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!!
Wednesday, 4 November 2009
Tuesday, 3 November 2009
Late night musings...
Well, I thought of these things that I meant to say, last night after I had turned the computer off and gone to bed - and couldn't be bothered to get up and turn it on again!
I meant to comment on the clever lighting in yesterdays film, especially the bit just before the wife is murdered... the position she is lying in, and the light in the shape of a coffin tells you what's about to happen....
One of the most moving scenes I found to be the image of the dead wife under the water - her hair billowing in the current echoed the movement of the seaweed, and gave the scene a calm yet eerie and melancholy atmosphere - she reminded me of a fairytale mermaid.
Speaking of fairytales, I was wondering if our own childhood experiences of fairytales would effect the way we viewed this movie... I, for one, was brought up on traditional fairy stories, mostly German - these tend to have much darker undercurrents, child abuse being a common theme! Take Hansel and Gretel, whose evil stepmother leaves them in the forest to die as she cannot afford to feed them, or Aschenputtel, which is a Brothers Grimm variation of Cinderella, again with the stepmother as the protagonist. Or how about the Struwwelpeter stories (Heinrich Hoffmann 1776-1822) in which children frequently end up burning themselves to death, wasting away from starvation or having their fingers cut off by enormous scissors because they won't stop sucking their thumbs!
http://www.fln.vcu.edu//struwwel/struwwel.html
Growing up with these stories never did me any harm! (I think.... mwahahahaha!) But seriously, a lot of lessons are learnt from tales like these and I wonder how much harm we are doing our children today by sheltering them from these sorts of stories - I hate all this politically correct rubbish !
And on that note, I am off for some breakfast!
I meant to comment on the clever lighting in yesterdays film, especially the bit just before the wife is murdered... the position she is lying in, and the light in the shape of a coffin tells you what's about to happen....
One of the most moving scenes I found to be the image of the dead wife under the water - her hair billowing in the current echoed the movement of the seaweed, and gave the scene a calm yet eerie and melancholy atmosphere - she reminded me of a fairytale mermaid.
Speaking of fairytales, I was wondering if our own childhood experiences of fairytales would effect the way we viewed this movie... I, for one, was brought up on traditional fairy stories, mostly German - these tend to have much darker undercurrents, child abuse being a common theme! Take Hansel and Gretel, whose evil stepmother leaves them in the forest to die as she cannot afford to feed them, or Aschenputtel, which is a Brothers Grimm variation of Cinderella, again with the stepmother as the protagonist. Or how about the Struwwelpeter stories (Heinrich Hoffmann 1776-1822) in which children frequently end up burning themselves to death, wasting away from starvation or having their fingers cut off by enormous scissors because they won't stop sucking their thumbs!
http://www.fln.vcu.edu//struwwel/struwwel.html
Growing up with these stories never did me any harm! (I think.... mwahahahaha!) But seriously, a lot of lessons are learnt from tales like these and I wonder how much harm we are doing our children today by sheltering them from these sorts of stories - I hate all this politically correct rubbish !
And on that note, I am off for some breakfast!
Monday, 2 November 2009
Film reviews...
Bit of a late starter, me , when it comes to the film reviews! :)
Anyway, Dr Caligari I found to be highly theatrical - the sets and costumes lending the whole thing a pantomine feel ("he's behind you!" ) I think it's quite hard for us to get our heads around movies with no speech, as you find you are having to concentrate in a whole new way- it is actually quite tiring. It does however, force you to look a lot more carefully at the action, and consequently you notice the scenery a lot more than you might do in a more modern film.
I really liked Metropolis! I had, of course heard of the film, but had somehow never got round to watching it (shame on me!) There were so many hints of other films to come that its hard to know where to start really - was I the only one have thought of the Oompa Loompas during the scene where the hero first goes to the underground machine city?
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=8388683946945239928&ei=8zLvSq7xFdOg-AaTsJ3pBQ&q=metropolis+workers+video&hl=en&view=2#
It's that whole group of workers performing en masse, keeping the wheels of the Machine going thing...
