I am finally back. Sorry for the long absences recently, but I've spent a lot of time being ridiculously ill. One of my favourite pastimes when sick is go through all released episodes of a TV show ridiculously quickly. This time, Once Upon a Time
was my show of choice, and after the Season One finale, I, as my friend Juliette would say, "just have a lot of feels." There's something so endlessly fascinating about the way the characters are so familiar and yet completely alien when they are thrust into a magic-free world and a different side to their character is revealed. It's especially odd to me after taking a class called Adolescent Literature and writing a thesis paper on how differences in similar fairytales reflect differences and similarities in their countries of origin. What does Once Upon a Time's portrayal of Snow White, the home-wrecker, say about the United States?I've noticed a huge trend lately in film and television of re-telling and re-purposing old fairy tales. There are the two vastly different new Snow White movies, Mirror Mirror
and Snow White and the Huntsman
.\ Maleficent, which will be out in 2014, continues with Once Upon a Time's MO of turning the stories we know so well inside-out, making the good guys questionable and the bad guys more complicated. Joining Once Upon a Time on TV is Grimm, also thrusting story book characters into the harsh light of modern day America.I love these newer retellings because they're so much more detailed. They ask why the evil characters are evil, then go on to question whether they're really evil at all. If these newer versions interest you, try reading the original Grimm's Fairy Tales
. The contrast between the original and the newer versions is stark; the bad characters hardly ever have a reason for being bad. They simply are. What has spurred this need to know the reason, to blur the line?What do you think?
Until next time, happy reading!
. Now, if you think you know your fairy tales and you haven't read this collection, I urge you to do so. The version above even has other versions of the tales in the back of the book. Did you know that, in one version of the story, Red Riding Hood strips for the wolf? There's way more gore in Cinderella than you might think, and the Virgin Mary is apparently a kidnapper in her spare time. Enjoy!
next. I love these books because, while we were reading them, I was going through a particularly stressful time. One of my favourite things about these books is that it's nearly impossible to worry about real life while reading them. These topsy-turvy, completely illogical adventures are a form of pure escapism.
, a high seas adventure story. I have mixed feelings about the book, but if you like pirate stories, this book is mandatory. I remember a girl in the class complaining that the pirates in Treasure Island were too stereotypical. What she didn't realize was that this book is where the stereotypes come from. It's interesting, it's action- and gore-filled, and it's worth a read.