Happy Endings
No conclusion will ever be more resolute than that of a happy ending. The unblemished matrimony of prince and princess, riding into the setting sun, and that virginal kiss to a great and glorious symphony. The rubbish that populates Hollywood and the minds of children alike.
Whether it be escapism or just plain apathy, happy endings permeate into the film industry regardless of their literary counterparts telling them not to. The purging of emotions such as sorrow, fear and anxiety through the practice of catharsis is driven out from the core of story telling, and is instead turned into mindless nonsense. So, rather than the tales of morality and trepidation seen in the simplest of tales from Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm, we are instead subject to the surrender and submission of Disney resolution.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein sees Doctor Frankenstein marrying Elizabeth only for her to be killed by his monstrous creation. The novel then culminates in Frankenstein dying on board a ship in the Arctic, his corpse cradled by the creation that murdered his wife. Whilst this is harrowing and heartbreaking the Hollywood version of Frankenstein sees Frankenstein and Elizabeth living happily ever after as a lovely couple.
In Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame Esmerelda is tragically hanged and Quasimodo is found dead beside her corpse rotted by starvation, when the couple are found Quasimodo's bones turn to dust as they are forcibly separated. However in the huggy Disney remake they both live and remain the best of friends.
No comments:
Post a Comment