DaWaRou Posts: Once Upon a Time

Hello everyone! With my computer screen still fucked up and my cousin dropping in for a while, I totally forgot that I had a blog post to do! But I've remembered just in time to get one done for the week and hopefully it'll be better than my YuYu Hakusho post from last week and even though I've already told my boss that this post should be up by Thursday, I'm gonna see how much I can do today before my procrastination gets me fired. Ladies and Gents, I'm John Cortez and this is my eleventh post for...The Broken Infinite.

So, I think I've talked a lot about anime but I don't really go into what I think about a lot of TV series made here in America. That's probably because most of those series aren't anime and the episodes of them are fairly predictable. But I've talked about Supernatural which I actually like and that trite abomination Beauty and the Beast which I despise due to the changes made in this new "adaptation" but there is another show that's currently holding my interest, well besides Dallas and Arrow. This is my review of Once Upon A Time!!!

By far the best thing on television right now, in my opinion, is this show, Once Upon A Time a new show with a focus on breathing some fresh life into our classic collective fairy tales and story books. Without further ado, let's start the review.

The plot is this: Prince Charming and Snow White's wedding celebration takes an unexpected turn when the Evil Queen Regina shows up and vows to destroy the happiness of all in attendance. After stealing a curse from Maleficent and seeking advice on how to work it from Rumpelstiltskin, Regina enacts the Dark Curse which will take everyone in the Enchanted Forest to a miserable land without Magic where she'll be the only one with a Happily Ever After. But just before the curse hits, Snow and Charming whisk their infant daughter Emma off through the Narnia wardrobe and send her to our world so that she won't be affected by the curse as she is the prophesied Savior, the one who'll defeat the Evil Queen and break her horrible curse. 28 years later, Emma Swan receives an unexpected visit from a ten year old boy named Henry who claims to be the infant she herself gave up for adoption years ago. He tracks her down and gets her to take him back to his hometown Storybrooke, Maine because he knows who she is and what she's supposed to do. Too bad Emma refuses to believe him when he tells her this as well as the fact that (almost) every character from every story book or fairy tale ever written is a cursed citizen in this town, unable to remember their true identities or leave the town. Emma and Regina, Henry's adopted mom, don't quite see eye to eye and an epic battle of good vs. evil begins as we explore the true natures and pasts of the Storybrooke citizens and watch as history repeats itself in our world. Will Emma truly break the curse? Everything starts Once Upon A Time and Happily Ever After is never where it truly ends.

I think that might be the most glorified plot description I've ever written for something like this. Wow, well let's get started. Now normally I talk about the art and music but in this case we'll talk about the casting, special effects and the background music. The casting is amazing! Ginnifer Goodwin makes for a beautifully badass Snow White and does her other role as Mary Margret Blanchard equally well and the other actors and actresses are no slouches either in their respective roles. I will say though that the dialogue can be a bit...forced. Sometimes the characters will say things that sound like they've been ripped right from a story book but in this case, I'm more than willing to overlook it considering that most of the characters actually are from fairy tales and story books, and I suppose that Jared S. Gilmore who plays ten year old Henry also gets a bit of a free pass as he's only a little kid and they do sometimes say things that they see or read. Above all though this show has two spectacular cast members and they are Lana Parrillla who plays Regina the Evil Queen and Mayor of Storybrooke and Robert Carlyle who plays Rumpelstiltskin and Mr. Gold the resident David Xanatos with magic. They just dominate whatever scene they're in and it's really just a blast to watch them act. The sets are also great. Whoever does the CG for the Enchanted Forest deserves a big FAT raise assuming they already don't get paid a lot though my one problem with the CG is the Fairies who look like they swim through the air as opposed to flying gracefully. The special effects are also very good to the point of being extremely lifelike and the music is appropriate to the scene.

Now this series is very well put together. Being a fairy tale/story book mash up, I imagine that it'd be pretty easy to get some shit fanfic inspired crossover where everything is forced and contrived to fit the needs of the average internet denizen or illiterate high school student with no appreciation for classic literature but the way all the stories in this series are put together is just fascinating in a wonderful way. And I'd say that I should't have expected anything less from Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis, the writers of Lost but I haven't seen lost so I can't say that. But this kind of writing does have it's problems. The main one being that most of the magical help our hero's receive is from Rumpelstiltskin while their magical misery all comes from Regina though sometimes they switch roles. It also leads to the depowering of certain former Disney badasses namely Maleficent!

Yeah, remember Sleeping Beauty's badass evil Fairy Maleficent?! The most badass character ever seen in a Disney film up to that point? The Mistress of all Evil?! Well, here she is in Once Upon a Time.

