Should Fairytales Still Be Nice and Sweet for the Kids…?
Or Terrifying and Gory? (As was originally intended)
Many people aren’t aware that their beloved childhood tales, like Snow White and Red Riding Hood, were told to scare children into behaving. Telling stories about bad magic and evil kept the children from wandering off alone or trusting strangers.
We still do this to some extent. How many people tell their kids to keep away from strangers or they might snatch them away? Or not to stick their arms out of the car window in case they lose it?
Fairytales in their time were just the same. They meant to warn children of the real dangers that they believed existed, in a time were curses and spells were as real as looking both ways before you cross the street. Believing that telling children of the terrible dangers of wandering into the woods alone and taking gifts from strangers, they tried to scare their kids stupid to make them behave and keep them safe.
While the way in which we put across fairytales to children may have changed, in the 21st century, the real role of them has not. They still hold moral messages, even new children’s stories hold up to this, but perform other roles too. such as entertainment children or trying to encourage them to enjoy reading.
The main difference is a cultural one. Modern values now find their way into children’s stories, sometimes in a very blatant way.
Search for the history of Red Riding Hood in a search engine and you’ll also find that these old stories have been revamped for different audiences and analysed in much more depth:
You’ll also find the occasional film adaptation such as the new Red Riding Hood version (which I haven’t seen yet) and less known one’s such as Snow White – A Tale of Terror.
No longer are fairytales treated as superstitious danger warnings to children. But rather they are twisted, adapted and rewritten for numerous audiences and purposes.
My Last Example is of the TV Special – The 10th Kingdom
A wonderful travel through fairytales from a modern perspective. The two main characters come from New York, Virginia and her father Tony, and bring an up-to-date viewpoint with them. They react how we expect people really would react to such odd circumstances.
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- Amanda Seyfried Is “Red Riding Hood” [Trailer] (popcrunch.com)
- Hollywood wants Red Riding Hood and Snow White to weave a box office spell (guardian.co.uk)
- Hollywood wants Red Riding Hood and Snow White to weave a box office spell (Guardian) (satyamshot.wordpress.com)
bardicblogger 
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Thanks. xx