Why We Write, Take I
The fairy tale itself exhibited possibilities for the young to transform themselves and society into those Arcadian dreams concieved in childhood that the writers did not want to leave behind them.
“Victorian Fairy Tales: The Revolt of the Fairies and Elves,” Jack Zipes, 1987, p. xxvii
I grew up in a time when the Vietnam war was a major feature of the news landscape, mankind had not yet set foot upon the moon, the Berlin Wall still divided the East and West, and my mother kept an extra box of powdered milk under the counter in case the Russians dropped the bomb. If I had been a bit older, free sex and drugs might also have made it onto the radar. It was also a time when concern for the ecology–the overall health of the planet–hit the public wave.
It was accepted among most of my young friends that we were never going to live to grow up, much less grow old. Some whacko politician was sure to push the big red button. If not, then some angry, outdated military leader, too myopic to see that the people on our/their side were pretty much like the people on their/our side, was sure to war hawk us into a planet sized cloud of ash.
But if that didn’t happen, there was still the ecology. If we didn’t blow the planet into smithereens, we still needed a decent place to live.
DDT would be created during this time, a miraculous answer answer to world wide issues with malaria and a host of other insect bourne diseases. It would also be a time when DDT would be banned from North America as its overuse poisoned wildlife and our entire food chain.
As a child, I had a wonderful home and place to live. More than much of the world at that time. But I don’t think I’ve ever really forgiven my parents for not doing more to make sure the world would continue to be a wonderful place for me to grow up in, for my children and my children’s children.
For me, the best fantasy contains a balance of both forces: the rememberance of a cherished, better world against an awareness of the way we have to live in time of here and now.
Best regards,
Alan