And to be honest, if anything it's kind of a downgrade. Okay, it's not "kind of" it is a downgrade to see such a formally badass character reduced to just...a common evil witch subdued with a chandelier? Really?! REALLY!? And by the witch from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs?! But then again some characters get an upgrade like the Evil Queen from Snow White, FUCKING MULAN in season two, Sexy Red Riding Hood, Snow White herself, Belle from Beauty and the Beast and of all people, Captain Hook! Frankly it's all quite amazing how badass some of these characters are made to be and what's more how real and developed they all are now. These characters have never been seen in this way before, as real people with real problems and real flaws and real personalities and then once season two hits their personalities come out in full bloom.

And aside from everything else that's great about this series, there are some more flaws though I think the biggest and most important of them is the character of Henry. For the most part he's pretty much just a plot device. He doesn't really do much but point out the obvious fairy tale of the day if there is one or be a real asshat to Regina...the woman that RAISED HIM! And honestly, that's my biggest problem with Henry. I'm not sure where he stands with Regina and there's not much to go on as to why he treats her so horribly and then makes a total 180 come season two where he spontaneously develops feelings for her. What the fuck Henry?! But other than that there really aren't too many issues...OH WAIT! I COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT THE SENSE OF MORALITY THROUGHOUT THIS SERIES

Ever hear of "Black and White Morality"? Well, this series is swimming in it. Almost every character is made to be either good or evil with very little wiggle room or accounting for neutrality. And that's something that really angers me and makes me think that the writers are just being overly simplistic with character motivations and actions just for the sake of keeping that Disney flair, though given some of the shit that the Mouse has put out, this really shouldn't surprise me. And it's not like Once Upon A Time is a bad series for using the morality the way it does because plenty of other shows like Charmed and Supernatural did their fair share in indulging in this kind of childish and overly simplistic way of establishing character motivations and sides and it's not that I don't understand why it's done. Painting things as black and white makes it very clear who the good and bad guys are and therefore makes it much easier for us as an audience to know who and what to cheer for. When the good guys start doing bad things we're immediately made aware of it due to the nature of the act in question and we already know that it's a start down a darker path. But the thing about these shows and I think Once Upon A Time especially is that despite all the fantastical and magical things happening, the real world isn't always clear cut black and white. Reality has many shades of grey and in fact most things that our parents teach us are "right" and "wrong" can easily be flipped around in the hands of a more capable and cunning individual. Like stealing. Stealing is wrong because you're taking something that doesn't belong to you, right? Well what if you're stealing food to feed your family? Then is it still wrong? Well, some say no, I have a feeling that this show would get into an ethics debate about it and then come to the conclusion that it's right because...of circumstances.

Well, I think I've made enough of a point on that, anything else and I'll add it later on. And hey you know what, next week you're all in for a special surprise as I take you behind the scenes of my novel Spellbound. I hope you enjoy it! DaWaRou~!

DaWaRou Posts: Completely Missing the Point: CW's Beauty and the Beast

Okay, so I know I really should get these posts up on a weekly basis but...sometimes I can't, so I'm sorry about that. But today we're going to talk about Fairy Tales. I'm John Cortez and this is my third post on the Broken Infinite. Let's get started.

So, as you all know, or should know, we seem to be in this "Fairy Tale Phase" where classic Fairy Tales are being adapted into movies or television series. So far, the only stand out of this Fairy Tale Phase is the ABC series Once Upon a Time. An honorable mention goes to Snow White and the Huntsman but it falls flat with our buck toothed Bella Swan in the lead role, being out acted by EVERYONE ELSE! Today however, we'll be talking about something that's particularly offensive to me, personally and that is the CW's newest drama Beauty and the Beast. Now, I'll let you know right now that if you decide to comment on this, you're more than welcome to do so, but also know that I'm more than welcome to reply to your comment as positively or negatively as I wish. Prepare yourself and don't get all asshurt if I say something you don't agree with.

Now, the original Fairy Tale was written in 1740 by Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve  and is...quite contrived in terms of shits going on. The better known version was written in 1756 by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont and was a lot more of a "Fairy Tale" in our sense of the word than the original which was basically propaganda for Arranged Marriages. That said, let's take a look at Beaumont's version shall we?

