Mija's Garden

He said, She said

Mark responded to my musings on Modern Fairytales, countering with the argument that fairytales traditionally have been transmitted in an oral format. He pointed out that the oral tradition is much more susceptible to change and that fairytales are in part about change. This is very true, but fairytales are now in a medium that is very hard to change. Disnae and other pre-cleansed versions of the tales are everywhere. Breaking through these stereotypes of the fairytales has become a challenge, I believe, for many authors.

I take no issue with fairytales changing. My question was more about the impetus behind the changes that happen. What changes are occurring and why? Wicked and "Snow, Glass, Apples" by Neil Gaiman both address the issue of a different perspective. History can be re-written (and frequently is) from the perspective of one person or group of people. Others involved in the same situation can have a very different perspective on the events.

This issue of perspective is even more apparent in current social and political events, such as abortion. One side says "pro-life", the other says "anti-abortion". Do these authors think (at some level, not necessarily intentionally) that people need to think more about alternative perspectives? Is this part of our new "global village" and multiculturalism? I wonder if these kinds of trends have enabled people to relook at traditional stories in a new way. When considered from this perspective, it's probably a good thing.