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Doing polished writing is exhausting, so I'm going to palaver for a bit, instead.
So, I've started writing my first Blogger post.
For (what feels like) a long time, I couldn't decide what I should put down there. Then I woke up today and decided it should be an introduction: to myself (basically, that I love my subject, and it makes me squee), and my approach to the whole idea of "authentic folktales" (basically, that I used to cling to the idea that there is such a thing, and I was a bit dogmatic about it, but I've now relaxed a bit, in my middle age).
I've been working at it for a couple hours, and I've got two and a half paragraphs written. And it feels like my eyes are crossing. So I'm taking a break (most of the time & mental strain is finding sources to link to / quote from, for the claims I make -- once an academic, always an academic).
Once I have a first post up, I'll change my settings, so the blog will appear in Google searches, etc.. And I'll put a link here.
In the meantime, Rudolf, the Red-Nosed Reindeer was on my TV, night before last; I caught it just as they got to the Island of Misfit Toys. And I got to wondering:
There's been a lot of tie-in merchandizing and spin-off stories around Rudolf himself. But has there ever been any tie-in (in the form of actual toys, or Christmas tree ornaments, or greeting card images) with the misfits themselves? 'Cause I think an Ostrich-Riding Cowboy would be lots of fun... same with a pink-spotted elephant. Not to mention the Winged Lion who's king of the island.
You know?
I mean, the whole point and moral of the TV story was: respect the misfits, dammit! And yet, the misfits are still totally forgotten.
...It's almost enough to make one almost cynical about the whole Christmas culture...
For (what feels like) a long time, I couldn't decide what I should put down there. Then I woke up today and decided it should be an introduction: to myself (basically, that I love my subject, and it makes me squee), and my approach to the whole idea of "authentic folktales" (basically, that I used to cling to the idea that there is such a thing, and I was a bit dogmatic about it, but I've now relaxed a bit, in my middle age).
I've been working at it for a couple hours, and I've got two and a half paragraphs written. And it feels like my eyes are crossing. So I'm taking a break (most of the time & mental strain is finding sources to link to / quote from, for the claims I make -- once an academic, always an academic).
Once I have a first post up, I'll change my settings, so the blog will appear in Google searches, etc.. And I'll put a link here.
In the meantime, Rudolf, the Red-Nosed Reindeer was on my TV, night before last; I caught it just as they got to the Island of Misfit Toys. And I got to wondering:
There's been a lot of tie-in merchandizing and spin-off stories around Rudolf himself. But has there ever been any tie-in (in the form of actual toys, or Christmas tree ornaments, or greeting card images) with the misfits themselves? 'Cause I think an Ostrich-Riding Cowboy would be lots of fun... same with a pink-spotted elephant. Not to mention the Winged Lion who's king of the island.
You know?
I mean, the whole point and moral of the TV story was: respect the misfits, dammit! And yet, the misfits are still totally forgotten.
...It's almost enough to make one almost cynical about the whole Christmas culture...
no subject
no subject
And, like the Misfit Toys, they can be used as metaphor for disability.
But if they're used in that way, the two groups also stand for different aspects of disability: The Misfit Toys are created (born) that way, and the Mutant Toys are survivors of trauma, later in life.
If the Misfit Toys were created as misfits in Santa's Workshop, well... that raises another whole level of troubling philosophical attitudes toward who's acceptible and who's an outcast... >;-P