We’re always improving on previous
stories, like Foster says over and over. In a way, he’s doing the same. He
takes from his earlier chapters and adds on to them to help us readers
understand everything he has us looking for in novels. So why would writers
choose fairy tales to build off of fairy tales rather than the old sacred texts
he mentioned earlier? The obvious reasons are to touch a larger audience, since
most people are familiar with the stories, and to provide a base that has
already been proven to work as a successful plot line. But there has to be
something more to our desire to continue on with these anecdotes. Sure, we love
tradition and the act of sharing our stories with younger generations, but why?
It’s possible that by including
fairy tales in their stories, writers are attempting to be remembered. To live
on. Sharing our personal adventures with others is a way to keep our memories
alive. That’s why the Greek myths are still told today. Since fairy tales, much
like those old legends, will not be forgotten any time soon, maybe the authors
that use them in their work are giving readers something to latch onto, and
thus ensuring that the novel they put the familiar story in will live on.
I believe companies have grasped
this idea of immortality through remembrance. For instance, Barbie makes a
great sum of money through movies such as Barbie
Rapunzel and many other fairy tale based products. Now, the Barbie dolls
that children own are not just plastic playthings. They are princesses,
princes, trusty steeds, and villains. They hold a new, special place in that
child’s memory. The kids then grow up with these characters, and each time they
read or watch something similar to say, Swan Lake, they’ll make a connection to
the Barbie Swan Lake set they used to play with.
Because of this familiar
connection, fairy tales can help a story, but they can also have negative
effects on them. Personally, when I see a movie titled, “A Cinderella Story,” I
don’t need anything else to know that the plot will be another variation on the
Brothers Grimm’s Cinderella. Know
this, many people would be delighted to see the new take on the old classic,
but I’d rather not. After a while, I became tired of the stereotypical rags to
riches, lame to popular type of fiction. The redundancy and predictability had
become a bore. I may be wrong, but I assume that I am not the only person with
this mindset. Because of people like me, the infusion of these popular fables
in new works will have their cons. However, one could argue that if nothing
else, curiosity would bring in viewers for movies like A Cinderella Story.
Perhaps someone would like to spot the differences in the modern version, so
they bought movie tickets. Maybe they want to see how the new film compares to
the quality of the original. Whatever the case, there will be both pros and
cons. But despite this, the makers of the movie will live on in remembrance
because of the familiar tale they told. At the end of the day, that’s the only thing
that matters.
Photo Source: http://misternast.blogspot.com/p/fairy-tales.htm
Photo Source: http://misternast.blogspot.com/p/fairy-tales.htm