Belle (the Beauty) is the youngest daughter of a merchant who suddenly hits a streak of bad luck and his family loses some status and money. When he hears that one of his ships has come into port, he asks what his daughters want and while the two eldest ask for material riches, Belle only wants a rose since they don't grow naturally in their area...or something like that. So the father sets off and his ship turns out to have been a money waster than a money maker and he gets trapped in a snow storm but takes refuge in a mysterious castle. He's treated comfortably and fed well and he discovers that there's a garden blooming profusely in the dead of winter. There he sees a rose and picks one for Belle but then the Beast, the master of the castle, is all like "I'm gonna kill you for pickin' my roses, dammit!" After the father begs for his life, the Beast relents to let him go if one of his daughters comes to take his place for eternity and so Belle decides to go. The Beast's treatment of her is radically different from how he treated her father as he's on his absolute best behavior and treats her with every kindness imaginable...well except for the whole freedom part. Every night, the two engage in fabulous conversation as they wine and dine and every night the Beast proposes to Belle who refuses but does grow fond of him as she gets to know him better. One day when Belle learns that her father is sick, the Beast decides to allow her one week of freedom and gives her a Magic Mirror that shows her anything and a Magic Ring of Teleportation. Upon returning home, Belle's sisters, jealous of the fabulous way she's been living, conspire to keep her home longer than she promised and when she looks back at the Beast in the Mirror, she sees him dying in the rose garden, returns and confesses her love for him which breaks the spell on him and turns him into a handsome man. They get married and live happily ever after.

Now some versions of the story often do one of two things with Beauty's relationship with the Beast. They either keep the Beast polite and when he proposes to her she says no because she's having dreams of a handsome prince that she believes the Beast is hiding somewhere in the castle or they add a love interest for Beauty, often someone she doesn't really even want to marry for one reason or another. The story has been adapted MANY times before and most older tellings of the story tend to be very good and very effective in teaching that beauty is something that's only truly on the inside. The story was adapted into a more Urban Fantasy Romance TV series during the late 80's and then THIS happened.

 The year was 1991, one year before I was born, when Walt Disney Pictures made their most perfect and beloved film of all time Beauty and the Beast. Taking place in late 18th century France (very fitting as France is often very romanticized, French is the Language of Love I mean Everything Sounds Sexier When French right, and the original story was devised in France) the story is first told though stain glass windows expositing to us that there once was a prince who was an incredible douche with everything anyone could ever ask for. One night an old crone came knocking on his fabulous castle doors and was all like "Please let me inside! It's cold...I'LL GIVE YOU A ROSE!" to which the Prince was all like "Fuck you, you old bitch!" and turned her away. She warned him not to be deceived by appearances and he slammed the door in her withered face. As it turns out, the old crone was really an Enchantress which is a better way of saying she's a very pissed off Fairy who's actually quite beautiful and the Prince, now realizing what kind of shit he's now in, tries to beg for forgiveness. She takes it quite well and turns him into a monster as punishment and not only does he get punished but EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING IN THE CASTLE GETS PUNISHED WITH HIM! The damn bitch! Who shit in her corn flakes that morning?! Any ways the Prince now a Beast, shuts himself away in his castle with the rose, actually an enchanted rose that acts as some sort of magical timer and a Magic Mirror (why the fuck didn't the bitch just offer him the mirror?) that allows him to see ANYTHING HE WANTS! (Honestly, if my ass was out in the harsh French winter, I'd have offered the Magic Pervert's Looking Glass. It'd probably have worked better.) She tells him that the curse she's placed on him an his staff will only be broken when he can find someone to love and who will love him in return by the time the last petal falls from the rose, which had been blooming till his 21st birthday. If he can't meet those conditions...well he's shit out of luck. We next meet our main protagonist, the beautiful Belle (YAY REDUNDANCY!). Belle is HANDS DOWN Disney's BEST protagonist, and probably their BEST female character, EVER. I mean she's a long way from Snow White, Cinderella and Aurora all of whom had typical goals at the time that being find a husband and get married, though Cinderella just really wanted to have a life of her own. In 1989 we got Ariel from The Little Mermaid who was kind of a mix of the old and new wave of princess in that yes she wanted love but she was actively in pursuit of it and refused to let anyone or anything stop her. Belle though? Belle is beautiful (obviously, it is HER NAME!), but she's also a very plain and conservative beauty with a GREAT head on her shoulders and her nose always in a book. That earns her MAJOR points with me as I do love my women to be intelligent and well read (being French is a welcome bonus!) but she's also odd by her village and time frame standards. Women in the 18th century probably weren't known for being independent or unmarried or reading anything at all. Belle was a reader, a dreamer and a feminist in her own time. She didn't put up with other people's shit and she wanted far more than anything a man could possibly give her. She wanted adventure, excitement and the kinds of things she only read about in her books. After being proposed to by Disney's best misogynistic douche Gaston, Belle discovers that her father is being imprisoned by the Beast and willingly trades away her life, her dreams, her future, her happiness and everything she has just to free her father. After the Beast freaks her out, she runs away but comes back when he saves her life and the two begin to grow close to each other. Eventually, the Beast figures out that he has fallen in love with her and he lets her go to save her father when he comes to try to save her. She comes back when Gaston leads a mob to kill the Beast and it's her love for him that turns him back into a human being...and a kind of average looking one at that but hey your mileage may vary.

