I’m not back into writing yet – I still need to conserve my energy after getting Covid almost six weeks ago. I’m back into my editing work and am edging my way back to writing by immersing myself into research for my third book.
This book for young adults has a fairy-tale theme, and I’ve been reading many scholarly works by Marie-Louise von Franz, Bruno Bettelheim, Joan Gould and Lisa Marchiano on fairy tales.
But as I’ve spent a considerable amount of time lying down over the past few weeks, i’ve been using that time somewhat productively by watching Once upon a time, the Disney series.
I’d watched the first three (of seven!) seasons a few years ago but decided to rewatch them to immerse myself in a visual fairy-tale world.
The premise for the show – the evil queen, Regina, (the stepmother in Snow White’s story) has cursed all inhabitants of the Enchanted Forest, transporting them to a small town in Maine where they have led controlled, dull lives for 28 years, with no knowledge of who they really are until Snow White and Prince Charming’s daughter (sent through a portal before the curse) wakes them up.
The characters play dual roles, each with a contemporary modern existence with flashbacks to their lives in the Enchanted Forest. For example, Jiminy Cricket in the Enchanted Forest is now a psychologist in Storybrook, Maine, the evil queen is the mayor and Rumplestiltskin is Mr Gold, an antiques dealer.
Occasionally, I’ll roll my eyes and wonder how many more portals and strange lands can these characters fall into but most of the time, I love the characters and the way their hidden depths and secrets are revealed. As I’m looking at my book through a Jungian perspective, I’m really interested in the split roles of the characters, how the ‘evil’ characters are often a catalyst for the ‘good’ characters to wake up and how most characters are a fascinating blend of good and evil.
I watch each episode with either my phone or a notebook, so I can pause the show and take notes.
I’m up to season 6! I can strongly recommend films and television series for a visual immersion into another world!
And thank you all so much for your kind comments – I really appreciate your support and interest in my writing.
Enjoy. Research. Rest up.