Welcome to that One Movie Obsession

If there’s one movie that I have un-ironically fallen in love with in recent years, it’s the 2006 “The Woods”. I have no idea if this is an obscure movie or one that fell to the wayside because audiences didn’t like it (but critics mostly liked it -it’s fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), however I love this movie.

And not just because Bruce Campbell has a minor role.

“The Woods” is one of those quasi horror movies that isn’t so much scary as it is a fairy tale with horror elements. Much in the same way that the original 1977  “Suspiria” or the more recent “Pan’s Labyrinth” and "Sleepy Hollow", it’s a mix of terrifying concepts, beautiful imagery, and dreamlike storytelling.

Fairy tale elements can be found throughout the movie. The setting is at an all girl’s school located deep in the woods (hence the  title) in the 1960s. There’s a sense of mystery, some of the girls start to go missing, there’s a mean girl who bullies our protagonist, and there are witches. 

If the location weren’t enough to indicate that we’re in a fairy tale, the music certainly does. It’s haunting, a little off putting, and at times down right creepy. However, I do like the use of “You Don’t Own Me” peppered throughout at key moments. It helps reinforce the overarching themes of individuality and rebelliousness that embodies the protagonist.

However, I can see why movie goers might not have been drawn to it. The story is a little confusing and inconsistent at times. Motivations aren’t always clear outside of the protagonist. And some characters seem to know more than they should (though that could be because of their undefined “gift”).

Yeah a lot of the girls in these films are “gifted” or, in lame man’s terms, psychic, telepathic, or otherwise magically inclined. How do these gifts connect to the larger world? Never explained, they just have them. It’s established early that the protagonist, Heather, has some sensitivity to psychic phenomena, but her real talents are revealed during an emotionally charged scene between her and the headmistress.

Honestly, I love picking a part this movie. The ending, though entertaining, doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. Some of the earlier information is contradictory to what ends up happening, but it also isn’t clear who is a reliable source of information and who isn’t. Furthermore, the inciting incident of the course is a little confusing and not explained well.

These issues could easily turn off the average movie goer. 

I freaking love them. All of the ambiguity has the wheels in my head turning over and over. I’ve got a few theories and ideas. Personally I think the woods the school was located in were always evil and possessed the witches or acted as their puppet masters. I also like to think that they only needed to “feed” the curse at certain times. Then again, “feed” probably isn’t the right word, but provide new hosts to continue what the woods want. 

And my favorite theory is that Heather from “The Woods” is Sarah’s deceased mother from “The Craft”. They have some similar powers and ticks that make me wonder if the actress who played Heather was a fan of “The Craft”. Plus the timelines for the character’s ages align.

All the proof I need that Heather is Sarah's mother

Seriously, check out this movie and tell me that Heather couldn’t potentially be Sarah’s mom. It’s on Amazon Prime right now.

I love fairy tale dreamlike quality of some movies. There’s a reason I go back to “Suspiria”, “Sleepy Hollow”, “Pan’s Labyrinth” and “The Woods”. They remind me of a time when the woods were filled with imagined monsters and there were still mysterious places to be explored with danger around every corner. They transport us from reality and into a realm where anything is possible.

This is also likely why I enjoyed “Sleep No More”.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off), please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Until next week.

Welcome to the Lessons of Cinderella

This week, while lurking around the Internet, I came across a news article about how Kristen Bell and Keira Knightly don't like certain fairy tales. More specifically, they don't like the message and, in Knightly's case, out right ban the Disney movies Snow White, Cinderella, and the Little Mermaid. They feel that these stories teach problematic lessons and can have a negative impact on their children. You can read one of the many news articles here.

I can understand some of their arguments.

There's no question in my mind that these stories have problematic tropes and themes. I'm not big on true love's first kiss breaking a spell, especially when it's to wake up a sleeping princess. That's just a little creepy. I'm also not big on how Ariel decides to give up everything for a guy and, in the Disney version, basically learns nothing from her misadventures. Giving up everything for some random guy that you've just met isn't a concept I understand.

Even some of Disney's more solid fairy tale classics, such as Beauty and the Beast and Lion King, aren't free from criticism. Beauty and the Beast has been accused of romanticizing Stockholm Syndrome (it doesn't) and highlights the problems of romance under duress (Belle is literally the captive of the Beast even though she runs off during the first night of her capture). It has been noted that The Lion King has a few issues with how the segregation between the hyenas and the lions is portrayed and then there's the whole "Divine Right of Kings" message that ends the movie.

Then there's Cinderella. This story in particular set Keira Knightly's teeth on edge. To quote Ms. Knightly during her interview with Ellen: "Cinderella, banned because she waits around for a rich guy to rescue her." She isn't alone in her feelings on Cinderella.

Cinderella has basically become the punching bag for everyone who wants to point out the flaws in Disney Princess movies. I often think of the line from the Cheetah Girl's song: "I don't want to be a Cinderella waiting in a dark cold dusty cellar, waiting for somebody to set me free." It basically sums up how a lot of critics perceive the story and character of Cinderella.

Despite the fact that I'm not this movie's biggest fan, I couldn't disagree with this assessment more.

