Writing: Eventual Goals (Prince Project, Otakon Trail)

The end of Otakon marks the end of summer for me. Meaning school should resume in a week or two. I am very wrong. Try "it will resume in a month." Thus, I am motivation-ally lost. I suppose, in a way, it's time to a) complete all the junk I owe people and b) get down to something more personal. So, let it be known, here are my ideas: a fine art book and a Flash game. So very different.

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Everyone loves messing with Fairy Tales, but in my opinion dark and modern and adult fairy tales are so trendy, they're overdone or at least, much better done (read "Fable", anyone?). So, a joke that got larger ended up being Genderbending Fairy Tales. However, not in the sense that the character only visually switches, but their societal roles switch as well. The intellectual challenge is to create an acceptable story which still possesses the same moral and plot development whilst shifting the sexist power balances inherent in these stories. I have lovingly, and a little mockingly, titled it the "Prince Project."

I have selected only stories with traditionally female protagonists because I wanted to make them male. I think one of the more commonplace themes of modern fairy tale rewriting is female empowerment. Jane Yolen et al. have done a bang up job of it, so I don't need to do it again.

Thus, I have also eliminated stories such as Hansel and Gretel and Goldilocks which, if I re-told with a gender swap, would pretty much be the same. The defining attribute of those characters is their age. Their sex makes no real difference in how the story plays out because the characters are pre-pubescent.

I feel the most interesting challenge is the "female-rescued-by-male" model, so heavily embedded in this sexist genre. Thus, the natural choice would be things involving princesses - the ideal model of femininity and beauty. Fortunately, these are also some of the most well-known fairy tales in the Western hemisphere (partially in thanks to Disney). I feel, the more iconic and known the story, the easier it will be for people to relate the swapped version to the original, even if the connection is only hinted at via illustration. I am going to use, though, the original Grimm and Andersen versions if I can find them (yay, internet).

As you can see, I haven't ironed it all out, but here's what I have so far. If I get more, I'll update this journal. It is as much a personal reference for me as anything.

Beauty and the Beast - While it is still appropriate that their hero's elder siblings still ask for riches, I feel a rose is probably too feminine a gesture. I think it will be interesting to play with ideals of ugly (beastly) women. It is seemingly, in society, harder to get a man to love an ugly woman the other way around.

Cinderella - I think one of the interesting points would be here, the hero's mother re-marries to another man. Because it becomes the hero marrying "in," it gives license to his step-brothers to be crueler since this is a male-dominated society and thus they are the more "rightful" heirs. As for what item the princess uses to find her beloved stranger-from-the-ball, I am at a loss. Mens' shoes don't fall off so easily.

Snow White - I wanted to keep the theme of step-parent jealousy. Long ago, a king wished for a son to inherit his kingdom. Finally, he had one born with hair dark as ebony, skin pale as snow, and lips (eyes?) red as blood. Upon the king's death, the queen must re-marry his brother to preserve royal lineage (I know I can do something with this). This uncle is jealous of the prince's strength, intelligence, etc - basically qualities that would be approved of for a male. The woodsman character also - because it must be female - must now use other ways of subduing the Prince to put him in a life threatening situation. I can only think of seduction. As for female equivalents of dwarfs, I'll probably use nymphs.

The Little Mermaid - Inherently supernatural, I think I will keep the protagonist as a merman. However, I am in the air as to what he loses when he becomes human. I will adhere to the Andersen ending of the heroine's body turning into seafoam.

Little Red Riding Hood - (Red Cloak) Two of the possible interpretations of this story are rebirth and sexual awakening. Instead of being a girl, Red Cloak is an under-aged military private in his first few months on the front. He has to deliver medication to a senior officer when persuaded by an older woman to... and uhm, then I ran out of ideas.

Sleeping Beauty (Briar Rose) - I am not completely sure what to do with this one, but I know a prince would not be working a spinning wheel. To keep with tradition, any naming conventions should be based on the sun, moon, dawn, and stars. The prince protagonist, though, must be cursed at birth through his parents' desire for a child.

Unfortunately, I'd like to have seven. Since that is a magic number in fairy tales. I just can't think of a last one. I am tempted to use Alice in Wonderland, but it is far longer than most fairy tales and does not have the same taste of folklore. I personally like Bluebeard, but no one's ever heard of it.

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I know, once I begin the projects, I will keep working on them until other things get in the way. The problem being that initial first step. Someone remind me, when I get back to school to speak with Scott. Either of these, if uncompleted, could become an independent study. However, I'd like to do a visual re-design of Rivek or a series of sculptures as independent studies as well.

I also just need to write down character profiles and world information in general - the Magnum Opus goal is five books: 3 illustrated novels, 1 companion artbook, and 1 alternate-universe artbook (for when I feel like drawing Rivek as a cowboy). One thing is for sure, though. I am taking Painting I in the Fall. I am intimidated.

PS - Michelle, goddamn, your posts are more eloquent and thought provoking and personal than mine. I'm jealous.