and how "successful" the film is (by Disney Executive standards). So, if it's safe by the release date, bring your feet into the theater, and if it's not, pay the extra for "movie theater streaming at home". We need to underscore how important this effort at representation is, and give all those millions of kids around the world the merchandise they could greatly benefit from, to help them continue the experience of seeing themselves in this story, with a princess that looks like them.

THE FOLKLORE/FAIRY TALE/LEGEND COMPONENT:

As for the fairy tale and folklore elements of the movie, we've only seen a small amount to date but it's clear this will delve more into the realms of legends and allude to Southeast Asian folklore along the way. That doesn't mean there won't be fairy tale elements though. For the moment, the standout touchstone for folklore is the Last Dragon of the title (from Why Southeast Asians Should Be Excited About Raya and the Last Dragon):

The titular dragon is named Sisu and is voiced by actress/rapper/comedian Awkafina. She is the last of her kind and the goal of Raya’s adventure is to find out what happened to the dragons that used to inhabit the land. Sisu herself is able to change into a more human-like form, and is based on the naga, the mythical water serpent that permeates all of Southeast Asian culture.

This deity can be found in Laos, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines, with varying depictions of the dragon between cultures, but its general form and function as a water deity is preserved throughout. Evidently, Sisu isn’t going to be as tame as Mulan’s Mushu, and might just be a force to be reckoned with - like Maleficent’s dragon form.

We're very much looking forward to seeing the joy of exploring the diversity of Southeast Asian cultures in a Disney film, and seeing how it also represents the Southeast-Asian-American community as well, not to mention the stories, folklore, legends, and yes, the fairy tales, that are channeled in this film.

Disney's official posters for English and Japanese shown above.

Black Lives Matter and Black Fairy Tales Matter

Black Lives Matter. Always.

And that means Black Fairy Tales Matter too.

There are Black opinions (more inclusively, BIPOC opinions) that should be heard on every topic and that - hopefully, obviously - includes fairy tales. There are also black, indigenous and people of color tales that should be being told and retold, which even they have trouble finding because stories and fairy tales been dominated by white voices for so long, and that needs to change.

Let's cut to the chase. The last thing you need is another white opinion right now. So, re this blog, the best advocacy we can think of, with regard to fairy tale discussion, is to point you to black, indigenous, and POC voices that maybe you're not aware of, or don't know how to find, first before you continue reading what we have to offer. We're going to pin this post right at the top so it's easy to find, and link to a longer entry with some important resources and names you should know and be accessing regularly when it comes to fairy tales.

 It's not a definitive list. There are so many still-unheard voices missing here, and we will do our best to update the main post as we become aware of them, but this, at least is a start.

Please see our list HERE for writers, scholars, and artists

whose voices should be listened to when studying and working with fairy tales.

Be the change we need.

Image credits: "Dig a Little Deeper" (Tiana oil portrait) by Heather Edwards; Maya Angelou quote graphic by Glashanda Lewis B

Black Fairy Tales & Folktales Matter - Useful Resources (a growing list)

ABC's Once Upon A Time Rapunzel in S3:14, The Tower, played by Alexandra Metz

This resource list is just a place to start and will be added to as we can manage. Suggestions for any category below (or for adding more categories) are welcome!

ONLINE ARTICLES:

• These Stories Are Ours, Too: Writing Black Characters into Fairy Tales by L.L. McKinney
• Not Until We Get A Turn: Retellings, Tropes, and Who Gets To Tell Stories by Kalynn Bayron
• Black Stories Matter (resources, books, ways to be an advocate) by Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic

BOOKS (tale collections):

• Blackberry Blue: And Other Fairy Tales by Jamila Gavin
• Her Stories: African American Folktales, Fairy Tales, and True Tales by Virginia Hamilton
• The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton
• The Annotated African American Folktales (The Annotated Books) edited by Henry Louis Gates and Maria Tatar

BOOKS (Scholarship):

                                          

• Fairy Tale TV by Jill Terry Rudy and Pauline Greenhill (2020)
• Re-Orienting the Fairy Tale: Contemporary Adaptations across Cultures (Series in Fairy-Tale Studies) edited by Editors Mayako Murai and Luciana Cardi (2020)

ONLINE ARTICLES (Scholarship):

• Seeing White: Children of Color and the Disney Fairy Tale Princess by Dorothy L. Hurley (link to downloadable PDF)
• Moving Beyond Grimm’s Fairytales for Representations of Black and White:Diversity as an Integral Component of quality Provision in Early ChildhoodEducation by Dr Maria O’ Dwyer (link to downloadable PDF) 
• Enchanting the Masses: Fairy Tale Dystopias and Allegorical Diversity by Jill Coste (abstract only)
• From Representation to Participation: Rethinking the Intercultural Educational Approach to Folktales by Annette de Bruijn (on reading & teaching multicultural fairy tales to early elementary children)

