Your article gave me a reason to watch Frozen, thanks! Maleficent was intense. I have read comments elsewhere, by viewers who didn't get the metaphor, trying to sugar-coat Stefan's behavior. Pah! After trust at first sight and a failed marriage, I feel very strongly about helpless vs. heroic women. I enjoy "fairer" fairy tales, such as The King's Equal by Katherine Paterson, Sleeping Ugly by Jane Yolen, and The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope.
CarolJune 19, 2014
I too grew up with fairy tales and so did my children and grandchildren. We knew it was just a story. And if it looked like someone thought it was real they were quickly set straight.
I read an interesting article once that said the scary and intense fairy tails were a way children could learn to deal with fear and it was okay to talk about how they felt and find the happy endings and that they could get through being scared. May be silly, but I still like scary movies and I think I handle life better because I know how to be scared.
KateJune 18, 2014
Frankly in both Frozen and Maleficent I felt disappointed and a bit resentful that the hero was NOT the traditional male figure. We just keep emasculating men in this society until the poor fellows don't seem to know what their place is in the world anymore. Let's put them back into the role of hero and protector and provider and rescuer, you know like the Gary Coopers and the Clark Gables, and the Cary Grants used to be and yes, like the Prince Charmings used to be in the wonderful world of the Grimms. Long live the fairy tales. They've served to give me hope in this old world of woe and helped me endure with knowledge that happen endings await!
bruceJune 18, 2014
Commiserated with other young mothers who were disillusioned with fairy tales.
This opening line in itself is kind of scary. This is a Fairy Tale, fiction, not real, make believe etc. The only art I liked about this article is you actually did what a parent is suppose to do and that is teach your children that it is make believe. Then teach them the correct principle. Also saying what a great movie Maleficent is, which I have not scene yet. Then say their are references to Rape in it, even as a Metaphor would leave me never to want to take a child to it. Fairy tales are fairy tales Teach that. Or do not go to or watch any kind of Media because I can tell you that I haven't watched anything that would not be considered a fairy tale and leave children to wonder what is real. I am 62 years old and have never heard such nonsense. In the words of a song by Crosby, Stills and Nash and young.
TEACH YOUR CHILDREN
FudgeJune 18, 2014
Obviously culture matters. Most countries have their fables and stories, their tall tales, their myths and legends. The fairy tales I grew up with were some of the best parts of my childhood. Even at a very young age we knew they weren't real life. I think the old tales like Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty run circles around the new films you wrote about. They simply had more heart.
RondiJune 17, 2014
I agree with Judy. Some of the other Fairy Tales weren't mentioned that teach that appearance isn't everything and we must get to know a person to understand their heart or not to judge too quickly: Beauty & the Beast as 1 example. We try to uplift, support and teach in positive ways with our little ones. Life is harsh enough and it will start to whittle away at a person's self esteem and cause them to doubt their worthiness for something wonderful and good by settling for much less. We need to teach happiness and goodness... reality levels the path soon enough. We must be there with our children involved in their lives and happiness, so that, when they are ready to venture out they know they can do it and do it well!
We all, even as adults, enjoy a break from "reality", right?
Jenny SvendsenJune 17, 2014
Actually, I always believed that when I met the guy I was supposed to marry, I would know right away. When I met my husband, I KNEW! So yes, fairy tales still come true, the first thought he had when he saw me was that he was going to "marry that girl". My mom and dad divorced when I was 6, and so the only example of how a celestial marriage should be was what I was taught in church. That, to be honest, was very 'sugar coated' and did me more harm than any fairy tale, Grimms or Hans Christian Andersen, I was raised with. I think that the world teaches us that things don't always go they way we'd wish, so we also need fairy tales to hold on to 'good'. My husband and I married after knowing each other for 6 weeks, that was over 44 years ago.
DiannaJune 17, 2014
Wow, sister! Who rained on your Disney Parade?? It's really a lot more complicated than you are making these fairytale relationships out to be. I see what you are trying to teach your daughter, but I disagree with your timing and methods. I think that the message that is the most important is showing your daughter how much you love her daddy. It is when you tell her why you fell in love with her daddy. It is when you tell her what her daddy does that is so important to a wonderful family. Your influence and example as her most trusted figure will long outlast the fairytale dreams that happen in childhood. Fairytales, I think, were the societal answers to telling kids about the harsh realities of their time. Grimm's and many nursery rhymes told of times of terror and disease. It was romanticized to help people deal with the horrible times they had to live through. Childhood is a time of make-believe and nonsense. It's innocence and playfulness. It's a time for children to build trust in their parents, who by-the-way, they feel are like princes and princesses, bigger than life. It is not a lie or a mis-teaching to let our children have a time of innocence. As children their job is to learn to trust and love. They need to learn that their parents are the stability in their little lives, and that their parents are worthy of their trust. They need to learn that mom and dad are good and caring. They need examples of what to become.
