Classic fantasy contains formulized images of good and evil;
heroes and villains, both clearly defined.
Fantasy has given us creatures that embody evil: The dark witch, the vampire, the werewolf,
the dragon. The evil presents itself,
and the hero braves danger to destroy it.
So, what’s happened to the classic role of evil in modern
fantasy? It seems that characters
traditionally relegated to the realm of evil are taking on a decidedly more
sympathetic role. The vampire perhaps
most of all has become a romanticized figure embraced rather than
condemned. There was always a
subconscious underlying sexual theme to vampirism; that’s primal. But, lately, the vampire has evolved from the
villainy and horror of Dracula to the sympathetic, romantic leads of “Twilight”
and “Vampire Diaries.” When did this
begin, exactly? Most credit Anne Rice
for giving the point of view to the formerly reviled undead back in the 70’s. Personally, I think it started earlier with
Jonathan Frid’s portrayal of lonely, tormented vampire Barnabus Collins on “Dark
Shadows” in the 60’s. Whatever the
reason, the vampire, though just as blood hungry and homicidal as ever, is now
an appealing fairytale creature with skin that sparkles like diamonds in
daylight, instead of sizzling and burning.
Now, vampires can walk in daylight, plan school dances, go to college,
attend outdoor barbecues in the bright sunlight. (What’s happened to standards?) Even the dark prince Dracula himself has been
re-invented as a 15th century superhero in the modern prequel “Dracula: Untold.”
(Was that Bram Stoker turning in his grave?)
The re-definition of evil isn’t limited to vampire fiction,
though. Fairytales, the very things that
shaped our mindsets as children are being stood on their heads. Angelina Jolie turned Maleficent from villainess
to heroine on the big screen, delightfully mangling the all-time classic
fairytale of the Sleeping Beauty. The
king is the villain who used and abandoned Maleficent, abused her trust and
stole her power of flight (an obvious feminist metaphor.) The handsome prince means well, but he’s weak
and ineffectual, so his kiss fails to revive the sleeping princess, since his
love is childish and still needs time to mature. Maleficent reclaims her power and overcomes
her bitterness with love, slays the evil king and wakes the sleeping beauty not
with a lover’s kiss, but with a mother’s.
“No truer love,” we’re told.
Every fairytale ever written is being turned inside-out in
the television series “Once Upon a Time” (my personal favorite.) In the course of the show’s storylines, Peter
Pan is cast as villain and Captain Hook as hero, and classic villains like Rumpelstiltskin
and the wicked queen who poisoned Snow White are more dysfunctional and
misunderstood than evil. Mainly, they
just want what everyone else wants: a
happy ending. The classic rules of
fairytale morals are upheld: Henry, the
youngest character on the show reaffirms the classic rule that good always
triumphs over evil and that happy endings always come only to the heroes, not
the villains. But, Henry still loves his
adoptive mom, Regina, even though she was the wicked queen. He never gives up hope that she can be
redeemed, and she’s desperately trying to change. Regina’s nemesis, Emma Swan, daughter of her
sworn enemy Snow White is going through changes as well as she struggles with
her unpredictable life and the cruel twists of fate. Emma and Regina started out as enemies, but
they’ve become allies of necessity, their opposites of dark and light magic
combining against common enemies for the sake of Henry, whom they both
love. And, Emma even hopes she and
Regina might someday become friends because, though on opposite sides, they
understand each other; They’re both lonely and unlucky at love.
So, what does this re-examining of the classic myths say
about the evolving mindset of our society? Does this changing of points of view, seeing
the story through the eyes of former antagonists, this new emphasis on change
and compromise indicate a coming of age, a maturing? Let’s hope.
God knows we don’t see enough of it in real life. We think of our enemies (foreign and
domestic) as the “bad guys”, the embodiment of pure evil. We’re always swift to judgment and eager for
revenge. Even our elected officials are
regarded as less than human. We seem to
embrace hatred and darkness, while seeing it only in others, never ourselves.
In “Black Goddess,” the protagonist is a young man whose
life has fallen apart. Through his eyes,
nothing makes any sense. Life seems like
random configurations of cosmic dust without meaning. Ironically, he seeks meaning and ultimate
truth by seeking ultimate evil. Pure,
unadulterated evil born at the very moment of creation.
Since evil is the mainstay of all classic myth, it seems we
need irredeemable evil to justify our existence, to give it meaning. But, does it truly exist, or is evil just how
the other guy looks from where you happen to be standing? Given
a history so littered with dead bodies, it’s hard to believe true evil doesn’t
exist. But, in looking for it elsewhere,
we often feed it in ourselves. Maybe our
upcoming generation will benefit from fairytales that teach them to look
through another’s eyes.
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