Deerskin Reaction

Dimitri Giannos

12-12-16

Deerskin Reaction

Twice Told Tales

Well one thing I noticed pretty quickly when reading Deerskin, is the focus on beauty on the female characters. First Lissar who feels the effects of maybe not amounting fully to her mother’s beauty. She is lonely and doesn’t always seem to be the happiest girl. As I mentioned the mother’s main priority seems to be her beauty and looks. This all made sense to me considering most fairy tales have these gender roles and for the most part I think they are pretty stereotypical. The woman is focused on their physical appearance and the men on working supporting the family and often times saving or acquiring the beautiful woman by the end of the story. However then the story took a turn in a different direction. Where the focus somewhat stayed on the beauty topic but now involved what seemed to be a pursuit for incest. This was a little uncomfortable for me and very different than any other fairy tale I remember reading. Once Lissars mother became ill and made the artist draw a portrait of her I was thinking she was just consumed by her own beauty, and she wanted everyone to remember her being the most beautiful person in the land. However once she made her husband promise to never remarry unless someone was up to equal standards appearance wise, that’s when things started getting funky. From that point on it seemed Lissar began to become more beautiful and started fitting her mother mold perfectly, and in a way better than perfect. So it was almost like Lissar was trying to escape the inevitable which gave the fairy tale a different setting throughout the story and made it more enjoyable to read. So the chase of the father trying to be with his daughter who is terrified and trying to get away kept me on the edge of my seat while read, and I had already thought the story couldn’t get much weirder, but then Lissar is impregnated by her father. This was the second time I felt very uncomfortable while I was reading. Finally the story got back to normal fairy tale routes when Lissar started going by deerskin, assumed a costume and acquired supernatural powers. That part of the story made me feel like it was a pretty normal fairy tale because this main character is trying to rid herself from danger and she does so through these powers that nobody else has. So overall, there were parts that were very different from other fairy tales and told in a different way, but the story also has parts to it that are alike others. Interesting read to say the least.

A Bela Adormecida (Sleeping Beauty) Post

I wasn’t a fan of all the singing throughout the movie. It gave it it a high school musical type of feel, that I don’t find interesting, but rather more annoying. If there was more dialect to get points across rather than song I would be more likely to like and listen to what’s going on. When someone just starts singing about how she wants kids next to a pool of her own tears that’s where it gets a little too much for me. However I enjoyed some of the special effects like the dwarf jumping up like Michael Jordan in Space Jam for that apple, and then falling a hard crash. So i did enjoy some of the humor and scenes from the story.

Similarities and differences in themes of readings

I thought it was really weird how in sleeping beauty and snow white they both have sexual relationships while they both rest peacefully. That I feel is a little far fetched but makes for an interesting story. I also enjoyed learning about how some of the more gruesome fairy tales were altered to better suit certain audiences. Like in sleeping beauty where there was a lot of cannibalism, rape, incest, and other weird things going on. So Perrault changed it around to make it more appropriate for his audience, and eliminated a lot of the adultery and incest parts from the story. Crazy how that works.

The Potion

 

“As it goes down it makes me feel alive, all while it is killing me. Turning my sorrows to blurred memories and my pain to ignorance.This was my potion stimulating uncharted emotion. I’ve witnessed many killed by the potion, and many live by the potion, but my ingredients are not the same. – Doms Diary.” This was an entry made in the journal of Dom Gonzalo. Dom was an outgoing teenager from Shelburne, a small  northern New Hampshire town, where he lived with his mother and his father. Growing up Dom was a good kid. Honor roll student, involved in church and sports. He was always involved and interested in helping others, and loved spending time with family. It was his senior year of high school when that all changed. Dom was hand picked by Syn the fairy leader in the Islands of Ash. Syn came to Dom one night when he was sleeping and having thoughts about his life and his plans for after school, and almost hypnotized Dom with her charisma and beauty. With her enrapturing presence she spoke softly to Dom and explained to him everything was going to be better in their new life together. That night, May 1, 1999 was the last time Dom was ever seen on planet earth. All his parent and anyone had to read was that note “The Potion”. I just wish there was a way to explain to planet Earth that Dom is ok and he didn’t end his life on purpose.