Linda SmithJune 17, 2014
I grew up in the 40's, the cut my reading teeth on Andersen and Grimm fairy tales. I can remember my feelings when I read about the wicked and mean Snow Queen, and the fear I had for Hansel and Gretyl as the Witch lured them in, but I also remember the joy I felt when Cinderella was rescued by the Prince from her life of drudgery, and when the Ugly Duckling turned into a beautiful swan. When I questioned my mother, she explained that it was all made up fantasy, but that reading these stories would increase my skills and bring me a joy of reading. I went from these books to the books on my parents bookshelf and by 12 had read many classic books and discovered all kinds of wonderful literature. I am grateful for fairy tales.
cathyJune 17, 2014
my mother told us fairy tales and i read every book of them i could get my hands on. today these are some of my fondest memories of my mom and I. once you are an adult life is super serious and it is still nice to have a bit of playing and fantasy in your life. all too often people want to take away all of what made childhood fun. you are only a child for a short time...enjoy it and all its aspects
JudyJune 17, 2014
It seems almost cruel to dissect the good and bad from a fairy tale before the heart of a child can see it for it's good by himself. Isn't it possible that as a child grows and learns family values that he becomes capable of deciphering good and bad, real and fantasy, right and wrong...but also delights as we all have for a moment to enjoy the 'hope' from fairy tales that their dreams just might come true as well? Life is also a teacher, not always so kind...Let hope be a part of a child's experience - Kids are so much more intelligent, savvy, and amazing than we give them credit for. They don't always have to have their meat cut up for them...
Richard JonesJune 17, 2014
If not the grand majority of people who lived in the days when cinderella,etc. were written, or at least many people believed in magic or things unreal. but I believe that the authors of those stories expected that people reading them would of course know the truth. Any story taught to children should always have a loving parent there to interpret for them. These are important teaching moments. Thank you for your efforts.
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SueJune 22, 2014
Your article gave me a reason to watch Frozen, thanks! Maleficent was intense. I have read comments elsewhere, by viewers who didn't get the metaphor, trying to sugar-coat Stefan's behavior. Pah! After trust at first sight and a failed marriage, I feel very strongly about helpless vs. heroic women. I enjoy "fairer" fairy tales, such as The King's Equal by Katherine Paterson, Sleeping Ugly by Jane Yolen, and The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope.
CarolJune 19, 2014
I too grew up with fairy tales and so did my children and grandchildren. We knew it was just a story. And if it looked like someone thought it was real they were quickly set straight. I read an interesting article once that said the scary and intense fairy tails were a way children could learn to deal with fear and it was okay to talk about how they felt and find the happy endings and that they could get through being scared. May be silly, but I still like scary movies and I think I handle life better because I know how to be scared.
KateJune 18, 2014
Frankly in both Frozen and Maleficent I felt disappointed and a bit resentful that the hero was NOT the traditional male figure. We just keep emasculating men in this society until the poor fellows don't seem to know what their place is in the world anymore. Let's put them back into the role of hero and protector and provider and rescuer, you know like the Gary Coopers and the Clark Gables, and the Cary Grants used to be and yes, like the Prince Charmings used to be in the wonderful world of the Grimms. Long live the fairy tales. They've served to give me hope in this old world of woe and helped me endure with knowledge that happen endings await!
bruceJune 18, 2014
Commiserated with other young mothers who were disillusioned with fairy tales. This opening line in itself is kind of scary. This is a Fairy Tale, fiction, not real, make believe etc. The only art I liked about this article is you actually did what a parent is suppose to do and that is teach your children that it is make believe. Then teach them the correct principle. Also saying what a great movie Maleficent is, which I have not scene yet. Then say their are references to Rape in it, even as a Metaphor would leave me never to want to take a child to it. Fairy tales are fairy tales Teach that. Or do not go to or watch any kind of Media because I can tell you that I haven't watched anything that would not be considered a fairy tale and leave children to wonder what is real. I am 62 years old and have never heard such nonsense. In the words of a song by Crosby, Stills and Nash and young. TEACH YOUR CHILDREN
FudgeJune 18, 2014
Obviously culture matters. Most countries have their fables and stories, their tall tales, their myths and legends. The fairy tales I grew up with were some of the best parts of my childhood. Even at a very young age we knew they weren't real life. I think the old tales like Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty run circles around the new films you wrote about. They simply had more heart.
