Fairy tales
Marx called the other day or was it yesterday and took advantage of my unemployed status to ask me a question: What must a guy do to win your heart? (question's generic targetted at the general woman population)
I said: "Nothing. If I don't like the guy, there is nothing the guy can do."
"That is tragic. There are no fairy tales anymore where a guy could slay a dragon to win the heart of a woman?" Marx exclaimed.
So I ran through the fairy tales I know in my head.
Snow White:
The prince saw her in a glass coffin in the woods with seven dwarfs sobbing beside the coffin. Prince saw Snow White, opened the coffin and kissed her. She woke up and married him.
My 2 cents: I called that tragic. That prince actually took advantage of Snow White, did anyone realise that? Snow White died already and was probably in heaven with God. Leave her alone, sleaze boy! That prince woke her up and made her marry him. Which is better - to be in heaven or to marry a sleazeball? If I were Snow White, I would go report him. What a sleaze! What romantic?
Sleeping Beauty:
I don't understand why princes in fairy tales liked to go around kissing damsels they didn't know. What does that mean? These princes went for looks only. They looked at the girl and said, "Wow damn pretty, must kiss." Princesses in fairy tales were at fault too - they were obviously not in their right mind. I can't expect them to be given the ordeals they went through - they got saboed by step-mothers, ate poisoned apples by mistake, were put under spells for a thousand years. So these princesses woke up and said: "Ok lar. kena kissed already might as well marry lor." In those days, I guess there were no laws to protect the women or it was part of their culture - women marry their perpetrators and not sue them. My heart bleeds for them. How could one find it romantic if marriages are under those circumstances?
But there are some fairy tales I like. Here's the one that I find romantic - the love story between Japeth and Yonah in the musical Children of Eden.
Their story began where Japeth's father Noah was building an ark God had asked him to. Japeth wanted to bring his true love Yonah onboard the ark. However, Yonah bore the mark of Cain and thus she was one of those God wanted to destroy with the flood.Noah and family were furious with Japeth. Japeth decided to hide Yonah in the ark because he wanted to be with her no matter what. Maybe their union would be shortlived, maybe they would be destroyed in a little while by the flood, but they would be together. In face of those uncertainities, they sang "In Whatever Time We Have." Like in all fairy tales, this one has a happy ending. Their union received blessings in the end.
It is the kind of ending we can never hope to have because it is afterall just a fairy tale. We can only hope to live through whatever time we have, then hope that when we finally die, there are no sleazeballs opening up our glass coffins to kiss us.
In Whatever Time We Have
JAPETH
I don't give a damn for the thunders of fathers
Come hell or high water whatever they do
I could not live in a world without you
In whatever time we have
For as long as we are living
We can face whatever comes
If we face now as one
I could make on my own
Let me know that I don't have to
No one really wants to be alone
In whatever we time we have
If at times we are afraid
With so little to believe in
It's alright to feel afraid
I will hold you in the dark
All we know for sure is this
Though the world could end tommorow
You and I will be together
In whatever time
YONAH
In whatever time we have
For as long as we are living
JAPETH
We know life can be a battlefield
YONAH
We can face it now as one
JAPETH
But we won't run and we won't fear
You'll be my fortress and I will be your shield
JAPETH and YONAH
No one really wants to be alone
In whatever time we have
YONAH
There are times I've been afraid
In a world that's so uncertain
Then I feel your hand in mine
And there's courage in my heart
JAPETH
We could live a hundred years
YONAH
Or the world could in tommorow
YONAH and JAPETH
But we know we'll be together in whatever time
From this day forward lights don't seem so black
From this day forward we will never look back
In whatever time we have
We will make the most of time
And at least we'll be together in whatever time
We have
I said: "Nothing. If I don't like the guy, there is nothing the guy can do."
"That is tragic. There are no fairy tales anymore where a guy could slay a dragon to win the heart of a woman?" Marx exclaimed.
So I ran through the fairy tales I know in my head.
Snow White:
The prince saw her in a glass coffin in the woods with seven dwarfs sobbing beside the coffin. Prince saw Snow White, opened the coffin and kissed her. She woke up and married him.
