The premise of the challenge is as follows: Seven Days Seven Deadly Sins Seven Flash Fictions up to 100 words Starting 7/7
Today is Envy. Sorrow for another’s good.
Seven Deadly Sins: Envy
“If I had been in the same situation, I would have done the same thing. Why does he get a bravery award? It wasn’t terrifically dangerous, wading into deep water to get that kid’s hat. It’s so stupid.”
“I dunno, mate.”
“It doesn’t make any sense. It could have been anyone. It could have been me. I could be standing on that stage right now, shaking hands with the mayor. But instead, some brat gets some award for doing something not even dangerous.”
The premise of the challenge is as follows: Seven Days Seven Deadly Sins Seven Flash Fictions up to 100 words Starting 7/7
Today is Vanity. An excessive love of self.
This is based on an old story I once read, but I cannot remember where I read it. I do not claim responsibility for the basis of this idea, although I did make it my own.
Seven Deadly Sins: Vanity
Once upon a time, the vainest woman in the village was given a magical mirror by an enchantress that enhanced her beauty so much, she became enraged and jealous at her own reflection.
Day after day, she would gaze at herself, and when her husband begged her to come away, she would shout at him, accusing him of wanting the beautiful reflection for himself.
She wished so hard that she could be just like her reflection.
One day she got her wish.
She was incredibly beautiful, but she was as cold and unfeeling as the glass of the mirror itself.
I have to say, I enjoyed Cinderella a lot more than I enjoyed Snow White. It’s very similar, in that they both start off as domestic slaves, and both have very sweet tempers and kind natures. Disney sure came a long way in the dozen years between releasing both movies. Which is good, because they released ten films theatrically between the two Princess films (including, but not limited to, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo and Bambi). Cinders was originally a coppery red-head, but for some reason they changed and made her blonde.
the Gothic King
The first thing that struck me, besides the fact that Cinders could actually talk to her Princess-requisite animal friends, was the portrayal of the King. The King wants his only son the Prince to get married and have babies, god damn it! There is no Queen. We see a collection of pictures of the King and the Prince enjoying their lives as the Prince grows up, and the King sleeps along in his enormous bed (which I know some royal and other VIP couples sleep in separate beds anyway), but the absence of a mother figure for the Prince struck me as rather important.
He even dreams of having blonde grandchildren. It's so creepy!
The King has extreme bi-polar in comical measures. He swings between happy to furious to sobbing to furious. He throws things around and destroys his belongings in a child-like tantrum. And his main objective is to get grandchildren. It freaks me out no end. I’ve even convinced myself that Cinderella is a Gothic story masquerading as a romance, because the King is so set on having grandchildren that he would probably sweep aside the Prince and take his place in the matrimony bed to ensure he gets descendants with the pretty, innocent girl! It grossed me out.
Domestic Princess-in-waiting
I like Cinderella a lot. She’s pretty, graceful, kind, and caring – even though her foul-tempered stepsisters declare that “It’s not like YOU care!” when she asks them if they slept well. Cinders doesn’t complain about anything: she just takes it as her lot in life. Much like Snow White. The difference between the two heroines is twofold:
While Snow White was more than happy to pick up a dustpan and broom and clean the dwarves’ house, Cinderella probably would not do the majority of the housework if she wasn’t forced to.
Cinderella comes from a wealthy family and her father marries a high-ranking lady (a Baroness, if I remember other versions correctly), but she herself is not a Princess.
Cinderella is surprisingly strong-willed, and presents a convincing argument as to why she should be allowed to attend the ball. The evil stepmother never intended to allow her to attend though. I can’t exactly figure out why. I think it is a mixture of habit in making Cinders’ life as difficult as possible, not wanting her to enjoy anything, and jealousy out of her beauty and that she might be a rival for her own daughters. I say this because the step-mother tells Cinderella to re-do a chore that she’s already done.
This talking animal thing is going too far.
Or, you know, it could be because Cinderella is locked away in a tall tower by a tyrant. Sounds pretty Gothic to me.
Domesticity Prevents Selfishness
Part of me thinks that Cinderella’s lovely personality is partly due to being forced to be a house servant. All that hard work, in comparison to her spoiled step-sisters who fight all the time and incredibly vain and selfish. Cinders is nothing like them, and I can’t help but wonder if it is due to her deplorable upbringing. I also get the feeling that Cinders is less of a passive victim than her previous Princess counterpart, Snow White, because she actively pursues her own destiny. She does, however, need help in doing that, which is surprisingly feminist for a film released in 1950.
