What is the Future for Fairy Tales?
Fairy tales are losing favour in many homes, yet they are still pervasive in popular culture and part of children’s education at school. When Disney+ launched in the US, ten million users signed up in the first twenty four hours, but old classics were issued with disclaimers about their content. So is it time to banish fairy tales to the past, or should they be embraced for the future?
A survey of 2,000 adults in 2012 found that fairy tales are no longer read in many homes.
THE CASE AGAINST FAIRY TALES
So why are they no longer on the bedtime menu?
For some parents, fairy tales are just too scary and the outcomes too unpleasant. For others they are too sanitised and unrealistic! They feel that darkness is the essence of fairy tales and dislike the way stories are diluted or sweetened. The third major objection is that the stories often represent and endorse outdated, even offensive values.
The Three Main Objection Categories
Objection 1 – Too Scary
These parents value bedtime reading as a special dedicated time to bond with their child. They believe it should be a cosy, comfortable time. Stories should gently stimulate the imagination and soothe the child into sweet dreams. They don’t want stories that could cause anxiety or prompt difficult conversations. Their worst case scenario would be a story leading to their child waking up crying or screaming with a nightmare or developing a long-term fear of wolves or witches.
Objection 2 – Too Sweet
Then there are the parents of the child with a bookcase, bedroom and wardrobe full of sparkly, pastel-hued ‘happily ever after’s. Although determined to bring up their child in a gender neutral way, envisioning climbing trees and scraped knees, they are overwhelmed by the tsunami of pervasive pink and ubiquitous unicorns. This parent sighs every time their little princess (or prince), demands the same sugary story. They dream of a little more adventure, darkness and danger in their storytelling.
Too Stereotyped
For these parents, the problem is more serious than ‘pink is for girls’, the emphasis on being pretty and getting married (preferably to royalty). They are not just bored by the predictable outcomes, macho heroes and damsels in distress; they believe fairy tales are offensive and damaging. They cite misogyny in the way women and girls are portrayed. The stereotyping is not limited to gender, but includes a lack of all kinds of representation and diversity. Worse than being blandly monocultural, they can be downright racist.
THE CASE FOR FAIRY TALES
With such strong objections to fairy tales, it is perhaps surprising that they are loved by so many. Appearing in cinemas, on bookshelves, in classrooms and all manner of toys and household items marketed at both children and adults.
An internet search uncovers many articles and lists of why fairy tales have value, some claim they are not just good for children but an essential part of childhood. (See links at end of article).
Main Categories of Support for Fairy Tales
1. Shared Language, Common Understanding
Fairy tales are a shared access point to stories and learning. This is explained well by Ashlie Swicker in this article
“Fairy tales are the common denominator in modern American society. I see it in the urban elementary classroom where I work– some students come to first grade with a high exposure to literacy, while some have held only a few books before school starts. But all of my students know the basic plot of several fairy tales. Cartoons reenact them. Movies reimagine them. Without even dipping into the plethora of print retellings, a child can learn the comforting, time-treasured stories well and quickly. There is an access point for everyone. “
The importance of this familiarity is beautifully summarised by Neil Gaiman
“We encounter fairytales as kids, in retellings or panto. We breathe them. We know how they go. “
2. Imagination
Fairy tales are a portal to fantasy worlds with mystical creatures and enchanted lands. Where magic reigns and the impossible becomes possible. They are a window into places and times outside of our experience, often described in vivid and poetic ways to stimulate the reader’s imagination. Fairy tales can become a stepping stone to other genres of reading and a springboard to creative writing. Let’s hear from Neil Gaiman again, this time from his explanation of why fairy tales are badass
” I want people to imagine. I think that your imagination is the most important tool that you possess.”
3. Critical Thinking
Fairy tales are all about solving problems, usually in innovative ways with characters applying wit and intelligence to overcome powerful adversaries or difficult situations.
4. Morals and Life Lessons
Fairy tales feature heroes and villains, good and evil in simple black and white. Good deeds and kindness are rewarded and bad deeds have consequences in a way that is reassuring to young children. The depictions of right and wrong are clear and easy to understand. Personal qualities such as kindness, honesty and generosity are given value.
5. Literacy and Language
Through listening to fairy tales, children have an introduction to archetypal characters, story structure and plot components. Through repeated listening and familiarity they develop a deeper understanding of these conventions. In addition they learn interesting language features unique to the genre, such as the power of threes and repetition.
