once upon a time...
I chose to take this class because it focuses on a
topic I find very interesting. I love to
read and fairy tales/fantasy stories are my favorite genre. I’ve heard many reasons for and against
children reading fairy tales; mainly focusing on gender stereotypes and
teaching bad morals to children. This
course seems like it will allow me to read some fairy tales from a variety of
backgrounds and viewpoints. I also love
reading modern retellings of old stories and I like the current TV show, “Once
Upon a Time”, that take elements from many fairy and folk tales. I’m happy to be able to take a class on a
topic I enjoy in free time.
In this class, I hope to gain a better understanding of
fairy and folk tales and the various ways that they can be read, interpreted,
and analyzed. I’m interested in reading
various versions of well-known tales, especially beyond the European Grimm
tales that I’m most familiar with.
My favorite fairy tale is Beauty and the Beast. I especially love the Disney version of this
story. The animation is beautiful and
the story is modified to have a perfect happy ending. I also like to think that I can relate to
Belle’s character some, since I love to read as well. I enjoy the many modern variations of this
story that I’ve read; most especially Beastly by Alex Flinn, Beauty by Robin
McKinley, and Belle by Cameron Dokey.
These stories all convey the basic plot of the story and also offer
subtle variations too. This story has
often been called sexist and ‘bad’ for young girls, since Belle is treated
badly before taming the Beast; however I have always considered it my
favorite. I understand that the stories
aren’t real and most likely could never happen as they are told, but I love the
escapist quality of all fairy tales.
painting by Thomas Kinkade, http://www.thomaskinkadeonline.com/images/large/beauty-and-the-beast-web.jpg
This is my favorite clip from the Disney movie. Since I'm an art major, I find the Baroque pun very funny. It was a reference I never understood as a child.