My 2 cents: I called that tragic. That prince actually took advantage of Snow White, did anyone realise that? Snow White died already and was probably in heaven with God. Leave her alone, sleaze boy! That prince woke her up and made her marry him. Which is better - to be in heaven or to marry a sleazeball? If I were Snow White, I would go report him. What a sleaze! What romantic?
Sleeping Beauty:
I don't understand why princes in fairy tales liked to go around kissing damsels they didn't know. What does that mean? These princes went for looks only. They looked at the girl and said, "Wow damn pretty, must kiss." Princesses in fairy tales were at fault too - they were obviously not in their right mind. I can't expect them to be given the ordeals they went through - they got saboed by step-mothers, ate poisoned apples by mistake, were put under spells for a thousand years. So these princesses woke up and said: "Ok lar. kena kissed already might as well marry lor." In those days, I guess there were no laws to protect the women or it was part of their culture - women marry their perpetrators and not sue them. My heart bleeds for them. How could one find it romantic if marriages are under those circumstances?
But there are some fairy tales I like. Here's the one that I find romantic - the love story between Japeth and Yonah in the musical Children of Eden.
Their story began where Japeth's father Noah was building an ark God had asked him to. Japeth wanted to bring his true love Yonah onboard the ark. However, Yonah bore the mark of Cain and thus she was one of those God wanted to destroy with the flood.Noah and family were furious with Japeth. Japeth decided to hide Yonah in the ark because he wanted to be with her no matter what. Maybe their union would be shortlived, maybe they would be destroyed in a little while by the flood, but they would be together. In face of those uncertainities, they sang "In Whatever Time We Have." Like in all fairy tales, this one has a happy ending. Their union received blessings in the end.
It is the kind of ending we can never hope to have because it is afterall just a fairy tale. We can only hope to live through whatever time we have, then hope that when we finally die, there are no sleazeballs opening up our glass coffins to kiss us.
In Whatever Time We Have
JAPETH
I don't give a damn for the thunders of fathers
Come hell or high water whatever they do
I could not live in a world without you
In whatever time we have
For as long as we are living
We can face whatever comes
If we face now as one
I could make on my own
Let me know that I don't have to
No one really wants to be alone
In whatever we time we have
If at times we are afraid
With so little to believe in
It's alright to feel afraid
I will hold you in the dark
All we know for sure is this
Though the world could end tommorow
You and I will be together
In whatever time
YONAH
In whatever time we have
For as long as we are living
JAPETH
We know life can be a battlefield
YONAH
We can face it now as one
JAPETH
But we won't run and we won't fear
You'll be my fortress and I will be your shield
JAPETH and YONAH
No one really wants to be alone
In whatever time we have
YONAH
There are times I've been afraid
In a world that's so uncertain
Then I feel your hand in mine
And there's courage in my heart
JAPETH
We could live a hundred years
YONAH
Or the world could in tommorow
YONAH and JAPETH
But we know we'll be together in whatever time
From this day forward lights don't seem so black
From this day forward we will never look back
In whatever time we have
We will make the most of time
And at least we'll be together in whatever time
We have
posted by eternal bough at 11:52 PM
3 Comments:
Mr frog was another sleazy prince. He artfully took advantage of the situation and got the princess to kiss him else he won't fetch the golden ball for the princess. The princess was another dumb princess She wanted the the ball so much that she would betray her dignity to kiss the frog. Kinda of remind of Esau, who gave up his firstborn status for a bowl of stew.
off tangent - there is this edgy little graphic novel series called Fables. It's about a mysterious community that lives in present-day New York amongst us normal folk. Their secret? They are Fables, our fairytale characters immortalised in flesh and blood.
The Prince Charming character in there is indeed a fabulously written sleazeball - he is portrayed as a chronic womaniser, unable to settle down. He has 3 ex wives - Snow White, Briar Rose(Sleeping Beauty) and Cinderella. Remarkably, he shows some shred of remorse for hurting Snow the most because he knew what a (literal) evil witch of a mother she had. :)
sounds hiliarious. I always enjoy stories with an edge. But it is a graphic novel. I am not cut out to enjoy graphic novels. Years ago, I bought Blanket. I read, flipped again, reread, I couldn't see its appeal. I still wonder why it is considered one of the best graphic novels. Please enlightened me, please. And neon, sent you an SMS today, din get your reply. Sat 9pm Ink still on right?
Post a Comment
<< Home