Challenge question 9/9/14: the reinvented "good" vs. "bad"

I can only answer this to an extent, as I don’t have any children and thus can’t relate to how one raises children in this modern era. But what I can say, however, is that for whatever confusion might be caused by the complex and dynamic characters of the modern fairytale, it is balanced by the lack thereof in traditional ones. One the one hand, older-style tales continue to provide this rudimentary education, while, on the other, more complex plots are introducing children to more developed (and more realistic storylines) at a younger age, giving them stories they relate to on a subconscious level accompanied by those they either directly relate to or, moreover, those that they will come to appreciate on an even deeper level in years to come.

On the first level, I would say that it’s reasonably safe to assume that children being raised now, born in the last ten years, are still watching the “classics.” I certainly did—I watched Cinderella regularly, and Sleeping Beauty was one of my favorites, even though they came out 44 and 35 years, respectively, before I was born. Time seems not to be a barrier, and given the continued popularity of the more classic films, it is probable that children are still exposed to the characters that lack the confounding shades of grey. With that being said, new films may be too much younger audiences to grasp. The plots are more intricate and creative, sometimes to a fault, involving more (and often complex) characters and rejecting previously established tropes and relationships. Many lack an obvious hero or villain—rather, the antagonist remains a set of ideas which the protagonist must face but they are now no longer manifested in a concrete (human or otherwise) form. But I honestly can’t say; I may very well be underestimating the intellect of a child.

However, I think the transition in plots is beneficial even if these movies are indeed too much for young children. They open up children’s minds at a young age to tropes beyond naïve concepts related to good versus bad, hero versus villain (and of course, often rewarded by true love), revealing that such a divide rarely exists in life. On a more subconscious level, these may be more comprehendible, but new ones are more relatable and relevant. And as a child gets older, they will come to understand the major themes of their favorite movie even more; on this level, I feel that there is an even greater reward as you become conscious of your perception of a movie changing and how you relate to the characters and plot shifting as you mature.

Good vs Bad.

When I took Psychology in high school, I learned about Kohlberg’s theory of moral development. This theory stated that before a certain point of their development children are incapable of rational choices. So if a 5 year old child is throwing a tantrum in a grocery store, it is fruitless to reason with the child why the tantrum is inappropriate. the child won’t understand that throwing a tantrum is disrupting the other shoppers and making their parent’s life a bit harder. 

My father’s reaction to hearing about this theory was to say that it doesn’t matter if children can understand you or not. If you want to say something complex to a child, say it. The child may not understand at that moment, but it’s possible that they will remember your wise message later, and will be able to use it in their life once their brain actually understands the meaning. 

On pg 9 of "The Uses of Enchantment” Bettlheim pointed out that beauty is often used to distinguish between good and evil when characters are not complex. Good people are pretty and bad people are ugly. The first thought that went through my head when I read this was, do we really want to tell our children that ‘ugly’ people are bad? (Or even continue to perpetuate the idea of ugliness?) Stories will also often make the bad characters darker than the good characters. I think that we should make stories for children more complex. This way when the children are older their perception of good and evil is just as complex, and they don’t just remember the ugly or darker people being bad. 

I find it incredibly heartening that childrens' stories now include more and more complicated characters. I have to agree with smalina on this one--stories will almost always need to be less complex for children of younger ages, yet there is incredible value to showing stories of people with complicated motivations to young children, even if they don't understand the complexities, like abradleycole mentions. 

One of the stories that's stuck with me the longest is called The Voyage of the Basset. In later years I've learned that this book was written as an almost-parody of Darwin's voyages to the Galapagos, instead being a story of a father and his two daughters going on a voyage with a crew of dwarfs to discover the biology of fairytale creatures. They journey through incredibly diverse lands and meet characters from many mythologies around the world (though mostly focusing on Western mythologies). At first, my mother read the story to me, as it is a fairly long and dense book for a young child, but it is one of the most richly illustrated books you'll ever see, which allowed me a way into the story in addition. I've reread the story myriad times since then, catching new details of complexities each time. 

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One of the characters who really stuck with me from the story is the portrayal of Medusa. The myth of Medusa has taken on many forms, many of them with the history of patriarchy inscribed into the very fabric of how the story has morphed over time. Most portrayals of her are villainous, yet this book re-formed her personality to that of a woman who was a victim of circumstance, and did her best to avoid hurting others, even as she tried to come out of her shell of forcible loneliness. Her isolating power even ended up becoming a critical asset during the conflict with the main villain--though her accidental turning-to-stone of the ship's navigator ended up being one of the main forces driving the plot. 

So, as a way of synthesizing my example, telling these stories of complex morality shows respect for people that you're both willing to believe in their ability to tackle things, and also that you have enough respect to be patient with their limitations. Young children will later be able to reflect on these complexities and understand them better in the contexts of other stories and "real life". 

I like the direction that children’s stories are moving in; with the addition of more complex characters and storylines, I feel like children get a more accurate picture of the world. According to developmental psychology, babies are hardwired with a dichotomist view of good and evil and the mixing of the two causes conflict within the child that can only be worked out as the child grows up and develops a higher level of cognition. With that being said, younger children may not truly understand the complexities of new stories if they are being read to them at such a young age but that does not mean they cannot appreciate a story’s true meaning as they grow up.  I personally love re-reading books and re-watching shows/movies from my childhood because as an adult I find new meaning in them.

I also like what Sunshine said about how stories would make the bad guy dark and ugly and the good guy bright and beautiful. This is not a realistic view of the world at all and the emphasis on physical characteristics blurs the picture even more. Good people can appear to be dark just as bad people can appear to be all sunshine and rainbows. The world is black and white and everything in between. The sooner our children grasp this concept, the better off they will be.