Rapunzel to the Rescue: My Collage for LMAC #204

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204 smoke gif2.gif

When I first saw this week's template photo for LMAC #204, I thought of a medieval scene: a moat, a village of serfs living on the periphery of the castle--something on that theme.

Template by @shaka for LMAC #204
KOnaNUV - Imgur.jpg

Then I thought, that's so obvious, and the tower caught my attention. Once I noticed the tower, Rapunzel came to mind immediately. In this classic fairy tale there is the inevitable damsel in distress and a prince who, in one way or another, provides a means of escape.

The verse that is at the heart of this Grimm's fairy tale has been repeated by millions of children over the centuries (mostly girls). Verse copied from Project Guttenberg)

‘Rapunzel, Rapunzel,
Let down your hair

A sorceress repeats this phrase daily to the damsel, who is trapped in a tower. A prince hears the refrain, copies it, and the damsel lets down her hair to him. Happiness and love follow (eventually).

I liked this fairy tale when I was a child. As I grew to maturity, this one and others of its ilk (Snow White, Cinderella) began to grate on my nerves. Did I need a prince to make me happy? Isn't that what the fairy tale teaches us? A prince and love will redeem us and we will live happily ever after.

That, dear readers, is a recipe for disaster.

I'm not the first person to turn this fairy tale model on its head. One movie that comes to mind is the 1998 film, Ever After. In this movie, Drew Barrymore as Cinderella turns the tables on the prince/damsel model.

She rescues him. Note this Youtube scene where Cinderella carries the Pince on her back and rescues him from a band of honorable gypsies.

In my collage, Rapunzel lets down her hair while the forest burns all around. Animals and people climb up her hair to the tower and are carried away by a rescue helicopter.

I guess the tower is fireproof 😁

Elements used in making this collage were from both the LMAC internal image source, LIL and from Pixabay. I thank the following contributors for helping me bring my collage to life.

LIL

Pixabay

I used Gimp, Paint, Paint3D and a fire filter from Lunapic to create the effects.

The smoke effect at first was attempted with a Lunapic filter, but that seemed to obscure the elements in the image:

lunapic 204 gif.gif

So I went back to Gimp and manually applied several smoke frames to let the elements be more visible.

204 smoke gif2.gif

LMAC and LIL

LIL is not only a valuable image resource for the Hive community, but is also a way for community members to participate in LMAC. Anyone on Hive can contribute to the library and everyone can borrow from it. Learn about the procedure here.

Every week we offer prizes to twelve finalists in the contest, but it's not only the prizes people create for. I, for example, don't compete but spend hours giving vent to my imagination. Others in the community have developed the habit of 'speaking' through collage.

This week's contest is still running. You have until Monday (March 25) evening to join in the fun. Details, here.

As @shaka has said many times, everyone is an artist. I may not be an artist in the technical sense, but LMAC allows me to nurture my own unique artistic voice.

Thank you for reading. Peace and health to all.

letsmakeacollage fairytales art myth rapunzel proofofbrain creativecoin community hive cinderella
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20 comments
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I think some fairytales have worthwhile lessons.....the right pair of shoes can change your life,... Don't go breaking and entering, especially into a house owned by bears.
As a rule, I frown upon the trend towards male/female role reversal in movies but I must admit that the clip was clever.
That your collage is outstanding goes without saying:)

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Thank you for the kind words about my collage. My time to relax in the week is when I focus on a new collage. I'll bet my blood pressure goes down by 10 points:)

Fairy tales! Of course they are important. As I'm sure you know there are reams of studies that look at the significance of fairy tales. Plus, I love them. I can remember when I first learned to read (very, very late, when I was almost 9), it was a book of fairy tales that first captured my imagination.

As for role reversal: I agree that didactic stories, or overtly ideological stories take the fun out of fairy tales, or any kind of story. However, I think the helpless damsel model did not serve generations of young girls well. Since fairy tales are important, that message is important.

The problem with role reversals is that they are often done clumsily. Don't reverse gender roles. Just erase gender expectations completely. Don't typecast. Let everyone start with a blank slate and discover what it is they like and what it is they are good at. That's been my position for more than 60 years.

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you have made a nice gif Collage

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This is lovely with all the animation and smoke. It seems women have been conditioned to be lead, rescued and made happy ever after by their male counterparts. Not always so in the animal kingdom. One example-We may have discussed this before that the oldest female buffalo leads the herd and if she is fallen/deceased then the next oldest one steps into the lead.
Thanks A.G. for including my lil images in your carefully crafted and thought provoking collage.
Have a great weekend, my friend.😊

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Hello my friend, @redheadpei,
I love your little animals. When I planned to make a collage where animals were rescued, I knew I'd find them among your pictures. They are delightful. Plus, I know they were taken with love. That adds to the value.

Thank you for liking my collage. You and I are of a generation that had to fight against gender stereotypes, as later generations did not. These stereotypes were suffocating, and they cost us money (career opportunities). The stereotypes start somewhere, and one of those places is the fairy tale.

I appreciate your visit. Right now we're getting a good spring soaking. Roads are flooded, but it's a lot better than snow. 😁

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That was a crazy fight
I had an interesting time watching it
Also, you’ve made a lovely collage

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Excellent theme, as always. I love the idea that you turned Rapunzel into a rescuer and that her hair served as a rescue rope. It was clever of you to place that helicopter to save the little animals and their rescuer!
I loved it! :)

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Hello friend, @esthersanchez. Thank you for appreciating my collage. Passive women--I'm beyond that :)) I hope we all are. And, as always, I love including animals in my pieces.

Hope you are having a great day.

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It's always nice to see creations that are made from the soul! :)
Have a great week!

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I thought you make them after the contest has ended😂😂

Anyways I'm making a collage on this post today...

Very suggestive picture..

Love yours too!!

Although it seems a bit dark for the Rapunzel story I remember 😂😂

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(Edited)

The Rapunzel story was always a little dark😃I think. Trapped in a tower. Now at least she's doing something😁

I'll be looking for your collage....

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Internet today was unforgiving, I'm only allowed a few bars which i use to come online and comment SLOWLY😭😭😭

I've already gotten the concept down pat and downloaded the lil images ..

Yet coming on Canva and putting the collage together is the problem...

Hopefully would be better tmw 😔

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I'm so sorry!! Even if you don't get it in in time for the contest, you can still post it in the community and we will upvote it (as long as you follow the rules😀). Wish I could help. Hate it when the internet is down.

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There are many childhood things and memories that we used to love in childhood and now if we think about them things look different to us but it is a fact that when we humans love each other. It gives peace of mind this place is really very beautiful.

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I love Disney's Rapunzel, I watched it several times with my daughter, I had not seen the scene of Drew Barrymore the truth caused me quite a laugh! 🤣
Needless to say you made a beautiful collage, image movements every time are your forte!
Have a great Sunday my dear friend!🌺

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Hello dear @mballesteros,

I have to admit to being seduced by Disney as a child. Pinocchio, Snow White--all of it. I think we can see a bit of Bambi in this collage :)

Thank you for your kind words. I hope you are resting on this Sunday and enjoying your time (although it may be over already for you?)

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It's a very nice animation created by you, and the purpose of this creation is excellent.

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