Fantasy Conventions and the Culture Surrounding Them by Marissa Klippenstein

Gender Roles in Fantasy Literature by Jackie Burke

Journey of a Fairy

Okay so this story is kind of snowballing out of my control, I had intended it to be a  quick little short story but it now has so much plot, that there is alot of story and not enough time. So for now all I have is the prologue and the first chapter.

Prologue

Once upon a time 18 years ago in the kingdom of Cantata, a land that was home to all of fairy kind. The kind and queen were in some trouble, the newborn prince was sick and passing fast. In a situation like this there are two options for fairy royals the first was to go into morning for the passing prince and would be future king and try for a new child. Or they would use a changeling which would cloak the baby prince to look exactly like a human child and switch the children so the prince would die in the human world and the queen would have a son to raise. He would not rule as he had no fairy blood in him but the queen would not lose a child.

Desperate for a child they chose the latter sending the king's brother and advisor to take away the dying child and find another if the same age. Grayson soon found a little boy in the city of London, lying in a crib staring at his mobile gurgling. The consilium performed the spell quickly and quietly, then switching out the children. Using his powers of the wind he arrived back at the border of the land and the baby. He brought him to the king and queen who blessed him with the name Caysen.

The first people to meet the new baby boy were the rest of the royal family. Only two others as both families were fairly new with the only other child being Caysen's new cousin Seraphina and her mother.

Upon meeting the boy Sera looked at him then the king.

"He smells funny.... Why?" The four year old asked.

King Rueben simply laughed at the blunt blonde girl and humored his niece with an answer

"Because he is human, as an elemental fairy as only the royals are you can also sense who has magic and who does not, along with your control over fire"

Sera looked puzzled again "but mama said that the new baby would be king one day. And you told me only fairies can do that"

"He won't, Caysen can not be king so the next child your aunt and I have will be king or queen. That is the one you will advise as soon as you both are old enough"

Two years later the king and queen had a daughter called Crystal, whom Seraphina promised to always help and assist when she needed it even when Sera herself could be in danger.

Chapter 1

Sera stood in a bedroom almost as familiar as her own while she argued with her cousin who had come up with another crazy plan that would no doubt land on or both of them in trouble. Though both ladies were of age, they were still under the guidance of their parents who were teaching them how to rule the fairies in Cantata. The fire fairy however has always had a problem with authority almost as bad as her control over her ability to light a flame at any moment. Constantly setting tapestries and dresses on fire when angry or impatient, it had become an issue as she was growing into a woman that suddenly the tattered silk dresses were no longer endearing but a concern for those who were under the future consilium’s authority. Her cousin, the princess however was blessed with control over ice which she seemed to grow into her personality, she was calm and fair with a beauty that could only be spoken in the most awed voice. With long wavy brown hair  light blue eyes and fair, Crystal looked every bit like the royal she may one day be.

When provoked however she could be more harsh than the strongest blizzard. The girl’s powers were complete opposites but they couldn’t be closer if they were actual sisters, Sera easily fell into the role of older sister and advisor while Crystal became her cousin’s only confidant. The girls were more familiar with the other’s bedroom than their own most times constantly talking late into the night speaking of things the king and his advisor had forbidden from court. A grave mistake was made some twenty years ago, a baby fairy who was supposed to die had lived and now he was stuck with the humans because his too proud father refused to let someone who had been “tainted by the humans” back into court, even his own son.

“He is out there Sera, he is my brother and a part of the family. He deserves to know where he really is from. “Crystal said late one night

“And what can we do about that Crys?” Sera refuted for what seemed like the millionth time “He decreed it, as in law we may be royal but we are not above the law.”

“One day” Crystal says dreamily “we will find my brother and he will come and live with us”

“Did you forget something my lovely little cousin? He is first born, he could take your throne if he wanted.”

“He won’t, I just know it, we as fairies can sense our families and their intentions. Like when Dad knew about Vera wanting to hurt you” Crystal explained “I can just sense that he has good will in his heart”

Sera just sighed knowing that this would always be something that her cousin worried about. Though Caysen was a good brother to her he wasn’t blood and they could all feel that. Soon after, she left for her own rooms so that she might get some rest before her next day. Sleep always seemed to help with her “lighting problem” as her mother affectionately called it, if she was tired she was more likely to set herself or someone else on fire. Before laying down for the night Seraphina examined herself in the mirror, always in some red attire as a nod to her extraordinary power over the heat. She was similar to Crystal in almost every way, blue eyes and fair skin that shouted familial resemblance, but she also bared a strong resemblance to her mother with her white blonde hair always practically glowing with power at night.  Sera lied down, closed her eyes and dreamed about what her younger male cousin would have been like. She did not think of him often, already having pledged her advisor station to the future queen Crystal.

The next morning she was cornered yet again by her cousin and made to swear on the crown that she would help with a task that they both knew could be dangerous.

“I know where he is” Crystal whispered

“who?” Sera asked not sure what was going on

“My brother, the one in the human world” Crystal said

“Oh my Pixie dust! Did you leave Cantata?! You know how dangerous that is!” the fire fairy began to berat her cousin.