RondiJune 17, 2014
I agree with Judy. Some of the other Fairy Tales weren't mentioned that teach that appearance isn't everything and we must get to know a person to understand their heart or not to judge too quickly: Beauty & the Beast as 1 example. We try to uplift, support and teach in positive ways with our little ones. Life is harsh enough and it will start to whittle away at a person's self esteem and cause them to doubt their worthiness for something wonderful and good by settling for much less. We need to teach happiness and goodness... reality levels the path soon enough. We must be there with our children involved in their lives and happiness, so that, when they are ready to venture out they know they can do it and do it well! We all, even as adults, enjoy a break from "reality", right?
Jenny SvendsenJune 17, 2014
Actually, I always believed that when I met the guy I was supposed to marry, I would know right away. When I met my husband, I KNEW! So yes, fairy tales still come true, the first thought he had when he saw me was that he was going to "marry that girl". My mom and dad divorced when I was 6, and so the only example of how a celestial marriage should be was what I was taught in church. That, to be honest, was very 'sugar coated' and did me more harm than any fairy tale, Grimms or Hans Christian Andersen, I was raised with. I think that the world teaches us that things don't always go they way we'd wish, so we also need fairy tales to hold on to 'good'. My husband and I married after knowing each other for 6 weeks, that was over 44 years ago.
DiannaJune 17, 2014
Wow, sister! Who rained on your Disney Parade?? It's really a lot more complicated than you are making these fairytale relationships out to be. I see what you are trying to teach your daughter, but I disagree with your timing and methods. I think that the message that is the most important is showing your daughter how much you love her daddy. It is when you tell her why you fell in love with her daddy. It is when you tell her what her daddy does that is so important to a wonderful family. Your influence and example as her most trusted figure will long outlast the fairytale dreams that happen in childhood. Fairytales, I think, were the societal answers to telling kids about the harsh realities of their time. Grimm's and many nursery rhymes told of times of terror and disease. It was romanticized to help people deal with the horrible times they had to live through. Childhood is a time of make-believe and nonsense. It's innocence and playfulness. It's a time for children to build trust in their parents, who by-the-way, they feel are like princes and princesses, bigger than life. It is not a lie or a mis-teaching to let our children have a time of innocence. As children their job is to learn to trust and love. They need to learn that their parents are the stability in their little lives, and that their parents are worthy of their trust. They need to learn that mom and dad are good and caring. They need examples of what to become.
Linda SmithJune 17, 2014
I grew up in the 40's, the cut my reading teeth on Andersen and Grimm fairy tales. I can remember my feelings when I read about the wicked and mean Snow Queen, and the fear I had for Hansel and Gretyl as the Witch lured them in, but I also remember the joy I felt when Cinderella was rescued by the Prince from her life of drudgery, and when the Ugly Duckling turned into a beautiful swan. When I questioned my mother, she explained that it was all made up fantasy, but that reading these stories would increase my skills and bring me a joy of reading. I went from these books to the books on my parents bookshelf and by 12 had read many classic books and discovered all kinds of wonderful literature. I am grateful for fairy tales.
cathyJune 17, 2014
my mother told us fairy tales and i read every book of them i could get my hands on. today these are some of my fondest memories of my mom and I. once you are an adult life is super serious and it is still nice to have a bit of playing and fantasy in your life. all too often people want to take away all of what made childhood fun. you are only a child for a short time...enjoy it and all its aspects
JudyJune 17, 2014
It seems almost cruel to dissect the good and bad from a fairy tale before the heart of a child can see it for it's good by himself. Isn't it possible that as a child grows and learns family values that he becomes capable of deciphering good and bad, real and fantasy, right and wrong...but also delights as we all have for a moment to enjoy the 'hope' from fairy tales that their dreams just might come true as well? Life is also a teacher, not always so kind...Let hope be a part of a child's experience - Kids are so much more intelligent, savvy, and amazing than we give them credit for. They don't always have to have their meat cut up for them...
Richard JonesJune 17, 2014
If not the grand majority of people who lived in the days when cinderella,etc. were written, or at least many people believed in magic or things unreal. but I believe that the authors of those stories expected that people reading them would of course know the truth. Any story taught to children should always have a loving parent there to interpret for them. These are important teaching moments. Thank you for your efforts.
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