Laura Haynes

The Realm of Fairy-Tales

"The realm of fairy-story is wide and deep and high and filled with many things: all manner of beasts and birds are found there; shoreless seas and stars uncounted; beauty that is an enchantment, and an ever-present peril; both joy and sorrow sharp as swords. In that realm a man may, perhaps, count himself fortunate to have wandered, but its very richness and strangeness tie the tongue of the traveller who would report them. And while he is there it is dangerous for him to ask too many questions, lest the gate should be shut and the keys be lost."J.R.R. Tolkien, "On Fairy-Stories," in The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays

"The fairy tale journey may look like an outward trek across plains and mountains, through castles and forests, but the actual movement is inward, into the lands of the soul. The dark path of the fairy tale forest lies in the shadows of our imagination, the depths of our unconscious. To travel to the wood, to face its dangers, is to emerged transformed by this experience. Particularly for children whose world does not resemble the simplified world of television sit-coms ... this ability to travel inward, to face fear and transform it, is a skill they will use all their lives. We do children--and ourselves--a grave disservice by censoring the old tales, glossing over the darker passages and ambiguities..." Terri Windling, "White as Snow: Fairy Tales and Fantasy," in Snow White, Blood Red

http://www.legends.dm.net/fairy/index.html

Example:  Star Wars, 1977 George Lucas

Representational genre: Narrator + Dialogue +Drama

(Reference to Genre Handout page 2)

1. You are being told something

2. You are watching a story as it happens between characters

Narrative genre: Tragedy = Story begins w/ problem: ends with justice

                 Comedy = Story begins w/problem: ends with celebration

                           Romance= Story begins  w/Luke as all is well: finds self,love,friendship

                                 Etc…..

Subject genre: /audience appeal:   Fairy-Tales  appeal to all, but perhaps better to separate in catergories by generation

Children: Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Snow White, Cinderella

Teens: Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles , Save the Last Dance,

Adults: Pretty Woman, Star Wars, Sleepless in Seattle

Identifiable highlights of genre in example:

Unknown to Luke he will be a great Jedi and will save a galaxy: His inward and outward journey follows the characteristics of a fairy tale and ends with a happily ever after.

Alternative names/related genre: Books, Theatre, film musicals, ballet

Questions:

1. Star Wars as a Fairy tale, does it work? Why/Why not?

2. Star Wars has impacted several generations and making millions/billions. Why do you think it does?

Class Discussion:    

The class agreed that Star Wars is a fairy tale.

Dr. White commented that the scene struck him with Luke and the two suns.  When he first saw the movie it made him feel as though he’d been transported to a new place.

The journey is something that everyone wants to experience.

Star Wars has multigenerational appeal, like the recent release of Spiderman.

Star Wars is enjoyable to all generations because the fairy tale is appealing.

One student noticed the use of three in fairy tales.

This same trend is used in Star Wars.

Dr. White commented that fairy tales were once memorized and the use of three would have made it easy to remember.  Also, Pretty Woman is a modern telling of Cinderella and fairy tales are usually romances.