BOOKS (Fiction):

• Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi (genre - literature, magical realism - Snow White, Goblin Market & more)
• Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron (genre - fantasy/UF, Cinderella, princess culture)
• A Blade So Black by A. A. McKinney (genre - fantasy/UF, Alice in Wonderland)
• Redemption in Indigo: A Novel by Karen Lord (genre - fantasy, magic realism, Bluebeard & Beauty and the Beast)

BOOKS (picture books):

• Freedom Child of the Sea by Richardo Keens-Douglas, illustrated by Julia Gukova - though it's a picture book, we recommended it for everyone

• Rachel Isadora 's fairy tale retellings - The Fisherman and His Wife, The Twelve Dancing Princesses, Rapunzel, The Princess and the Pea, Hansel & Gretel

• Once Upon A World Collection (board books by various authors & artists): Rapunzel, Cinderella, Snow White, The Little Mermaid, The Princess and the Pea 

              

• Fairy Tales by Jane Ray (illustrator) and Berlie Doherty (diverse cultural characters and settings for familiar tales)
• Mufaro's Beautiful Daughter by John Steptoe

GRAPHIC NOVELS/COMICS:

• The Girl Who Married A Skull: And Other African Stories (Cautionary Fables & Fairy Tales 1) by Mary Cagle, Kel McDonald (Editor), Kate Ashwin (Editor), & 15 more

• Fred H. Crump Jr (Main FT printings: 1989- 91, 2007-10) Retold & Illustrated Fairy Tales and classic stories with POC Main Characters - over 40 titles, now out of print (NB: created specifically for children of color by Crump, a black comic artist, and teacher) A collection of book covers can be seen HERE.

FILM/TV:

• HBO's Happily Ever After: Tales for Every Child series (1995-2000) - world-famous fairy tales told with diverse characters and settings

• Emerald City (NBC 1 season - 2017 - based on The Wizard of Oz)
• The Princess and the Frog (Disney 2009)

• Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella (Disney 1997, live-action remake of stage-play, starring Brandy and Whitney Houston)
• The Wiz (1978 musical movie Wizard of Oz, starring Diana Ross)
• The Wiz Live (2015 starring Shanice Williams, Queen Latifah)

UPCOMING:

          

Come Away official poster; Halle Bailey as Disney's new Ariel (pic was Disney approved for announcement)

• Come Away (due for release Dec 2020, directed by Brenda Chapman, starring David Oyelowo, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Angeline Jolie; Alice in Wonderland & Peter Pan) Trailer available to view HERE.
• The Little Mermaid (Disney's live-action remake of their animated classic, due for release July 2021, starring Halle Bailey)
  

FAIRY TALE ARTISTS TO KNOW:

• Lachanda Gartistry with Creative Soul Photography - Black Princess Portraits

OTHER ART RESOURCES:

• Racebentdisney.tumblr.com - not recently updated but still a good resource, Tumblr blog includes a wide range of artist interpretations, POC actors in traditionally white Disney roles and more.

FAIRY TALE/FOLKTALE AUTHORS TO KNOW:

• Helen Oyeyemi (Mr. Fox, What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours, Boy, Snow, Bird, Gingerbread: A Novel)
• John Steptoe (Mufaro's Beautiful Daughter)
• Virginia Hamilton (collections of African American Tales)
• Nalo Hopkinson (Brown Girl in the Ring, Skin Folk, Sister Mine, multi-award-winning folklore/fantasy author)

Coming Soon: A Virtual Fairy Tale Salon with Timeless Tales Editor Tahlia Kirk

Written by Tahlia Kirk

Spend an evening chatting about your favorite fairy tale at the Storied Imaginarium's virtual fairy tale salon on November 6 (Nov 7 for Australia).

We're evoking the elegant Parisian salon of 17th century France, when wealthy women hosted gatherings in their living rooms to discuss literature and write stories. One of the most popular parlor games played at these salons was to retell classic folktales. Storytellers would use fanciful language of fairy tales to slyly slip rebellious commentary on aristocratic culture past the court's censors. I hope to share some of my favorite counter-culture tales with you and talk about what makes a retelling resonate. While this is more of a meeting-of-minds than a formal writing workshop, I think all fans of the magical and whimsical will enjoy our time together. 

Seats are limited, so sign up now to save your spot!

(Pic is my envisioning of the type of outfit one might wear to a modern literary salon 😅)