At it's heart, Cinderella is the story about a young woman who is put in a terrible situation, where she is constantly emotionally and verbally abused, and despite all that is still a good person. The YouTube channel ScreenPrism put out an excellent video call "Cinderella: Stop Blaming the Victim" and it's a great explanation on why the criticism surrounding Cinderella is equally problematic. A lot of the points that I'll be covering in my blog post are coming from this video's analysis.

Cinderella is a hard working individual, she is kind to those who need it most (as shown by her relationship with many of the house's animal inhabitants), and very loyal to those she calls friends. In the Harry Potter universe she's a quintessential Hufflepuff.

Furthermore, her living situation is awful. She's basically been reduced to a servant in her own home and is abused by her only family. All Cinderella wants to do is go to a ball. She doesn't want to meet the prince. She certainly doesn't want to marry him. She wants a night off to party like any other teenage girl.

And what does her "family" do?

They mock her. They keep her so busy she can't work on her fixing dress, so the mice help Cinderella out because she's protected them from the nasty cat. Then, when Cinderella appears before her step mother and step sisters, ready for a fun night for the first time in her life, they rip her dress to shreds.

I take that back, they don't just rip her dress to shreds - they rip her dreams to shreds.

That's Cinderella's breaking point. It's the final crack that shatters Cinderella. Her family leaves her in a ruined dress and her fairy godmother arrives to save the day.

I'm not entirely sure why people expect Cinderella to be able to "save herself" in this type of situation. People who are in abusive situations often can't or won't leave for many reasons, the biggest one being that they don't know where to go if they leave.

Cinderella's fairy godmother could have been her kind next door neighbor who saw the whole incident and wanted to help the poor girl out, maybe let her know that there was someone there who would be there for her if she wanted to leave. Abusive people often isolate their victims, like what Cinderella's family does to her. The fairy godmother in the story is literally the person whom decided enough is enough, "I'm letting this poor girl know she has someone around who will get her to that ball".

We the audience don't know what really goes on between the prince and Cinderella during the ball. For the record, they probably were talking the whole time they were dancing. Back in that era that was how people go to know each other and it was perfectly appropriate to talk to your dance partner. You can see examples of this in most Jane Austin novels.

But let's skip the ball. Let's also skip the part where it's the archduke and not the prince who goes looking for Cinderella (I think Disney was just looking for more comic relief there). These aren't really all that important in the grand scheme of the story.

Instead I want to focus on the last part of the original Disney animated movie, the part where Cinderella is locked in her attic room. Cinderella doesn't take her imprisonment lying down. In fact, I would guess that since she's finally tasted freedom and realizes that someone out there cares about her, she's ready to fight tooth and nail to live that kind of life every day. Cinderella claws at the locked door. When that doesn't work, she asks her mice friends for help and again they gladly help her. Finally, when the evil cat has the mice cornered, Cinderella calls on the dog, whom she's told repeatedly not to chase the cat as he might be kicked out of the house, to chase that stupid evil cat.

Cinderella does save herself, but it's not in the way our society wants her to.

Our society and culture wants people who are strong and unafraid of calling other people out. There's a heavy focus on the hero solving their problems for themselves instead of asking for help or using team work. We want action, harsh words, and a strong demeanor, not kindness and friendliness.

Cinderella is resourceful in how she relies on her friends, isn't afraid to ask for help, and takes an opportunity when she sees it. She knows that the archduke, and by extension the prince, is going to get her out of an abusive household that she otherwise hasn't figured out how to escape. She knows that by helping other people out of the goodness of her heart that they are just as likely to help her back.

So stop telling little girls that the story of Cinderella is bad or anti-feminist. It isn't. She doesn't wait around for a prince to come rescue her.

If you really want a feminist retelling of Cinderella that also stays true to heart of the story watch Ever After starring Drew Barrymore, read Ella Enchanted (not the movie version, though its a good update too), or pick up a copy of Nikita Gill's latest book Fierce Fairy Tales: Poems & Stories to Stir Your Soul. Gill has a collection of poems within this book that focus on Cinderella, her evil step mother, her misguided step sisters, and her fairy godmother. They are fantastic and an excellent retelling of the Cinderella story.

By disregarding the story of Cinderella, we are teaching their children that people who suffer from abusive relationships are weak and don't need help to save themselves. That's BS! Everyone needs help sometimes, especially the people who don't know how to escape their situation.

Cinderella teaches us how to empathize and recognize someone who is going through this type of abuse.

I think that's a pretty good lesson to teach someone, don't you?

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y'all like hearing from me.

Until next week...which will actually be two weeks as I am taking next week off. So see y'all in two weeks.

Welcome to Folklore and Mythology: The Intro

As I've been pursuing the Internet over the past few weeks, I keep coming back to mythology and folklore. If there's one culturally universal "thing" that all humans seem to enjoy, it's a good story. From fairy tales to ghost stories, religious text and mythology to tall tales, everyone seems to have a story to tell.

