Tory Tea

An amalgamation of seeds and clay rolled into a ball which can bloom into anything you want: herbs, wildflowers, you name it. With a “throw it and go” approach, it’s probably the only thing I’d be able to grow without it dying five minutes later. 

A sneak peak at Disney’s latest feature film, “Frozen” to be released later this year. Wiki claims the following:

“When Anna (Kristen Bell) is cursed by her estranged sister, the cold-hearted Snow Queen Elsa (Idina Menzel), Anna’s only hope of reversing the curse is to survive a perilous but thrilling journey across an icy and unforgiving landscape. Joined by a rugged, thrill-seeking outdoorsman Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), his one-antlered reindeer, and a hapless snowman, Anna must race against time, conquer the elements and battle an army of frozen sinister warriors if she ever hopes to melt her frozen heart” 

It’s based of Hans Christian Anderson’s AMAZING tale, “The Snow Queen”, although perhaps the only similarity between the two is an icy location. The original, it can be argued, can be seen as a metaphor for mental illness. Essentially, the devil creates a magic mirror that has the power to change the way people view themselves. Rather than reflecting the goodness in people, it magnifies their worst thoughts and appearances - making the most loveliest of landscapes look like “boiled spinach”. Essentially, this mirror breaks into millions of shards, and ends up in peoples eyes and ears, making them view the worst of people around them, and most importantly, of themselves. Essentially, to put a very long story short, it ends up in one of the eyes of Kai, a small boy. Gerda, his friend, goes on a quest to save him.  

I’m disappointed because not only did Disney have the opportunity to make their film a little more broader, having the “princess” save the guy (not to mention, the protagonist just looks like Tangled’s princess in plaits), but it also missed the opportunity to comment on something much bigger. They had the chance to take a peak at representing mental illness and they disregarded it entirely. 

Ashamedly, I’m still freaking excited to see it, I just think that Disney’s pursuit for sanitisation has the consequence of missing out really important health issues that ought to be more widely talked about. 

The first literary renditions of Puss In Boots stem from two authors. One named Giovan Francesco Straparola called “Constantino Fortunato” and the other by a lovely man named Giambattista Basile who rendered his “Cagliuso”

Both felines in these adaptations are the same. Both are cunning. Both are agile little buggers. Both end up bestowing their owners with enormous riches.

Both were also female. Not to mention, bootless. 

Yes, Puss’s sex change was instigated by this dashing lad: Charles Perrault, aka Mr French Dreamboat: 

Until he intervened, Puss got around just fine without a sword, using an amalgamation of wit and charm to restore his owner’s name … The same owner who actually considers to throw dear puss out of a window when he thinks she’s dead, but still! 

It’s a worry that Perrault uses the sexist stick to bash down a lot of fairy tales we know and love today. The first few literary versions of Red Riding Hood show Little Red outsmarting the wolf. Perrault just found it worked better if she were digested and her memory reprimanded. No biggie. 

The wonderful Ben Byrne has just started a lovely podcast to do with writing, music, acting: pretty much, anything that falls under the umbrella of “Art”

Somehow Luckily, like Rhianna before me, I fall under this umbrella-ella-ella.
 
To hear my little ol’ (surprisingly-masculine-sounding) voice talking about gender politics in fairy tales and all that fun stuff, venture here and click on the mp3 link under “Fairy Tales for Adults.” It’s a weekly podcast so every Monday, there’s something new and exciting to listen to on the train ride home! Great if you wanna check out the art scene around Melbourne!

People always wonder why I choose to study fairy tales. I’ve even received laughter. Actual laughter from fellow students when I tell them I’m continuing a PhD on the subject. And I’m done with politeness. Politeness shmiteness. Proverbial wolverine claws are budding out of my knuckles. 

Here is my attempt at the short answer.

Red riding hood tells the story of a small child who, due to her own ruffian curiosity, decides to go on a short cut to grandma’s house. She meets a meddlesome wolf whom (depending on the version) attempts to eat her. 

The moral is that curious girls ought not to stray from intended paths. 

Bluebeard enlists the story of a very intimidating man who has had his fair share of marriages, but decides to finally settle down with the right gal. It seems like true’ish love at it’s finest. When Bluebeard has to depart his house for a vacation, he leaves his current wife with the keys to all the doors in his humble abode. However, she is forbidden to open a specific door. When the man leaves, of course, curiosity (damned Eve started all this nonsense) compels her to open the door. She finds a row of his former wives, dead and “hanging up to dry.” Bluebeard discovers her “betrayal” and decides to add her to the pile. Depending on the version, she is saved at the last minute.

The moral of this story is that curiosity killed the cat. 

Goldilocks tells the story of a young girl who finds solace in what she believes to be an abandoned house. She couldn’t be more wrong. The house is occupied by bears. Although she gets off scots free, there is a hint that it would have been a good lesson for her if she were to be eaten. 

The moral? Little girls ought not to be in places where they shouldn’t be. 

Female curiosity and it’s consequences. These tales are full of them. And before people rebut with: “Goldilock’s actions are akin to breaking an entry,” one cannot help but wonder why Jack and his beloved Beanstalk don’t get the proverbial slap on the wrist for trespassing and stealing (arguably in a much cooler fashion). 

Men, whether their beards are blue or whether they’re symbolic as wolves, or bears, are never to blame. Women should be obedient. Women should wear their red capes and stay off dangerous roads where wolfish men lurk nearby. If they refuse to follow these simple instructions, they only have themselves to blame if they are “devoured”.

Lets fast-forward a few centuries after, when women are continuously being blamed for not wearing their little red capes, for not staying on safer roads that are lined with huntsmen that can save the day. Where do we learn these ideas? These are not simply children’s stories. They are reflections of our culture, our society and our own unchanging psyches.

Time has barely changed.   

The truth is, men cannot be compared to wolves and bears. Men are not animals. In making this distinction, I propose that we stop blaming the goldilocks of the world for wearing lower cut tops or for forgetting their capsicum spray that day. Blame the society that tells you it’s the damsel’s fault in the first place.