Enchantment, cont'd

On Hindu Medicine: "It was expected that through contemplating the story the disturbed person would be led to visualize both the nature of the impasse in living from which he suffered, and the possibility of its resolution." (25)

If a story is obviously grounded in the real world, a person is unwilling to see himself in a similar situation, as it is not his.

If a story is too fantastic--as in the inclusion of a superhuman main character--then the story is unrelatable, and the person feels weaker or powerless in comparison.

Therefore, an effective fairy tale often has an "underdog" main character who must overcome realistic obstacles in an unrealistic (or obviously fabricated) environment. This way, a child (or psychologically disturbed person, or any person) is able to relate to the story told to him in such a way that he can apply its themes and lessons in his own world.

Doess vagueness in imagery, therefore, have more impact than obvious messages, as in PSAs?

On The Uses of Enchantment

I took this book from Nanny's collection when we cleared her house to be sold. Two years later, I discover its relevance.


Essentially, Bettelheim claims that fairy tales are essential to healthy human development. Obviously, they do not relate realistic scenarios, but children employ their underlying themes in their psychological development. For example, one boy loved the story of "Jack the Giant Killer." Being small, as children are, the boy felt powerless against the authority of the world around him. Jack, in the story, eliminates the giants with his wit and guile. The boy knows that giants do not exist, "but grown-ups are kind of like giants, aren't they?"

Margot Quan Knight

website

Obvious art historical references
Digital manipulation on props and prosthetics
Fantasy: "truth through what is not reality"
BODIES

Chaaarlie!