I remember when, growing up, I was being told that the values of an entire nation are visible in their fairy tales culture and I started dissecting the tales searching for what was really important. What are our values today? As individual nations? What’s really important to us now?
How the media affected us and what is the dimension of our social selves in opposition with our individual values? Presumably a subject to endless debates, the subject has been somewhat portrayed by photographer Dina Goldstein in her Fallen Princesses project. Fairy Tales princesses updated to the present realities. (the story continues with more pictures right after the jump!)
Inspired by Dina Goldstein’s observations of three-year-old girls mesmerized by Fairy Tale Princesses (the Disney breed), Fallen Princesses bring the reality into Disney’s world. With addiction, illness, self esteem issues transgressed into fantasy could really trouble little girls. Or not? What say you? Is it safe to expose children to this kind of real Fairy Tales? I really wish Annie Leibovitz would ditch her usual commercial-appeal for a project like this one day! (via)
2 comments
It is interesting and provoking, but why is that the women are shown as downtrodden and broken by their dreams? In this portrayal I find it sexist in a backward way. Its as if there is no balance and no path of eventual joy for these women. They are being punished for dreaming of happily ever after or even wanting it. To this I say Fie!
I am not saying that there is a happily ever after but to deny it outright is a tad harsh. When men’s dreams are portrayed as dashed or broken it is considered tragic and a heart rendering event, this has been expressed in literature (ie The Great Gatsby, Moby Dick) to name but two classical pieces of literature. But when classical Fairy Tale women princesses are portrayed as broken it tends to have a “she got what she deserved” feel to it,or that they are false and not true heroines like the men are considered heroes. That is my take on these photos. I wonder what others think?
My best girlfriend and I find this photos and vision very realistic. We both were never charmed by fairy tales though had our dreams of course. We found fairy tales often cruel and scary.
On this photos the males that are portrayed doesn’t look that happy either. Only Little Red Riding Hood (“Roodkapje” in my language) is kinda funny the rest is all about shattered dreams…..it happens all the time…..
Ellington, that’s a good point: men are always heroes…(not!). It looks if things have changed but I’m (or we in this case)afraid it still the same. But more hidden. We couldn’t came up, like you, with female heroes such as you described. Or we have missed some important literature…..I swear all books I own about female “heroes” are about how brave, great women ended up killed, desperate or dead because of shattered dreams even the ones by Simone de Beauvoir!
Not even Scarlett O’Hara is a good example, she had Tara’s red earth…….
On the other hand no woman (as far as I know, help me out if I’m wrong) has created such heroes herself. After all Moby Dick and The Great Gatsby are written by men. So we can’t blame men or society really do we?
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