Stories that are remembered and retold can say a lot about a culture. They often contain elements that are important to the culture that story was written in. Most of these stories have a lesson that the protagonist and reader learn together. Then again, these stories might not have any point at all and simply show how a culture tells a story.

I especially love the folklore and fairy tales that are about mysterious magical creatures that challenge the protagonist. I loved hearing about Baba Yaga, the Kappa, and the Jersey Devil and how the hero would escape encountering these creatures. They were fantastical and mesmerizing, but also frightening. These stories taught young me how to be brave and that there are different ways to fight an opponent that I'm no match for.

This is a type of Tengu (according to Google)

Ghost stories often encompass a culture's history. I first got into hearing ghost stories by watching Haunted History on the (used-to-be) History Channel. The show would pick a city or state and tell spooky stories about select locations. They'd include an explanation of the culture of the time and why someone would take the actions that they took in the context of the story. Young me enjoyed learning history with a slightly spooky edge. It made things interesting.

Mythology is everywhere in our modern culture. The third Thor movie just came out and there were a lot of (incorrect) references to Norse mythology. One of the top movies of this past summer, Wonder Woman, was (if you squinted) all about Greek and Roman mythology. Several TV shows incorporate mythology into their story lines such as Jackie Chan Adventures (Chinese), Xena Warrior Princess (Greek), Lucifer (Christian), and Supernatural (pretty much everything under the sun).

I couldn't conclude this post without mentioning the books that often introduce kids to these stories. Percy Jackson is probably the best known series right now, but I was introduced to these mythologies and folklore through Fruits Basket, Asterix, The Immortal Diaries of Nickolas Flamel, and Harry Potter.

So over the next few weeks, I'm going to be looking at different folklore and mythologies and how they have influenced, reflected back, and changed with modern culture (particularly American and western culture). I want to see if some stories are truly universal, such as Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast are often claimed to be.

Disney has created a whole franchise dedicated to fairy tales.

I am doing this because we are a people who love stories and how better to learn people than by listening to their stories.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me. Please let me know in the comments if there is a specific folklore or mythology you'd like me to look at.

Welcome to a Fairy Tale Adventure

When first I saw that Disney was making a live action Beauty and the Beast movie (one of my favorites from when I was a kid), I thought - well that's completely unnecessary. Then I saw the trailers and listened to the music. I just knew I had to see this movie, even if I did have to sit in a theater with an army of little girls decked out in their best princess outfits.

It was so worth it.

There's just something amazing about seeing the magic of a fairy tale come to life on the big screen. Though, personally I would have been even more thrilled if they had re-released the animated movie in theaters, but the live action movie was a lot better than I originally thought it would be. I still like the original more, but that's my opinion. It was also really cool to see how much technology has changed (especially if you compare the new movie to the 1946 French movie).

The inner child in me was so happy to see this movie that I, of course, went home and put the animated version on right away. While singing along and cleaning my apartment, I was struck by a line Belle sings after she rejects Gaston's marriage proposal.

"I want adventure in the great wide somewhere. I want it more than I can tell."

I've seen that line dozens of times on social media. I think there's even a meme floating around with Belle's arms flung open in the field where she's singing.

It's a good line and I think it sums up half of the reason I love of fairy tales (and fantasy and science fiction). It's that longing for an unexpected adventure. Where my mind is so completely blown away with everything that happens, that it's hard to express my awe. It's being able to leave the boring world behind and go somewhere completely unexpected.

I can't be the only person who feels this way.

Many of the stories I enjoyed as a child had heroes that somehow found themselves embroiled in an unusual situation.

For example, the Hobbit starts with Bilbo enjoying his morning, he meets Gandalf, then later that evening a party of dwarves unexpectedly, and suddenly Bilbo is being hired as a burgle to steal something from a dragon. The ordinary quickly becomes the extraordinary in the span of a day.

Or how about how Aladdin comes across the magic genie*? He starts out his day casually stealing breakfast, accidentally comes across a runaway princess, gets arrested, and is then tricked by Jafar into going into the Cave of Wonders. I don't think Aladdin got up that morning and thought, yes today is the day that I go on an adventure.

 The other half of my love for fairy tale stories is likely because of magic.

Yeah, I know magic doesn't actually exist (or does it?), but it can signify how the improbable becomes the possible. I might not have gotten my letter to Hogwarts (or Ilvermorny), but neither did Jacob Kowalski and he got to help Newt with his escaped Fantastic Beasts. I don't expect to stumble upon a seemingly abandoned castle with sentient furniture while hiking (actually that would be really impressive since I live in North America), but neither was Maurice while he was looking for shelter.

Okay yeah, all those examples were stories and movies. They were created to teach entertaining lessons. Some even used to provide an explanation for the unknown world. But nearly all of them continue to inspire our imaginations today.

Adventures happen, even without magic and singing demigods. Some are planned vacations to new counties, others are unexpected (like having a random snow storm in mid March). Without the ordinary days, it's hard to appreciate the extraordinary ones.

Then again, I could have met a witch or wizard, but don't remember because my memory was oblivated. It could have happened.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Until next week.

*I actually know a couple different versions of this story, but I'm using the Disney version as an example since more people are familiar with it.