Fairy Tales
Lately I've been wondering about the so-called negative impact of fairy tales on children. I watched Disney movies and C.H. Andersen movies when I was young (also read lots of fairy tales), but I never really bought into "finding my own prince" or "living happily ever after". Maybe one reason is because they're all foreign stories, lived by foreign people with blonde hair or blue eyes etc., so I feel a "gap" between myself and the stories. For me, they were just stories, figment of imagination. They were just fun to watch/read, except for the original Little Mermaid which ended with her death - I cried buckets after watching the cartoon and I think that was the beginning of my dislike towards sad endings. I don't like all movies with sad endings, but I don't like sad endings which I think are rather "useless" - I mean, after all that she has sacrificed for the prince, in the end she can't win his love (and he doesn't know what she has sacrificed for her) he he he...I'm a romantic at heart, what else can I say? :-D
Besides, as I grew older, I heard plenty of stories about "troubles in paradise" (read: in marriage relationships), so I knew from a young age that relationships doesn't equal "living happily ever after". I know I'm not a parent so I can't really know what the impact these kinds of stories have on children, but I just wanna share my POV as a child at one point in time.
How about you? Do you think fairy tales have impacted you in a negative way?
P.S. The same thing goes for Santa stories. It's funny when some people here asked me if I believed in Santa when I was young, but I always feel a "gap" 'coz Santa is portrayed as a foreign guy with white, long beard, so for me Santa only exists in stories.
I’ve never heard anybody suggesting that fairy tales have a negative impact on children. In my opinion, they develop imagination, which is a good thing. The best fairy tales were those my granny made up herself while telling. I have tried to keep up that tradition with my own children. They understand very well that it is just a fairy tale, when I start telling “Yesterday when I went to the cellar to get some blueberry jam, I suddenly saw a very little man with grey hat taking a peek between the cans…”
ReplyDeleteI also didn’t like the sad end of the little mermaid when I was a child. But I annoys me that Disney altered it in their version.
I've read some online articles that mentioned something about the negative impact of fairy tales on children, so I started thinking about my own childhood.
DeleteOh, your granny made up her own fairy tales? COOL!!! I used to own several thick fairy tale books complete with drawings in between the pages. Those pages surely made me daydream and as you wrote yourself...it's a good thing to develop imagination. :-)
It's cool that you get to tell fairy tales to your own children. :-) Unlike you, though, I was OK with the Disney version of the Little Mermaid. Probably 'coz I was too sad about the real ending ha ha...and it'd have felt like relieving that moment if it had ended the same way.
Hmmm... I have no idea how to answer your question :D But Jason is still believe in Santa Claus. So.... kalo menjelang Natal nih, biasanya aku tanya ma Jason, mau kado apa dari Santa Claus. Trus dia minta yg agak mahal tuh. Contohnya thn kmrn, dia minta nintendo DS. Dia bilang, khan jadinya tdk usah pake duit mama & papa. LOL...
ReplyDeleteSelama dia msh percaya dgn Santa Claus, kita tdk mau bocorin. Biar aja. Lucu juga y...
Di sini emang budayanya beda yah, Jul...anak2 dari kecil diajar kalo kado Natal dapet dari Santa he he...lucu juga Jason bilang gitu LOL!!!
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