At this point I realised 'Bippity-Boppity-Boo" was a song from Cinderella. Well played, Disney. Well played.
Also, in the version we watched, my partner (who patiently watches my Disney with me and permits himself to be a sounding-board for my thoughts) and I both didn’t notice if the Fairy Godmother told Cinders the magic wore off at midnight. Plot hole, anyone?
I have the best idea! Let's get to know each other before we fall in love!
One of the other things I liked a lot was that even though the Prince was clearly smitten with her from the first moment he saw her, they actually took time out to have a private chat and get to know each other, which gives Cinderella +10 points as a romance in my eyes. Yay for personalities!
PS – did anyone else LOVE Cinderella’s pink dress that her step-sisters ripped apart? I thought it was gorgeous!
I just destroyed my only connection to my dead mother!
The video game industry, the film industry, and the book industry. What do these three entertainment giants have in common? They are really fuckin scared. And the industry is expensive to produce something new.
I’m not even going to go into indie publishing and film-making and the cheap $1 app games. I won’t talk about music, either. That’s a whole other blog post. I’m talking about mass-produced, mass-consumed media products.
Why are the industries scared?
They are scared to invest in something new and different because it might not sell to an audience that has only been fed sequels and remakes and other non-original trash.
Let’s look at E3, the biggest video game expo on the planet:
Microsoft announced its upcoming games: Sequel, sequel, sequel, sequel, sequel, sequel, and sequel. Then it announced two original games, both for very young children (Disney World and Elmo).
Sony announced its upcoming games: sequel, sequel, reboot, sequel, sequel, special edition of a sequel, sequel, another special edition of a sequel, new game based on existing property (Star Trek, for those of you interested), then three more sequels.
Nintendo, sadly, only offered sequels. Then it announced the new console with the idea that you can play sequels from other consoles on it.
Now, let’s take a look at someof films of 2011. 2011 is noted for being the year with the most sequels released, ever, at twenty-seven.
Sucker Punch (original, but directed by the famous Zack Snyder with a fan base from 300 and Watchmen, both comic book adaptations, and it was also about time we had a film about women.)
Apparently there’s a new Mission Impossible film coming out as well.
I’m not listing everything. I’m just making a point.
Now, when it comes to the book industry, agents and publishers are rather the same. They only want to invest in something they think will sell (it would be crazy if they wanted to try to sell something they didn’t think would work), but they have limited notions of what will sell. They think loading readers with similar stories will work – this leads to trends and crazes. Never mind that many of the greatest novels ever written were completely original, somewhat different to what others were writing, and sometimes ever only published after the author was dead.
What I’m trying to say is, the book industry doesn’t need sequels and remakes (not including trilogies and series) because so many authors are writing similar stuff already. I’ve read heaps of advice telling authors what to do, what not to do, make sure there is a beginning, middle and end and a realistic villain that is introduced early on, make the conflict evident from the fist chapter, write a satisfying climax etc. But the biggest selling novel today in YA (next to Harry Potter, of course), Twilight, barely even has a plot until three quarters of the way through the novel. Twilight doesn’t stick to the conventions of the day and as a result, too many books try to emulate what has already been used and was a major success.
Books can easily be compared, just like films and games. “If you like this book about fallen angels and romance and paranormal and teenage girl protagonists, you’ll like these hundreds of other books written for the niche that is no longer niche” – kudos to Gina of Fantasy Casting for bringing this to my attention.
That’s the beauty of the industry: yes, we do want to enjoy what we love and read/play/watch similar things to rediscover the joy we found when we read/played/watched the original: but we also need originality. We need something different. Too many industries are too afraid of investing in something new and different. How are we supposed to discover a new genre or mode of storytelling when we’re saturated with similarities? How can originality shine through when markets are saturated with the same thing?
What are your thoughts on the industries and their love of remakes/sequels/retellings/general investment of sameness? Do you like to consume similar media, or do you search for those great originals as well? Will you invest in something different when buying a new book/game/seeing a movie, or do you play it safe with something you’re pretty sure you’ll enjoy based on past experiences?
This post will be somewhat different than my other dissections because I have to keep in mind that Disney’s Snow White was released in 1937, which is a dozen years before the 1950s housewife because the feminine ideal. And in my mind, Snow White is little more than a glorified housewife.
