This is the Thirty-fifth article in a permanent column for Stroud Arts that appears in the Stroud American. The mission of these articles is to inform, educate and inspire you, the reader, to Make Art Happen in your life and the life of our community.
On Monday, April 6, 2020, at 7:45pm, Stroud Arts began its first Livestream Series on Facebook; Stroud Arts: Bedtime Stories.
The purpose of the livestream series, as you may guess from the title; ‘Stroud Arts: Bedtime Stories,’ was to assist parents by giving them a moment of time, where they could begin the process of putting their little ones to bed.
Perhaps they could also take a breather and regain some of their spent energy after spending the day at home with their very energetic little ones.
The inspiration for the series came in the form of a text (good Social Distancing communication format) from Morgan Timmons to her dad, Stroud Arts President, David Timmons. Most of the message ran; “Hey, Stroud Arts could livestream nighttime storytelling. You do a good rendition of The Hobbit.’
Checking to see if ‘The Hobbit’ was in public domain, and upon discovery that, to no one’s surprise, it wasn’t, Stroud Arts Board Members decided to shift the focus from a long book format to short stories. Of course, the logical, and fun, choice was to go to classic fairy tales as told by the Brother’s Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson.
But why tell Fairy Tales? The easy answer is that they are popular. Look at the most popular movies of the last few years – ‘Malificent’, ‘Tangled’, ‘Jack the Giant Slayer’, ‘The Princess and the Frog’, and ‘Hoodwinked.’ These are timeless stories and still being retold almost four centuries after being written.
These stories, these ‘Fairy Tales’ are popular because their messages are universal. They address issues that most people experience at least once in their lives; whether it be fear of loss or abandonment, a search for love, or the challenges of growing up. These stories are relatable to everyone, and in their relatability, they create a connection between all who hear them. After all, that is their purpose.
The Brother’s Grimm never considered themselves to be collectors of children’s stories, instead the authors believed it was their duty to collect traditional German folk tales in the hopes of doing their part to unite Germany. Other famous fairy tale authors like Hans Christian Anderson and Charles Perrault, set about collecting fairy tales and rewriting them to make them ‘distinctly Danish, or ‘distinctly French.’ Even J.R.R. Tolkien – author of ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings’, believed in the power of folktales to unite a nation, and after World War Two, he sought to recreate a world that emphasized the values and ideologies of a forgotten English culture.
In addition, Fairy Tales have the ability to broaden our world view and are often our first introductions to far away lands and different cultures. In fairy tales we went under the sea with ‘The Little Mermaid’ and flew on a magic carpet with ‘Aladdin.’ We walked the Great Wall with ‘Mulan’ and we traveled the icy northlands on Finland in ‘Frozen.’ Yes, these are all Disney Films, but before becoming ‘mousefied’ they were fairy tales.
The real comfort of reading, or hearing, a fairy tale comes not from the ability to escape from reality, but the ability to recognize that many of the struggles we face are universal. After all – we are all in this together.
You can view the livestream of Stroud Arts: Bedtime Stories, weeknights, M-F at 7:45pm on Stroud Arts Facebook page or replay at your leisure.
Until next time – Make Art Happen!