Monday, March 28, 2011
Fairy stories for adults?
Tolkien argues that fairy stories should be for adults as well.The original versions of modern fairy tales would support this view. The original version were much more gruesome than the Disney versions. For example, the original version of Cinderella included a lot more blood than the Disney version.
3 comments:
I'm not sure just being more gory or bloody makes a story for adults. Obviously we don't want kids to watch that kind of stuff so it's automatically classified as not child friendly. But I think what Tolkien meant when he said that fairy stories were for adults too was more that adults could get more out of them. They don't have to have more gore or sexual content or anything necessarily, but the adults who read/watch them would be able to pull out underlying themes. I think Tolkien meant that adults should not feel that it is a kid's story so it is outside of the realm of what people can/should study. Basically, I think that Tollkien was getting at the idea that adults can enjoy and find underlying meaning in the SAME stories that kids are enjoying.
I agree with the above statement by Radagast. Just because a story is more bloody does not necessarily make it "for adult audiences." The older fairy tales held themes and motifs that were complex and could be appreciated by adults, as well as teaching points and lessons for children. These are the types of Fairy-Tales that Tolkien believed should be both for children and adults.
Tolkien is refering mostly to how fairy tales should be a form of escapism for adults that helps us reconnect with our childhood. It doesn't necessarily mean that they have to include adult themes.
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