On to a brighter note Dom was given a potion that night, Syn and Dom both drank it before they moved to the Islands of Ash together where they lived happily for many years. They were two of 50,000 fairies living in a place unlike anywhere Dom has ever been before. Flying around, there were constant parties and no one worked. There were what seemed to be unlimited amounts of everything, and no one was concerned, just happy. When Dom left however his parents really started to suffer. Their relationship fell apart, and was basically hanging on before because of Dom. So they would fight and fight all day, and this went on for months. This led Dom’s father to start drinking more. Both people were cheating on each other and both would accuse the other person continuously. Another problem was money, because neither of them were making very much of it and Doms mother recently got laid off from work. It even got to the point where the two would physically fight when arguments exploded into drunken rages, and jealous fits. I only mention this because the one flaw Dom has with all his power, is these visions. He gets struck with migraine type visions where he can’t see anything else but his parents. Voices telling him he left them so they could rot in earth. All while he is watching them fight, cheat, smoke, drink, and all the terrible things they are going through.

The Island of Ash. Dom will remain there for eternity with Syn. Where they are King and Queen and they can do whatever they want whenever they want. Fly around the Island, and they know they are safe and comfortable forever. They have unlimited wealth and they both are beautiful and will remain forever young. They will rule the Island of Ash for eternity and continue to watch over the other fairy tales in the land. Sounds like a great story, but some nights Dom gets struck by these visions, and he hates it. He cries, and is starting to go crazy.

Dom devises a plan to go back to earth after a dramatic episode where he saw his parents telling him to come home. Begging him as they cried so he wanted nothing more than to get home but he couldn’t figure out how he was going to do it…Until, he remembers his mother in the vision saying “drink the potion son” Then he immediately had a flashback to him and Syn drinking what must have been the potion. Weeks and weeks go by and finally Dom finds the same cup in Syn’s room and asks Syn about it. She brushed it off like it was nothing and took it and said it’s just an experiment but it’s my last one so don’t touch. Later that night Dom waited for Syn to fall asleep then he went in search for that cup. He searched for hours and finally stumbled upon it in her closet. Right before he drank the potion he saw the same vision of his parents as he did months before. So he tips the cup back and blacks. Seconds later he is awoken by his parents who both have a smile on her face and say to him, wake up son time for dinner. Then they went and had a nice family night where they discussed their days, and shared some laughs. In the end Dom chose to be there for his family, because he knew with his powers he was the only potion that could make his mother and father happy. That meant more for him than ruling a crazy cool fairy tale Island with his first ever love. His mother told him when he was young she would always be there for him and promised to never ever leave his side. He remembered that and returned that same love. Sometimes in life it is worth risking losing something great to save people you love and that’s exactly what Dom did. That’s why I think he is the coolest fairy tale that’s around today.

Weekly Journal Post #8

8. Utilizing this guide identify if you are in a fairy tale or not. How do you know?

1. Are you the seventh son of a seventh son?

No I cannot say I am, I do have one little sister though.

2. Do birds talk to you? (Disregard this question if the birds are parrots. Parrots don’t count.)

Sometimes I think I do have the power to connect on a deep level with animals, but I can’t say any animal has ever spoke to me.

3. Do the creatures of the forest clean your house?

No, the creatures do not clean my home, but bears have ate my trash on multiple occasions.

4. When you talk, do a) jewels or b) reptiles and amphibians drop from your lips?

No I wish jewels fell from my lips during discussions, that would be kind of cool.

5. Are you an orphan?

Not that I know of.

6. Were you orphaned after your mother/father remarried, thus leaving you in the care of a stepparent who abuses you and uses you for manual labor?

No as I stated in the last question.

7. No, seriously, do birds talk to you?

Still can’t say they do.

8. Do people tend to mutter about curses or prophecies when they think you’re not listening?

I have never noticed any body doing such a thing, that would be something I  would remember.

9. Did you go for a nice picnic in the woods, fall asleep, and wake up to find yourself abandoned by your entire family?

No I’d rather eat at my house then in the woods, too many insects around my food.

10. Do you have an irresistible urge to prick your finger on things?”

I do not, hate pricking my finger actually. So I guess you can say following this guide I am not in a fairy tale.

Weekly Journal Post #7

7. You find yourself in a dungeon, using fairy tale logic, how do you get out?

 

First, I would try to use the power of my mind and try to escape, or find any clues on what would help me escape. I would shatter the dungeon walls with telekinesis, and if that didn’t work I would play the role of a damsel in distress. I would pray, and call out for my knight in shining armor to come and swoop me off of my feet. He would take me away to Never where we would live happily ever after together just the two of us. We could build an empire together and eventually rule all of the land, and have a thriving society where happiness is the main concern of our people. If all of those options (magic, telekinesis, savior) didn’t work I would try to transform myself into something else like a butterfly or something that could possibly escape. If I could not escape as another being then I would use teleportation and teleport to a new world.

Weekly Journal Post 6

If you could pick a fairy tale to be Disney’s next big movie, which would it be? Why?

