Fairy tale “Fairy Tales?”
The Year 8 scholars led by Ms Franz explored the origins of some of our best known fairy tales; some emerging from the creative minds of such as Hans Christian Anderson others as a result of the collecting and editing of traditional folk tales by the Brother Grimm.
What they shared were some penetrating insights into the human condition and the sanitising effects of cinematic treatment. The students will never think of the story of Cinderella’s glass slipper in quite the same way again. Ms Franz was able to also show how often the shocking or dramatic elements of the tales were related to the cultural context of the time and the need to engage listeners in a pre multi media age.
The session ended with an interesting parallel of early 19th century alternative versions of King Lear which tried to make the play less “depressing.”
