Love fairytales

Disney has a new film out based on the fairytale "Rapunzel." This was one of my favorite stories as a child, probably because being a black girl the thought of having long, luxurious blond hair is just as much a fairytale as the whole story, but I digress.

The basics of the original story is a girl is shut inside a tower and prevented from experiencing the world. A man still finds her and falls in love at first sight.

This is the short version of the morality tale teaching that you can't stop your daughter from growing up. The part of the story people do NOT discuss is that the prince in the original Rapunzel finds her, seduces her, and impregnates her in that tower. The witch feeling betrayed by her "daughter" chops off Rapunzel's hair and casts her into a wasteland. The prince comes to visit his "wife," is injured by the witch and left to wander the forest. While wandering, the prince finds Rapunzel and her tears heal him...then the happily ever after action happens...with their twins. The implication is they were meant to be together.

Today, these stories get what many call "the Disney treatment." The girl is a princess, she is taken by the witch and put in a tower. She still finds a man (he is NOT a prince but a thief with a good heart), falls in love, etc., etc., etc...but this time she sings about it all, fights with a frying pan and has a cute little chameleon as a companion. Oh yes, the witch dies, as all witches do in Disney stories but not always in the original tales.

My problem with "happily ever after..." is that does not exist. Girls are fed this line of crap in various ways and many believe it, even if they won't admit that fact. We want a man to see us, fall madly in love, never even notice other women and be completely devoted to us. The woman being completely devoted to the guy is usually implied. But the whole life-long love commitment without problems is a total fantasy. You can love someone forever but all relationships have problems. A fairytale says fall totally in love with another person and relationship problems evaporate. People believe this fantasy but I think girls suck it up more than men.

The impressive thing about the original Rapunzel is that the prince didn't waste time consummating his "marriage" to Rapunzel. She was also pretty young and isolation must have made her gullible. The witch locks her up at 12 and a few years later she is being nailed by the prince. Disney makes her 18 but I doubt she was that old in the original. Also interesting is marriage was based on the fact the prince has sex with Rapunzel, not a church ceremony. We know he had sex with her because he is the only man she has ever met and when he finds her, she has twins. The tale is also a male fantasy because he knows without a doubt that those children are his and he is the only man this woman has ever had.

So as I watched this movie, I realized it is very much a "chick cartoon." The flowers, the pretty songs, the big green eyes, the guy totally changing his life for the girl...uh...right! At least the original didn't preach that load of crap. I do understand why this movie is a hit but I just don't agree with the fantasy romance shown. However, people who love this usually don't want to see the reality of love, marriage and relationships...then it would be called a drama, not a fairytale.