Mija's Garden

Modern Day Fairytales

In the last few years, I've noticed a lot of retellings of classic fairy tales both on TV, in the movies (Ever After), in novels (Black Swan by Mercedes Lackey, Enchantment by Orson Scott Card, Beauty by Sheri Tepper, and Wicked), and in comics. The latest example is "Fables" a Vertigo comic title about classic fairy tale characters exiled in New York City and upstate New York. They have been trapped away from Fairyland for hundreds of years, and Time is beginning to take its toll on their relationships. (BTW, Mark, thanks for the books!)

The question on my mind today is: why do the fairytales need changing? Are they too outdated in their traditional formats to apply to current times? Perhaps the feminist movement has finally made progress changing the psyche of the general populous (or at least of science-fiction and fantasy writers). Many of the changes seem to have to do with woman power. Danielle gets to win her prince in Ever After by being smart, challenging, and a good swordsman; Beauty is no longer just a body in a tower, but an active participant in history; Snow White in Fables divorces her husband Prince Charming for cheating on her.

Or maybe we just need stories that take place in current times to relate to them more easily and see how the morals apply today. I suppose that for some people it is hard to see how classic tales have morals that we can relate to today, especially after all the Disney-izing of the stories. Many of them no longer have morals to follow!

Or maybe it's just that authors are curious about the what-if. What if Snow White existed in current days? What if she were really an evil vampire? What if Goldilocks grew up and had a thing with Baby Bear? What if the Wicked Witch of the West were really just misunderstood? I suppose it could just be idle curiosity to find out what happened next.