Snow White in Current Times

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfHlA3fmJG0

In modern day America, there are references to fairy tales in just about every instance. From t-shirts to the internet fairy tales pop up in unexpected cases. Although we see this in our own culture, we do not tend to see it in other cultures but in the German band Rammstein they reference a well known fairy tale, Snow White, in the song “Sonne”.

The song in no way references the famous Brothers Grimm’s story. The reference comes from the music video of modern day men stuck in the world of a fairy tale and in this case it is not a happily ever after ending for the men.

Some of the similarities in the music video in comparison to the fairy tale Snow White are some of the symbols and people represented in both. In the beginning of “Sonne”, the scene opens in a coal mine with seven men working quickly and diligently. These men are covered in coal and are sweating profusely. They portray the seven dwarfs like in the Disney version Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. We can tell from the video that they are the dwarfs because Snow White is larger and looks like Alice in Wonderland when she takes the bread to grow larger; she looks like an over grown person. Snow White is easy pick out of the video. She has the qualities that Snow White has in the Disney version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs—long dark hair, red lips, white porcelain face, the yellow and blue dress and even the red ribbon tied perfectly in her hair. All these qualities are ones that a person can easily identify the character Snow White. Another part that is in most of the versions of Snow White is carrying the glass casket up the mountain; the video made this an obvious parallel to the original fairy tales.

Some qualities of the video Rammstein made their own. First of all, Snow White is not the innocent bystander of the story. She is the evil one who makes all the dwarfs work for her in the coal mine and even in their living quarters when cooking and brushing her hair. The men work together to get rid of her and end up killing her with a needle while she was taking a bath. Another part that was different was when they brought her up to the mountain dead and then a random apple on a tree fell on the glass casket and shattered it. The representation of the apple is still there but not in her mouth this time. In the end of this video there is not a happily ever after. The men return to the mine and continue their work as long as Snow White is in charge.

This video represents how times have changed and how now the women in society have a stronger hold on men sometimes. Whether it is good or bad times have changed for women and it is not about the men having all the control.

Cinderella as an Outlier

Cinderella is one of the most favorite fairy tales of all time. The famous story of rags to riches is one that little girls take the liking to the most. They love how Cinderella goes from a life as a slave to marrying her true love and living happily ever after. But is this realistic?

Like in the movie He's Just Not That Into You Cinderella is "the exception". This fairy tale is just an Outlier like the novel by Malcolm Gladwell; all her fortune and "happily ever after" is just by chance. Just by happen stance she is given a chance and she does everything in her power to be able to take that chance. If she would have never taken the chance or even thought twice about it none of the magical elements of the story would have been made possible.

In the movie He's Just Not That Into You, the main character talks about how certain romantic love stories are only possible for some. Like the stories where a man and a woman go out for dinner on and date and then never call each other the next day, but a week later call and fall in love and get married (the typical fairy tale love story). In the movie that kind of relationship in the exception and not the rule (a regular relationship without a fairy tale twist) just like an outlier and Cinderella. Not all people can have the romantic love story like the movies portray. An outlier only happens to people who just happen to be presented with the opportunity and take it and actually do well in society.

Cinderella is the outlier, the exception to the rule. In most cases these things typical to an outlier won't happen (the magic never happens) and only when you are presented with a rare opportunity will you ever be close to being an outlier yourself.

My Definition of a Fairy Tale

Fairy tales, when first hearing the word you tend to think about living happily ever after and the prince rescuing the princess in the end. Fairy tales are more than just a child’s story. Dictionary.com sites that “a fairy tale is a fanciful tale of legendary deeds and creatures, usually intended for children”. My own definition of a fairy tale is a story that teaches a lesson in a magical way.

Fairy tales serve as a learning experience for younger children without having to actually experience it. In Little Red Riding Hood a young child listening to the story hears how dangerous talking to a wolf maybe and how terrible Red’s consequences are in the end. The lesson is learned better from the story than if a parent had just told the child not to talk to strangers.

These tales are not just for children though; adults enjoy them as well. The interpretation taken from the fairy tales as an adult is not the same as a child’s interpretation. The adult pulls out complex ideas from the stories rather than just the moral of the story as children do. Instead of thinking of the wolf as just an animal, the adult thinks of him as a man with sexual innuendo.

As time goes on, fairy tales grow with the person and they appeal to you no matter what age you are. So fairy tales cannot simply be a story that teaches a lesson; that is too broad of a statement to make.

Little Red Riding Hood

This comic strip about Little Red Riding Hood has humor in every frame. The issues that it mocks are the everyday political issues and social issues in which we all face and how this cartoon, unlike the fairy tale story, is not children friendly. Every aspect of the cartoon is for an adult audience. Little Red Riding Hood is not a beautiful, innocent and young girl, first of all, and she is portrayed as more of a hideous, annoying girl who anyone would like to get away from. She uses maze and brass knuckles to “fight off” the wolf when he is trying to get her to “SHURRUP”. This image of LRRH is not the image the Brothers’ Grimm would portray.

The first three frames refer to beauty in society. The wolf does not like LRRH because she criticizes his facial features and refers to changing those features like how we are able to do so in society today. Plastic surgery is a large social issue in today’s society. The celebrities like Michael Jackson conclude that anything can be changed in this world and for younger children that is a horrible example to set.

When the Woodcutter appears through the door, LRRH does not want him to rescue her like in the fairy tale story because she wants to prove that women do not need men to always save them, which happens so often. The woodcutter instead of saving LRRH, he saves the wolf by cutting off her head because she is harming the “Endangered Species”. This political view point is making fun of the environmentalist in society and how over-the-top they can be.

The cartoon caught my attention immediately because of all the bright colors and the humorous irony. In the five frames LRRH was in, she had her mouth hanging open. Not only did the humorous aspect catch my eye but I also like how when you study it and pull each aspect apart the cartoon turns into something larger than just a cartoon strip to create a laugh here and there. It made me think and analyze the different issues in which the author brought my attention to.