6. Self Belief
In fairy tales, ordinary characters achieve extraordinary things. Children are the heroes, they are self-reliant, independent and apply courage and conviction to overcome. Children identify with the characters in the stories, thus gaining positive role models.
7. Managing Emotions
Fairy tales deal with strong emotional story lines including deep sadness, anger and fear. Experiencing these emotions through the characters, mediated by adults reading with them, allows children to safely explore and discuss these feelings.
FINDING THE BALANCE
The objections to fairy tales are valid and important to take into consideration, but at the same time, there is definitely value in including these stories in children’s experience. So how do we find the balance and get it just right?
Overcoming Objections
1. Too Scary
Of course we want to protect children, especially young ones from being frightened. As a Learning Through Literature blog post points out, “Some might worry that filling little minds with stories of evil witches and scary monsters will create nightmares, but the world is already full of big, scary things to a young child.” Talking about frightening things with a trusted adult can help a child to rationalise and manage their fears. In fairy tales the monsters or villains always get their comeuppance, usually at the hands of a heroic child. Fairy tales provide children with characters to identify with who triumph over scary situations.
Of course, every child is different and sensitivity to their individual needs is recommended. Some children may have a specific fear of say, wolves or witches, in which case special care should be taken when reading stories that feature them. That’s not to say avoid these completely, as children will come across them in other situations, but introduce them gently and be there to talk and reassure the child. Choose books carefully to find ones appropriate to the age or developmental stage of the child. Stories with humour or where the villain turns out to be a softie or a victim may help to overcome fears. Choosing an appropriate reading time is also important – not bedtime!
2. Too Sweet
By offering enticing new books, films or animations children may be tempted into more adventurous choices. Perhaps a more diverse or dark version of their favourite tale will broaden their range of interest, but often children can be fixed in their preferences to the point of obsession. Sorry, no magic wand waving suggestions to solve this one! So any advice to the long-suffering parent tired of the same old story? As a teacher for many years I have spent countless hours talking about the pictures and stories in the Oxford Reading Tree books. As a result, I found Mr P ICT’s commentary and parodies of some of the well known stories on YouTube hilarious. In the same way, after yet another princess retelling, you could check out a more realistic or humorous princess experience as an antidote to all the sweetness. Here are some suggestions, (not for viewing with a child).
- Real Life Princesses (no photoshop)
- If Disney Characters had Instagram
- Fallen Princesses, unhappily ever after
- Saturday Night Live Disney Housewives
- Disney Disorders
- Tinderella
3. Too Stereotyped
The key to tackling stereotypes is to address them, especially as children get older. By discussing cliches and stereotypes we can address them instead of endorsing them. Donald Haase, author of Fairytales and Feminism, encourages parents to read these stories sceptically, “They can read or tell classical tales in ways that intentionally question or subvert the stereotypes,” the Wayne State University professor told The Independent. Some adults adjust the text as they read, omitting particular words or phrases or changing them to make the story more appropriate. This can work for all three objections with a little preparation!
A valuable strategy for overcoming all three objections is to balance reading older versions of traditional tales with more contemporary versions of the same stories. Once children are familiar with the original tales they can really enjoy the humour of the twisted or fractured tales that shatter stereotypes and bring the stories up to date. For children who enjoy making up their own stories, creating their own twisted tale is a fantastic activity to share.
DECONSTRUCTING DISNEY
When considering fairy tales, especially in relation to their popularity and stereotyping, it would be wrong not to include Disney. For many children now, their first experience of fairy tales is through Disney, the images when they imagine characters or scenes often stem from Disney films, books or merchandise.
Yes, Disney films are unrealistic, they are fantasy. However, the concern is when there is stereotyping, the fact that children watch these films over and over means that they have a slow cumulative effect on perception and attitudes. The depiction of masculinity, femininity and extreme gender dimorphism can influence attitudes to body image and behaviour expectations, for example. If you would like to read more about this, check out this Pinterest link which shows examples of images with amusing captions such as “Help! My Eyeball is Bigger than my Wrist”! This is a serious issue though, as this screenshot of topics by Deconstructing Disney shows.
