ASL and Visual Storytelling

Having the ASL department come into class was amazing. I really loved watching the signers tell their stories. I am in ASL (American Sign Language) level 1 and so I was able to understand some of it. Though, most of it was so visual, you really didn't need to actually understand the language. It's the beauty of storytelling and storytellers.

Inspired by this, I decided to combine many of my studies and create this video. Theatre (acting, though poorly on my behalf,) cinema and filming, ASL, and of course fairytales. I now present you with this video, made by myself and my roommate. :) Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5D8wDTz2crk

special thanks to Ro-z Edelston for helping me out!

Snow White with a twist....

So, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves has been an iconic fairytale for centuries. There have been quite a few twists and parodies and remakes, but the basic story remains the same. A beautiful little girl is outcast by her stepmother who tries to remove her from her father's love and/or kill her to keep herself to most beautiful. The Snow White figure dies in someway or another, is brought back, and is eventually forgiven or rewarded to repay for the tragedies she has encountered.

However, the German heavy-metal band of Rammstein decided to take a different stance on the Snow White tale.

Rammstein - Sonne (Official Video with Subtitles)

In this music video, Snow White is a rather hateful character who torments the dwarves who so graciously bring her in. The dwarves work all day in the mines to find her gold for her. She later overdoses on the gold and the dwarves enshrine her in a glass casket at the top of a mountain. Here she is awoken by a falling apple. Through all the abuse, the dwarves still seem to worship her. There is no knight or prince to come and save her and there is no wholesome attitude here.

I'm not really sure if I like this story or the classic fairytales more. In some ways it seems more appropriate because Snow White is not abused unrightfully, however, she abuses those who, according to the classics, we assume have taken her in out of kindness. So it is still a rather confusing message. I like the music, sure, and the lyrics are pretty interesting as well. The artistic nature of the music video is particularly interesting to me because I am a Cinema major. But the overall message of the video is not necessarily something I can relate to or find interesting. I'm not sure if I'm getting the right message out of it, but I can't seem to find something more of it other than appreciation for the different take on a classic fairytale.

A Comparison

The two fairytales we covered in week five are all those that relate to Beauty and the Beast and then the Greek tale of Cupid and Psyche. There are several versions of the Beauty and the Beast: Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont's version, Giovanni Francesco Straparola's by the name of "The Pig King", The Brothers Grimm version called "The Frog King", Angela Carter's "The Tiger's Bride", "Urashima the Fisherman", Alexander Afanasev's "The Frog Princess", and "The Swan Maiden".   (Quite the collection, huh?)

"Cupid and Psyche" is much different from the traditional Beauty and the Beast tales. For starters, no one in the Greek tale is ugly or monstrous. Only the idea that Psyche's unknown husband might be a monster, though he turns out to be the angelic Cupid. In the other tales, there is at least one character who is unsavory either in character or appearance.

Furthermore, in the fairytales, there is usually some sort of bargaining between the parents (usually the father) for the daughter's hand in marriage. For example, the father has done something wrong against the beast figure and so the prettiest daughter's hand is asked in marriage to repay the sin. In "Cupid and Psyche" however, it is a prophecy that Psyche decides to follow of her own accord the unites her with Cupid, the proclaimed "beast" figure.

Also, in most of the tales, it is the beast figure who ends up unconscious, dead, or under a spell, and the beauty saves them. However, it is quite the opposite in the Greek tale. Cupid, again seen as the beast figure, is the one who saves the beauty, Psyche, from a deathly sleep cast upon her.

These tales share very similar traits in basic ways, as well. There is a perceived "beast" figure, whether in personality or appearance. There is a "beauty" figure, who tends to be the submissive type and is usually reluctant in some degree towards the situation of marriage with the beast. There is also some jealous family member, usually the sisters, who try to sabotage the marriage. Finally, there is some sort of trial the one character goes through to be reunited with the other.

However slight the differences, these two can definitely be classified together. Especially since both the Greek tale and most of the fairytales end up with a Happy Ending.

Little Red Riding Hood, that trouble-maker....

So I found this cartoon comic in relation to Little Red Riding Hood. Honestly, the wolf has always been an interesting character to me. Why choose to go after this particular little girl? Why was the grandmother not enough? He's got an odd sense of humor. Well, I feel like these are mostly questions that look into the story too much, but what about an updated look into the story?

Personally, I like this comic. I think that demonstrates the change that our age is going through. We're developing so fast, that tastes change and can see what we've changed from. This comic in particular shows the change from the majority of the civilizations just trying to get by on food, to entire cultures becoming very particular and picky about their food. Just a hundred years ago one would've been happy to have a meal on the table and now their are even groups on campus that will refuse to eat something that is not "all-natural" or "green".  It also gives a better sense of how the world has changed by way of health and vanity. In the original fairy tales, the wolf merely comments that the grandmother tasted "tough" and was skinny and lean. Now he has to eat her artificial hip, wig, and false teeth. One is more of a health necessity, but by most standards, a wig and false teeth are purely for physical appearance. Knowing the original fairy tales, this comic very simply demonstrates the changes in society from when the story was created to now.