Anyway, todays film 'Night of the Hunter' gave us sound again!
Once again, I really enjoyed this film - it was interesting to see the quite negative portrayal of women, either as gullable gossips or easily-manipulated wives...but then again, putting into context, this was a time when women were possibly less able to have a voice in the household.
The film worked particularly well for being in black and white, as it allowed the use of shadow and silhouette to produce both a sinister and fairytale quality. I was reminded of traditional German fairytales, which are often illustrated using silhouettes...
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2564/3912658963_4b068fea66_m.jpg
and also shadow puppetry, both of which more often or not feature a baddie after the hero or heroine.
I found it an interesting twist that 'villain' was a man of God, and first sight we get of the 'heroine' is of her threatening to beat the children - it throws into question the whole idea of morality and trust...should we believe and be led by a man of the cloth, just because of his dog-collar?
Anyway, Dr Caligari I found to be highly theatrical - the sets and costumes lending the whole thing a pantomine feel ("he's behind you!" ) I think it's quite hard for us to get our heads around movies with no speech, as you find you are having to concentrate in a whole new way- it is actually quite tiring. It does however, force you to look a lot more carefully at the action, and consequently you notice the scenery a lot more than you might do in a more modern film.
I really liked Metropolis! I had, of course heard of the film, but had somehow never got round to watching it (shame on me!) There were so many hints of other films to come that its hard to know where to start really - was I the only one have thought of the Oompa Loompas during the scene where the hero first goes to the underground machine city?
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=8388683946945239928&ei=8zLvSq7xFdOg-AaTsJ3pBQ&q=metropolis+workers+video&hl=en&view=2#
It's that whole group of workers performing en masse, keeping the wheels of the Machine going thing...
Anyway, todays film 'Night of the Hunter' gave us sound again!
Once again, I really enjoyed this film - it was interesting to see the quite negative portrayal of women, either as gullable gossips or easily-manipulated wives...but then again, putting into context, this was a time when women were possibly less able to have a voice in the household.
The film worked particularly well for being in black and white, as it allowed the use of shadow and silhouette to produce both a sinister and fairytale quality. I was reminded of traditional German fairytales, which are often illustrated using silhouettes...
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2564/3912658963_4b068fea66_m.jpg
and also shadow puppetry, both of which more often or not feature a baddie after the hero or heroine.
I found it an interesting twist that 'villain' was a man of God, and first sight we get of the 'heroine' is of her threatening to beat the children - it throws into question the whole idea of morality and trust...should we believe and be led by a man of the cloth, just because of his dog-collar?
In case anyone is interested... more about me! :)
Wow, blogs are great for a bit of self-promotion! Should have done this years ago!!
http://www.thedeafcat.com/rochester/jackiehagan.html
While we are on the subject of The Deaf Cat, anyone around and about in Rochester should pop in...its a fantastic new coffee shop/gallery opened a few weeks ago by my friend and fellow UCA graduate Laura, and her partner Kevan. Tell them I sent you!!
http://www.thedeafcat.com/rochester/jackiehagan.html
While we are on the subject of The Deaf Cat, anyone around and about in Rochester should pop in...its a fantastic new coffee shop/gallery opened a few weeks ago by my friend and fellow UCA graduate Laura, and her partner Kevan. Tell them I sent you!!
Sunday, 1 November 2009
The Pit..
So I thought I would have a little play with one of the texts, the Pit and the Pendulum. Not too bad for 6 o'clock on a Sunday morning....
Saturday, 31 October 2009
Wine and Wacom....
Ok, just to keep Si happy, here is something...
I have been using my teeny-weeny Wacom tablet to have a go at some painting (while quaffing wine !) - I have had it for a couple of years now, but have never really got round to using it properly. But after Fridays inspirational tutorial, I felt compelled to get it out and give it a go! I guess its maybe a Scottish Loch or something....?
PS I don't even know why I am writing this, as no-one is going to look at it! :)
Better late than never!
Well, as you can see, I am not a natural Blogger! I thought that since I am always going on at the students to post things to their blogs, I had better do the same.... so I will try and get something on mine asap!
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