That is Just a Horrible Quote

Now I know I've seen it before and never gave it much thought, but today I saw the quote from G.K. Chesterton:

“Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.”

And I understand what this is trying to say, but it is actually a really bad quote and not what you want to teach children.

Some of this may be my love for my characters Georgie and Armand, the two master mage, shape-shifting dragons who run an interdimensional hotel. They are dragons and they are awesome. In the first book I even have Georgie making a comment about how insulting a puppet show was that had a heroic knight slay the evil dragon.

So my problem with the quote is that it seems to imply that all dragons are bad (A something kids should fear) and need to be killed. But even in fairy tales, dragons are not always the bad guys.

Chesterton seems to be implying that all dragons are mindless, dangerous creatures that one only encounters in a 'kill or be killed' situation, which is a very limited mindset that does not reflect the larger picture of fariy tales and dragon stories historically. Yes, there are many stories of vicious dragons taking virgins to feast upon and only a noble knight can slay it and save the girl, but those are not the most common of fairy tales and should not be promoted as such. There are many stories where the dragon was minding its own business, guarding its hoard of treasure and someone or some group tries to steal from it and it attacks, and then the dragon becomes the villain for trying to protect its own property. And yes, there are many, many that treat them like mindless creatures that are just destructive in their ways, although in these case they are often shown to be like any other animal out there, looking for food and trying to survive when they encounter humans.

Even if one is trying for a generalized idea of monsters but doesn't want to use the word 'monster', there are other fairy tale creatures that work far better for this concept than dragons (Trolls is the first one that pops in my head) from just the fairy tale POV.  Or a simple change from 'killed' to 'dealt with' would have made the quote so much more meaningful, since often dragons in fairy tales are intelligent creatures that can be reasoned with.

In some ways it is interesting that the first thought of the quote is that is something scares you, the best solution is to kill it and that it is something we should promote to our children. That is some pretty dark thinking really.

So yes, I admit part of the problem with hte quote most likely comes from my love for my own dragon characters, but it still is a problematic quote beyond that if you really break it down. There are much better lessons that can made using fairy tales.

Life After The Hero's Journey

 For all those who have read previous posts here, you might have an idea that I kind of like Star Wars and might be something of a fan of the franchise. I was young enough when the first film hit that I do not remember a time before Star Wars and it seems as if I have always had Star Wars as part of y life.. I still have some of actual pieces of the bedroom set I got way back in the 70s, with a pillow case that is highly faded, packed away.

Right now the big thing for Star Wars is the Kenobi series on Disney+, showing us what he was up to between the prequels and the classic trilogy. So far I have enjoyed the series myself. It is not perfect, as there have been a few times where it felt like we missed something, possibly to due to a cut scene. There have been a few times where they are messing with canon, although nothing as bad as what happened with the prequels. So far nothing big enough to upset me, as I know we have a few more episodes to go.

Of course one of the main complaints coming from the toxic fans right now is the (false) claim that Disney is trying to destroy all the classic character and Kenobi is doing that to the title character. I do wonder what they thought Obi-Wan was doing in those nearly two decades of hiding, but I guess he was not allowed to end up in a meaningless job, living a boring, depressing life. For me that made sense, but for so many others it was a sin for the hermit to not be living it up.

I thought it was brilliant character development to show he had closed himself off from the Force and that what used to be easy for him is now a challenge because he has gotten so lost in grief. Everything he knew was taken from him, his world was destroyed and it makes a lot of sense for him to feel guilt over how things turned out, as he was right there in the heart of it all and failed to stop it. Yet these toxic fans want him to be just fine and happy with his new life and I guess they don't think he would need to make money, as him having a job really upsets them.

Of course they have compared Obi-Wan to Luke in The Last Jedi, as there is a lot of mirroring going on there.

I loved that after Luke did his Hero's Journey and became a galaxy-known hero, he made some mistakes and ended up not dealing too well with consequences of his actions. He is after all human.

But there seems to be an odd idea that after the character has done their journey, then they should be perfect after that, or that it it destroying the character to show that they suffer from depression or some level of PTSD. As someone who has shut himself off from the world due to feeling overwhelmed by life's drama, I can related to what both Obi-Wan And Luke end up going through. I felt showing such characters who have been though so much, who have made huge sacrifices and have had to push themselves to extremes to win the day, then find it hard dealing with their mistakes, to be great storytelling.

We know Obi-Wan pulls it together when the time comes and Luke had one hell of an awesome last battle, showing us just how powerful he really is. Both of these characters experienced very human times of doubt that brought them low, but in the end, when it really mattered, they got their act together and made a difference again. 

To me that is powerful storytelling.

Clean cut perfect heroes are boring and the idea that after the Hero's Journey their lives go on, but the challenges can get to be too much for them, makes them interesting. It does not negate any of their past victories or make them less of a hero. 

It makes them human and real.