Except she's awesome because she communicates with animals by singing.
Everyone should know the story. It’s based on a Brothers Grimm fairy-tale, and Disney made it more kid-friendly: beautiful queen, outshone by her step-daughter orders a huntsman to kill her in the woods. When we are introduced to Snow White, the first and only thing on her mind is how much she wants to fall in love with her OMGSHINYTRUELOVE. And maybe he’ll be a prince. That would be the BEST THING EVER because even though she’s a princess, her step-mother is a total bee-yatch that dresses her in rags and makes her do domestic stuff like wash the steps.So you get it. Snow White is totally boy crazy.
We all want our men to carry us, right? Right?
Then the pervy prince comes along and spies on her from beyond the castle walls. He’s totally a Creepy McCreeperson and sneaks up on her. I don’t blame her to running away and closing the door: she’s certainly smarter than a lot of YA heroines who would go OMGSHINYTRUELOVBOI!!! And want to get married right away. At least Snow White has the decency to be alarmed that some guy stalked her and then scared the crap out of her.
I'm a stalker, but at least I don't climb in your second story window and watch you sleep.
I also have to add that the queen might have been a lot more beautiful if she’d uncovered her hair. Long healthy hair on a woman has long been a sign of fertility and youth. (I’ve just spent the last hour reading about hair length on Wikipedia… sigh this post will NEVER get done).
A pretty cool villain!
The huntsman takes pity on the princess because of her innocence and beauty and lets her go, taking back a pig’s heart as evidence of her murder. Snow White does nothing except scream and cover her face. Then when she runs into the forest she starts hallucinating from the fear and stress of everything. I said to my hubs (who is patiently watching Disney with me, bless him) “I hope she doesn’t just faint!” but luckily, she only collapses in a heap sobbing her poor little broken heart.
It's a very one-sided conversation.
Snow White, with the help of her woodland animals friends (which I can only assume are friendly to her because she is so beautiful and innocent?) stumbles upon a little house that she thinks belongs to orphaned children, cleans it with the help of her animals friends, and cooks supper. She immediately takes on the role of the mother she thinks the orphans are lacking, much like Wendy in Peter Pan (which we shall address in a later blog post).
We all know that "Heigh-Ho" song, so I'm not even gonna bother.
The dwarves, when they return home from their mining, think that a monster has taken up residence and prepare to kill her. They bully Dopey into investigating. When I told my hubs the dwarves were just bullies (after forcing Grumpy to have a bath) he said, “It’s just a bloke thing. If all of them have to suffer, one’s not going to get away with it.” When they discover she is not only a beautiful young woman but their princess as well, and the Queen wants her dead, they allow her to stay in their house and basically become their mother – cook, clean, sew, sweep. Do all their housework that they suck at because they work all day, Right? They take pity on her because she is young, beautiful, and innocent. By the way, Grumpy is most definitely my favourite: he’s a realist and he tells it like it is. He mutters about women’s wiles and stuff. Ha ha.
You're little men, not orphans! So why do you all live together?
The queen finds out Snow White is still alive when her truth-mirror tells her exactly where she is. To disguise herself, she changes her appearance and her voice into that of an ugly old crone. I hope she planned on turning herself back. I can’t even say anything like Disney is presenting ugly people as evil because the Queen was originally very beautiful on the outside, just consumed with envy and jealousy at Snow White’s beauty and innocence. Perhaps that’s what made Snow White so beautiful: she was pure inside and out, and the Queen was all twisted up in her own vanity.
No one will suspect me with this disguise!
Anyway, she gives Snow White a poisoned apple, telling her it is a wishing-apple. Snow White wishes for her true love to come to her, takes a bite, and falls into a deathly sleep. The dwarves arrive home to chase away the queen who falls to her death (in typical Disney style, although this is the first instance of it, it is a trope widely repeated because it allows children to put two and two together and realise the villain is no longer a threat). They place Snow White in a glass coffin so they can still perve on her beauty and then the prince comes along and kisses her (necrophilia, anyone?) and she comes back to life and he takes her away to live in his castle, which is what she’s always wanted and wished for. But… like… why the fuck would anyone want to kiss a corpse?!
Lady Antimony is hosting a week-long Seven Deadly Sins flash fiction challenge. It started yesterday.
Lissa Bilyk 