Subversive Elements in Stadust \'Once,

Subversive Elements in Stadust

'Once, upon a time' carries with it an intense excitement and anticipation found in few other phrases. From our earliest years we are taught that those words lead to magic, adventure, and danger around every corner. It leads to lands where dwarves drink amongst giants, where frogs are princes, and every little girl is a princess. This is a land of plenty; this is a land in jeopardy.

Alison Lurie eludes to this in her essay "Folktale Liberation." Both radical liberals and conservatives are hypercritically examining fairy tales out of context. They are twisting the stories and turning them into subversive battlegrounds where liberals and conservatives seek to outdo each other with the most extreme interpretation of an old wives tale.

Much of what we know about the history of fairy tales comes from the written recordings made by the Brothers Grimm. All in all, they collected roughly six hundred stories although the modern American cannon of fairy tale was shaped largely by Walt Disney (Lurie, 19). The fairy tales of Disney do not accurately reflect the fairy tales of Grimm. They're often simpler, less violent, represent so-called traditional values, often put women in submissive roles, and always have a happy ending. Grimm's originals are dark, very explicit, and end with the death of a main character. What is a first-time parent supposed to read before bed? What is the DVD for family night? Simple. The movie Stardust.

Released in 2007 to sub-par reviews, Stardust tells the story of Tristan, a young shop boy in pursuit of an aristocratic young bride, and Yvaine, a fallen star. Tristan promises his love that he will cross the wall and retrieve the star, unaware it's a beautiful young woman. He finds Yvaine and attempts to bring her back home, ever dutiful to his love. A envious witch and a greedy prince chase after Tristan and Yvaine, taking them all across the land. At one point they meet a cross-dressing lighting pirate that sails them back towards Tristan's home. The story ends when Tristan battles the evil witch and her two sisters and falling in love with Yvaine, and they lived happily ever after.

To a child, Stardust suggests that an adventure awaits those who seek it. Tristan and his father are the only two characters to cross 'the wall', a literal wall outside of their victorian England town. The cross-dressing pirate, Shakespeare, played by Robert D'Niro states that he's been on an adventure for thirty years and hasn't regretted it. Stardust does an excellent job at making reality seem boring and uninteresting. It also tells a child that within every little boy or girl there's really a princess. One day they'll be discovered and a great and magnificent crown will be placed upon their head. Insignificant to an adult but to a child who's lost one or more of their parents, a child who spends weeks in bed receiving chemotherapy, a child who doesn't know where they'll sleep - a message of hope might be all they have. Trace the roots of many of the traditional cannon of fairy tale - Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty etc. - and women and children are often subdued by the establishment. Stardust's suggestion that there might be greater things inside all of us seems perfectly in line with traditional fairy tales.

If, however, you believe in more traditional gender roles and are very conservative in regards to family structure then Stardust may present a problem namely, that homosexuality is okay. To those coming from the hard right, Captain Shakespeare's effeminate behavior behind closed doors (or in the closet), and his revelation to the crew that he enjoys cross-dressing and they're subsequent reveal that they already knew, Stardust is definitely a challenge to the status quo. Even the heterosexual romance between Tristan and Yvaine pushes the limit as they are shown in bed together on more than one occasion. Magic and the heavy pagan influence might be of particular concern, as were parents after the release of "Harry Potter," and "The Golden Compass."

Hard liberals and feminists could pull their own message still. Both Tristan's human love Victoria (Sienna Miller), Yvaine (Claire Danes), and the witch (Michelle Pfeiffer) have blonde hair, blue eyes, and a near perfect Aryan complexion. There are no people of color shown on either side of the wall. Portrayals of women are questionable as well. They're shown as being fickle in the case of Victoria - she'll only marry Tristan if he can get her the fallen star and then complain about it being too small; conniving and deceitful as with the witches; and gullible - Yvaine gets tricked repeatedly by more than one character. Furthermore, femininity is shown as being dangerous - the more beautiful the witch the greater her power.