I would have to pick Beauty and the Beast. Much like my reasoning as to why I would pick to be in Beauty and the Beast is the same to why I would want to watch an updated version. I think with today’s digital effects they could make the Beast look very scary. As well as making Beauty beautiful, but I think it would be interesting to see how they would present the beast and the kind of details they could utilize. I also would love to see Beauties sisters and how evil they were. They could be presented somewhat like evil witches in the movie with cool effects making there gifts into dust and I think it would have great impact on the viewer. It would be a powerful way to see the old story so many of us know. It would also be interesting to see if Disney would get real actors to play in the movie or if it were to be animated. I think I would prefer real actors rather than an animation. Maybe Dwyane “the rock” Johnson would make a great beastly character. There would be many options for a female role as well for Beauty and the sisters etc.

Weekly Journal post 5

5. Do a little research about fairy tale art. Pick a piece and explain what it is about, and why you picked it

I retrieved this photo from http://mentalfloss.com/article/49548/artistic-takes-9-classic-fairy-tales.

I thought this was an interesting picture that tied into what I mentioned in one of my last posts about gender role in fairy tales. It is a picture of the iconic scene in Cinderella where shes leaving the ballroom and forgets her shoe. However in the picture and if you think about it, that would make for a weird scene if it were the guy who forgot his shoe and the woman retrieving it. A beautiful woman getting a mans shoe and picking it up looking in the distance for the man it cam from, wanting to get it back to him. I don’t think it has the same kind of vibe as the original version. I thought it was a great way to demonstrate gender role in fairy tales in an out of the box type of way. I also liked the colors they used in the photograph. I feel like it really takes you to an imaginary place which is nice when trying to envision the story taking place. In the picture you can see the clock tower striking midnight which reminds you of that scene right when you look at it. If I could add anything to the picture it would be more detail in the background and maybe give it more of a night time setting.

 

Weekly Journal Post 4

4. If you woke up in a fairy tale, which one would you want it to be? Why?

Beauty and the Beast and it’s an easy one. Beast did everything for the woman he loved. He was loyal, only gave her all the fanciest clothing, and lifestyle she wanted. When her evil sisters tried to get the gifts they turned to rags and worthless items. But when the love of his life would touch them, they were golden and lavish items. He also was in a constant chase to get her to marry him and even though she loved him she denied him for a while making the reward that much better. The beast also had the power to destroy anyone at anytime but used his power for the good and not to destroy. He cared for beauty more than anyone has cared for an individual that I have ever seen. He could have simply forced the beauty to do whatever he wanted of her but instead fought for her love and approval which I think is very commendable.  I would love to have the power and sheer size of the  beast but also the compassion and love displayed by the gentle giant. Another reason why I picked this fairy tale is because how hard he worked to finally succeed. There isn’t a much better feeling that I have ever had then working your ass off for something for so long, so long that at times you think you are never going to accomplish what you are chasing, and then finally catching it. This matched with romance is the single most thing that drives humans. Love. He chased the woman of his dreams and by being himself, he got her to marry him and they could be together forever.  This is something that every person wants and was an easy choice of a fairy tale I would want to be apart of.

Weekly Journal Post 3

3. How is gender handled/ represented in fairy tales?

I think gender is presented in a few different ways. However an overarching commonality between many fairy tales remains consistent. That is males providing security and being providers and hero types, and females as being more weak and in search of a savior or a male figure.  In Cinderella Prince Charming comes to her rescue. He brought her from a poor lifestyle to being at her pinnacle. She was living lavishly with him. In the Little Mermaid Prince Eric provides her with shelter and opportunity at a better life.  Prince Phillip awakens Sleeping beauty and betters her life as well, and those are just a few examples of the stereotypes that exist in fairy tales. Men are often more independent and ambitious and are usually the ones doing the saving of the female. Females are often looked as as more dependent on someone else and are marginalized more often. This could  have a negative influence on young readers because these stereotypes and character roles could enter ones subconscious and instill beliefs in a child. Not saying if a child reads fairy tales they are going to talk every role or lesson in the story literally but I think it can have an affect. Men are often the ones taking more risk and displaying more risky behavior but women doing so is not as common. Also I think beauty if a main focus on the role females in fairy tales play. With and added focus on physical beauty. I always remember as a kid and hearing about the beauty and the beast, the little mermaid, Rapunzel etc. and in every one of those stories there is description and dialogue about the woman’s physical appearance. How that appearance has an influence on the men in their live and often drives them to be saved or end up in a relationship together in the end. So overall I think a lot of fairy tales use physical attractiveness as a main priority and asset of a female character and strength and bravery for most of the male characters. And as I said earlier, I think this could have a negative effect on how young children form opinions and views of gender roles, and can fuel more stereotypes and preconceived notions which will not benefit any one.