Hi Friends, 

I am not quite there yet. If I didn’t convince you in my last post, I think this is the one. Last time, I suggested that it is in the nature of stories to change. It is a part of how humans have learned for millenia- ever changing stories that teach us what we need to understand about the world (one of my undergrad degrees is in anthropology and it was spendy, so I am going to use it [catch the humble brag there? Yeah. One of my undergrad degrees. It’s true, I’m insecure.]).

My first point was:  Stories Have Always Changed.

Now, I embark on my next point…

Point 2: Stories Should Change.

I didn’t grow up on Cinderella. As a kid, Sleeping Beauty was my jam. I didn’t see the animated Disney Cinderella until I was an adult. (Of note, I did frequently watch the Muppet version, Hey, Cinderella, quite often- if you have ever seen it, please leave a comment, I feel so alone). 

When I watched the animated Disney version of Cinderella, I was bored, and mildly offended, and more bored, and ultimately disengaged. I didn’t have an early attachment to it, so I watched as a young 20 something who had opinions. And it did not work for me. The animated movie arrived in theaters in 1950. That was well before I was a thing. And most of the images and understandings I have of that time period are stereotypes surmised from popular culture of the day. I came of age in the late 90s. Which means I saw the movie sometime in the aughts, because my life long best friend loved it so. And I didn’t get it. I watched Cinderella just take abuse, on repeat for 74 minutes (thank you Gemini for providing the exact run time). And then, she had almost no agency in changing her life. Good thing that prince with no name that she never spoke to before took a liking to her. Maybe. Who knows what happened after the credits rolled?

I knew the story of Cinderella, like we all do. So common is the story, that the phrase “Cinderella Story” has a meaning we all understand. I liked a lot of versions of Cinderella, but not the Disney animated version. Because I saw interpretations of the story that spoke to my world and my interests and my sensibilities before I saw the 1950 version. 

And here is where it gets interesting. I knew the story from my Muppets CED (look it up, yo, I’m kinda old).  And of course, the story of Cinderella is all over everywhere. I had read the Grimms’ version a bunch. And, in high school, I was a theater kid. Naturally, I had seen Into the Woods. I read Confessions of An Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire (which is fabulous, if you haven’t read it, go to a library, or a bookstore, or an online retailer, and pick it up). And I’d seen the countless loose adaptations, modern remakes, etc.

In the Grimm version, Cinderella was very close with her mother. I was always close with my mother. And who can forget that ending? Basically a horror movie. I really like horror movies (long story).

In Into the Woods, Cinderella experienced a pretty serious dilemma, she was coming of age in an unsatisfying circumstance. She had no idea what she wanted, she just knew she didn’t want what she had. Preach.

I won’t spoil Confessions of An Ugly Stepsister, in case you haven’t read it. It didn’t matter if I did or did not relate, it was a fantastic story.

In the Muppet version, there were Muppets. And everyone knows, I love the Muppets. (In case this is news to you, I love Rowlf the most, I think Rowlf is cool, and want to hang out with him. But I relate to Kermit. He is the Muppet me.)

And then, Disney made the live action Cinderella. And I loved it. Because there was a little bit of Grimm, and a little bit of original Disney, and a lot of modern sensibility. Cinderella didn’t comply because she was weak, she was trying to be a better person. She didn’t stay because she had no agency, she stayed because it was her parents’ home. She was holding onto her family and what she perceived as important to them. Sure, it was misguided. Probably both of her parents would have told her, “Get out of that house!” But she was trying to honor them, and it required sacrifice. The original Mulan might have done the same, she fought in a war for her family. 

The audience in 2015 would not have accepted the Cinderella of 1950. Just as the audience of 1950 might have struggled to understand Anna or Rapunzel or Moana or live action Cinderella. Nothing to regret here. Cultural norms change over time. That isn’t new. That has always been the case. We just write it all down now. And many of us can read. I am not saying that people were once ignorant, and now we are informed. But we have an unbelievable amount of access to information, with almost no effort. So maybe we just see evidence of change staring us in the face. And that can be hard. 

But I think that kind of change can, and has, made us better. It has improved health, decreased violence, allowed innovation. I think it is more good than bad. We just have brains that are always on guard for the badv(good job, brain, thanks for keeping me safe from predators!). 

Maybe my saying all of this reveals another bias. So be it. These changes ensured I survived a complicated birth, they have allowed me to have a job with impact, I own property, I see using my eyes (LASIK surgery is the best). 

I think the stories tell us a great deal of how we have changed for the better. More on that another time.

So what I am saying is, stories should change, because we change.