“keep it down!” The younger whisper shouted “I didn’t leave, the will-o-wisps said they smelled magic near a boy about his age but they didn’t know him. And since when does that group not recognize a magical being in the human world?”

“Well what do you want me to do about it?” Sera asked

“I want you to go get him”

Faries: Tiny and Terrible people

Alice: A SyFy miracle

Alice-Syfy

Okay so let me inform you on one (and possibly the only) good thing that has come out of the SyFy network. Once upon a time there was a girl named Alice who had a named Jack. One day while eating dinner with her mother, Jack gives Alice a ring and tells her that even if she doesn't want to marry him to keep it. Though she denies at first after he leaves Alice decides that she in fact does want to marry her love Jack however when she does catch up to him she sees him being dragged into a mirror and seemingly go to the other side.

Alice determined to find her love goes through the mirror only to find out that it is one of the looking glasses in the world, the kingdom is based on a “house of Cards”, her dad is alive, the people here feed off of human emotions and that the mad hatter is actually a cute honorable man. She is forced to be the new Alice in Wonderland and she must bring down the queen of hearts (Jack’s mother) in order to save everyone including her father who had been missing for over 20 years. Alice is a changed woman when she finally gets back, she is in love and her dad gives her the strength to live on.

This is a unique type of a film because it is a small miniseries that spans over three episodes becoming close to a four hour movie. It is well done and lacks the usually cheesy radioactive monsters that SyFy enjoys so much. I love this story and it is a great take on a modern day Wonderland.

Hook: A timeless Reminder

Hook

This movie is based on the idea that Peter Pan eventually does grow up, he leaves Neverland to grow older and become a business man with a fear of heights. Now Peter Banning the goes back home to England, his orphanage and the woman who took care of him when he was first found … Wendy Darling. He, his wife Moira and their two kids Jack and Maggie go to honor Wendy as she accepts a new award from a hospital. As the adults are away the famous Pirate Captain James Hook takes Banning’s kids to never land holding them in anticipation of Peter Pan’s return.

                When I first watched this movie I was a child and it was beautiful, enchanting, and everything you could think of in-between. Peter Banning must learn to accept who he was and revert back to when he could play as Pan to save his kids. As a kid it made me think of all the great things I could do as an adult without losing out on having fun when I grew up. As an adult this movie reminded me again that yes it is important to be an adult and grow up, but it is equally important to have fun. It was a great take on the fantasy of going back to child and never really growing up. It is a fun movie that serves as a reminder that life is the most important things. You have to grow up so learn to have fun as a kid, but you do have to grow up to remember that living and surviving are two different things and after that to remember “Death would be an awfully great adventure.”

Pan's Labyrinth: The Dark Fairy Tale

This is a fantasy realm so fully and elegantly realized, it might have been a classic novel, but it was Del Toro’s imagination. Del Toro calls Pan's Labyrinth a dark fantasy for adults, because the violence it contains is certainly not suited for children.  The col-blooded attacks of the Captain towards others (he shoots a rebel after smashing his face unrecognizable with a broken bottle) and himself. The scene where he, after having his own cheek cut open, sutures it by himself and takes a swig of tequila, is both brutal and Oscar-worthy. Brilliant cinematography, Del Toro juxtaposes the reality of war to the fantasy world and somehow shows the audience that the fantasy world is more real and life like than reality. He uses contrasting color like bleak washed out cool colors for the outside world and lively, bright warm colors for the fantastical world. This film was a commentary on war as well as September 11^th.

For much of the film, Ofelia's fairy-tale quest is secondary to the power struggles in the house with a checkerboard like interaction yet seamless filming. Tensions bubble between the Captain and Ofelia's weak mother, and especially the Captain and the housekeeper Mercedes. The captain is a sociopath, obsessed with small details on using his magnifying glass and pouring over the watch his father gave him. In his psychotic obsessions, he misses the big details of the world. The faeries and fawn are ambiguous and neither good nor bad. The nurse Mercedes is good, even as she rebels because she values human life.

It is a fantasy film because there is the element of magic through the fairies and the book the fawn gives. The womb is the entry of fantasy world, and there are reoccurring images of fallopian tubes and placental tones. Even the fairies are organic. The tree is a reference to Alice in Wonderland. Magic affects the real world when the book predicts the miscarriage. Music in that scene is reminiscent of Pink Floyd’s “Is Anybody Out There?” eerie intro. Ofelia realizes the power of magic and that no matter what, she must trust her instincts. Disobedience to the majority of societal pressures leads to the right door opening (with the key and freedom).

Ogres eat innocence, even though they have a feast of food set out before them. This whole scene is the echo of the feast the captain has with all of the people, even though most people are boiling roots to survive. All of the characters are at crossroads in the movie, which is when they decide to put childish toys away and lose a part of their soul. This is the melancholy truth of becoming an adult. It is not the tests, but how Ofelia approaches the tests makes the difference. In the end the captain becomes human when he asks for the rebels to tell his son who he was, and Mercedes replies he will never know your name. This kills him before the bullet does.  Ofelia becomes immortal because she made the right choice, which is to refuse death and its sting. Only if you dare to die, will you reach immortality.