The Fairy Tale General

Off-Topic
#1

This is basically a counter thread to Sapphire’s thread about Folklore. Like her, I also believe that the when they Cry series has a mythical feel to it-only that I feel like they take more an inspiration from Fairy Tales.

But as the title of my thread suggests-this isn’t a place to talk exclusively about the WtC series. I think it would be fun to discuss fairy tales in general and their impact on modern media media today-especially since they tend to contain moral messages that most people tend to value, not to mention their frequent use as a base for stories of all kinds.

Anyway, here is a Tvtropes page that has a definition and examples of what fairy tales are.

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#2

I love reading Fairy Tales. World fairy tales were an early interest of mine in particular. I loved finding stories that developed all over the place at about the same time and seeing what kind of differences come when that areas culture creates it. One of the easiest to see this with is Cinderella.

I think my love of fairy tales and my love of horror are related so I can see how you think it walks hand and hand with When They Cry - fairly moralistic while steeped in a sort of gruesome dark side of humanity.

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#3

Alice in Wonderland is perhaps the go-to fairy tale for many Japanese writers and honestly I can see why. Its a very trippy and surreal work, and the whole themes of letting go of innocence and growing up are a very interesting base for any story-not to mention Wonderland is a pretty interesting concept as it can be molded to whatever the writer wishes.
Personally speaking, I do think that Alice in Wonderland is a bit overused. I would like to see more stories utilizing Cinderella, Snow White, or The Wizard of Oz as a base, but that’s just me.

When They Cry is almost like Grimm’s fairy tales in that way. They also tended to have a lot of violence and horror but always contained some sort of message at the end.

#4

For sure. Older fairy tales across the world were really pretty violent - at least by today’s standards. Some of it feels so mater-of fact I don’t know if it is just a thing in a story or clear sign of how cut throat it was when they came into being.

You do see a lot of Alice stuff, both in Japan and from the US. Like you said it is easy to see why, with how it has such a clear and yet bendable visual motif and has many coming of age themes. I always kind of think of it more as normal Literature rather than a fairy tale, but that is probably just a hold up on my part from how comparatively recent and relevant it feels. It certainly has obtained an impressive mythos with variations and re-imaginings any fairy tale should be proud of.

I personally have an obsession with Sleeping Beauty. It is something that started with the Disney movie, though I can hardly call the Disney movie a good watch, though I still consider it a brilliant work in ways that don’t involve the writing or the pacing (no way to make that sound less bad, but well, it is the Disney adaptation)

#5

Yeah, I think this is the reason as to why there is such a proliferation of ‘Alice’ inspired stories. Unlike most classic fairy tales, the protagonist actually has a defined character and an easily identifiable lore. It doesn’t help that Alice as a character feels oddly modern and conflicted for the 1800s, compared to Snow White who basically embodies the idea of a perfect wife and whose defining trait is being beautiful.

Do you mind expanding upon why you like Sleeping Beauty so much?

#6

I am not sure if I have anything that really stands as a good reason or anything. Part of it has more to see with potential I see in the story rather than anything that has been done with the story. The image a castle in the woods overrun with rose vines, a castle that had been lost to the years. A princess cursed since birth, who has had almost every aspect of her life “done to her” rather than something she claimed for herself. Even when I was small these kinds of images resonated with me and my attachment to it has lasted into adulthood.

Another point that endears it to me is that I love Tsaikovski - and his music for his Sleeping Beauty ballet has some of my favorite pieces by him.

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#7

That does sound pretty interesting. I’d also say that Cinderella is pretty similar in terms of potential as well. Its about a girl who had been abused and used her entire life and by some miracle gets one chance to live out her wildest dreams, but only in a limited amount of time.
Let’s say that instead of everything going perfectly well as it was in the original, Cinderella gets obsessed with that little bit of happiness she’d ever had and began to ask her Fairy Godmother for more of that magic but over time she forgets who she was and the Prince ends up marrying a total stranger rather than the sad girl he really was in love with.

Its all quite romantic to me, that sort of scenario. Especially if you infused it with something like The Frog Prince.