I was thinking some more about what I wrote in yesterdays post, about the demise of the fairytale... the more I think about it, the more I come to believe that without traditional 'scary' fairy stories, our children are doomed to a life of hopelessness!
Let's think about this - not only does a traditional tale give a child a link to a cultural past (maybe not their own, or even necessarily a genuine one, but one with a 'feeling' of history), it also provides them with a 'moral narrator'... a voice that can warn them of potential danger, while giving them hope for a happy ending. And therein lies the problem - children brought up on bedtime stories of Katie Price's latest exploits are left with no sense of wonder, with no feeling that, although the wolf may be at their door, the brave woodcutter is not far behind. By just providing our children with a diet of 'real life', we remove the romance and leave in its place the idea that it doesn't matter what you do, as the wolf will get you anyway....
Uh oh, I feel another thesis coming on!!
These aren't ramblings, Jackie - wise words indeed!
ReplyDeleteOh Jackie the fairytale isn't dead or dying, check out any of the work by Hayao Miyazaki and his Studio Ghibli team.... especially Spirited Away (born from The Wizaed of Oz and My Neighbor Totoro. Have you read No Go the Bogeyman by Marianne Warner?
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