Chapter 8: A Familiar Classic

                                       

        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.  

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