In Defence Of Disney
It is perhaps surprising that the earliest female role model created by Disney was a fun and feisty character, Alice. It has been claimed that Disney is underplaying its princesses and female leads by giving films gender neutral titles (like Frozen instead of Anna and the Snow Queen or Tangled instead of Rapunzel) and focusing on male characters in trailers in order to appeal to a wider audience. However, the recent live action films with female leads have been the most successful . Will princesses be phased out? It seems unlikely given their popularity.
Over time Disney princesses have grown into more developed and less traditional characters . A 1989 review of The Little Mermaid describes how “Ariel is a fully realized female character who thinks and acts independently, even rebelliously, instead of hanging around passively while the fates decide her destiny. Because she’s smart and thinks for herself, we have sympathy for her scheming.” This particular film is credited with saving Disney from financial ruin and has been described as more subversive than it at first appears. Disney have taken the step of casting Halle Berry in the upcoming live remake, a move rejoiced by many.
Disney Disclaimers
This year, the Disney+ service was launched with ten million users signing up in the US within 24 hours. So how do Disney deal with the issue of older material that contains offensive stereotyping? Well, the deeply racist Song of the South was made an exception and is not part of the package. Some other films such as The Lady and the Tramp have disclaimers, some (like Aladdin and Pocohontas) appear to have been deemed acceptable as they are. Critics point out that these disclaimers are extremely vague and compare them unfavourably to those issued by Warner Bros for some time now. While Disney add a simple sentence “It may contain outdated cultural depictions” to the end of film descriptions, Warner Bros not only use the word ‘prejudice’, but explain why they keep the scenes in the films. “The cartoons you are about to see are products of their time. They may depict some of the ethnic and racial prejudices that were commonplace in American society. These depictions were wrong then and are wrong today. While the following does not represent the Warner Bros. view of today’s society, these cartoons are being presented as they were originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed.” Their box set of Tom and Jerry went further in including an introduction from Whoopi Goldberg
“The Tom and Jerry episodes included in this collection come to us from a time when racial and ethnic differences were caricatured in the name of entertainment. These prejudices were wrong then and they’re wrong today. “
The Verge
Young children watching these films will not be able to read and understand these disclaimers, but at least it is an acknowledgement and a heads-up to adults who can then address the issues in the way the feel is appropriate with their children.
THE FUTURE FOR FAIRY TALES
Fairy tales are like time travellers with one foot in the past, one in the present and eyes fixed on the future. They provide fascinating insight into human nature and how we have evolved over time. If we were to erase old stories, we would be denying a stage in our development as humans working towards values of equity. Old traditions that cause harm should be stopped, but should not be forgotten. This is encapsulated perfectly in this description of The Fairy Tale Paradox
Children should be exposed to fairy tales precisely because they are contentious and multifaceted. As a result, they spark curiosity among children and can help facilitate the most wonderful conversations. By recounting fairy tales contextually to our children, we offer them the rudimentary knowledge of critically interpreting any form of communication they might be exposed to today or in the future. Be it in the form of news, books, or even social media.
The best medium for developing children’s critical thinking when it comes to fairy tales is through reading fractured or twisted tales. By turning the traditional tales on their head they illuminate the stereotypes in an engaging an often humorous way. These stories are enjoyable in their own right, but if readers are not familiar with the old tales they are rooted in they lose some of their power and punch. For this reason it’s important to have some exposure to the classics. As Elizabeth Danish says in this guidance
They are a form of escapism and they are a part of popular culture and literature. Shielding your children from fairy tales would be to shield them from a very rich and culturally significant form of storytelling and one that can bring them great enjoyment. Just make sure that you expose them to other ideas too, and that you read the stories yourself first and help to educate them on the messages therein.
What do you think?
Have you used fairy tales to challenge traditional thinking? Do you have a favourite fractured feminist tale? Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments. Thank you!
Links:
Recommended Reads
A small selection of fractured fairy tales and twisted tales. This contains affiliate links. https://teacherstellingtales.com/a-treasure-trove-of-twisted-tales/
Teaching Resources
There are many fairy tale themed teaching resources in the Teachers Telling Tales shop, including a series “Once said in a Fairy Tale” with a focus on characters and speech and “Once upon a Crime” for older students with a critical thinking / citizenship focus. https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/fionachilds
Pinterest Board
https://www.pinterest.com/teacherstellingtales/fairy-tales/
Importance of Fairy Tales Lists
https://www.thecuriousreader.in/essays/children-fairy-tales/
https://www.saturnanimation.com/7-reasons-why-fairy-tales-are-the-best-books-for-kids/