Now THAT isn't the BEST description of the movie, it's pretty simplified but it works and gets the job done, besides, by now most of you have already seen and fallen in love with the movie so there's little point in describing it to you. The point is that THAT is the best way to tell the Beauty and the Beast story. These were some of the most complex and interesting characters ever produced for a Disney film at the time and even today they're still pretty great. Both Belle and the Beast have clear motivations. Belle is motivated by saving her father but her primary motivation is to get away from the monotony of her every day life. She doesn't just want "more" like the more modern Disney Princesses, she wants adventure and excitement, something greater than herself and something that she can barely comprehend. The Beast on the other hand started off with everything he could ever want and anything he lacked he could've easily taken by force but he was a spoiled selfish prick, probably very similar to Gaston. Once he was turned into a Beast, he began to lose his humanity. If  you pause the movie while Belle is in the West Wing or you just pay really close attention, you can actually see bones of animals the Beast has killed because that's how he's been feeding himself. He wants his humanity again but he's already given up hope on ever being Human again, that is until Belle arrives and he struggles with his temper and expressing his emotions properly. Even Gaston is portrayed as a more realistic antagonist than most of Disney's other villains. All he wants is Belle, nothing more and nothing less but he lacks a single shred of Human decency and his horrible personality is what pushes Belle further and further away from him. Deeply complex and interesting characters, beautiful animation, amazing music and loved the world over. I'm not even sure if there's a single person in the world who doesn't like Beauty and the Beast.

Now we've got this...THING. Where do I begin?! First of all...I'm seeing two beauties and NO BEAST! How can you even DARE TO CALL YOURSELF BEAUTY AND THE BEAST WHEN THERE IS NO BEAST?! HOW?! HOW?! HOW?! HOW?! I don't even have the energy to describe the show but it's boring. I haven't watched anything more than the pilot episode and I almost fell asleep. Basically Lois Lane's mom was killed and she got saved by a Beast. She becomes a detective to try to solve the mystery and ends up running into Mr. Bishonen Scar over here who's a former Iraq Super Soldier who now hulks out when he's angry and he's got a scar and faked his death. One of the elements that I believe to be an unspoken rule about a Beauty and the Beast story is that the Beast can't have any contact with the regular world. He'd be too dangerous or he'd be hated by society and humanity or both. This guy...he's hot. Hes' sexy, he's what girls swoon over. And I'm supposed to believe that he's a Beast?! Really CW? Really? Well, congratulations CW, YOU COMPLETELY FAIL! I'm more than welcome to debate this show with anyone who even dares to defend it. I can't see a single good thing about it. Even the Beauty isn't all that beautiful. Why not get someone a little more sexy and exotic or beautiful in a more conservative and bookish sense. Don't get the next Twilight. I mean she was okay in Smallville but...here...no, I don't really buy it. After watching the Disney version 3 times now since I started writing this, I've kind of exhausted my anger but...basically, CW has completely missed the point. The Beast isn't a Beast, the Beauty's not all that smart or interesting and while she is beautiful...not a whole lot. I talked about this with my Dad and he told me that while he understands my complaints, this is the kind of shit that makes money. I blame Twilight. It's pretty much telling people "It's okay if you love a monster...as long as it's DROP DEAD SEXY!" If you're going to tell a story in which a Human falls in love with any shade of Beautiful Monster like an Elf or a Fairy or a Mermaid or something, at least make sure you make that Monster a Monster in personality. Especially if it's the Fair Folk. Make them amoral, ambiguous  and manipulative and even if the Human is obviously in love with them, the Monster should have some sort of attraction not based on anything romantic but more in something like a plaything and then grow to love the Human. If you're telling a Beauty and the Beast  type story, make sure both the Beauty and the Beast have interesting motivations and goals. Make them want the thing they can't or don't have. Make your Beauty a strong and well rounded female character who's not really looking for love but looking for something she can't really define. Make your Beast an actual ugly monster like a Gargoyle, or a Gorgon...I'll even settle for a Werewolf or a Vampire because THOSE can be monstrous destructive temperamental beings with an obvious desire to regain the humanity they might've lost. If they're naturally a monster, make them sympathetic but OBVIOUSLY dangerous and uncontrollable. Give them flaws and reasons for doing the things they do.

I think I've gone over this thing as much as I really care to so let me wrap this up. Beauty and the Beast might not have been intended to carry a moral about Beauty being on the inside but it sure does now. There are key elements of the story that are practically prerequisites if you intend to tell it and even a modern audience should be able to smell the bullshit and bile coming from their media but apparently we can't since this is apparently doing really well on the CW. So, if you're going to indulge in any version of this fairy tale, be sure you compare it to the original Fairy Tale and to the Disney version. Its' not a hard story to fail or fuck up, but somehow...well, I'm John Cortez Turner and this show is a beautiful beast of bullshit. DaWaRo~!