Snow White.
An old Disney fairy tale heralding back from 1937 that stays in the hearts and memories of all that read the story or watched the original cartoons. It has been brought back into the limelight by the big screen with much controversy. Like most things there are those who loved it and those who hated it, revealing a box office disaster in the end. But this is not about the sociopolitical humdrum and views of the actors. I want to take this old classic and look at it from a different perspective for a unique lesson.
Let us take the protagonist, the queen, Grimhilde. We have known her as evil, obviously as she attempted to kill Snow White. The deep understanding is that envy and jealousy are not desirable qualities and lead to our demise. But the Queen only wanted to rule her queendom, and was distracted by Snow White and her pretense to be this innocent little girl. She wanted to live a life of peace but the heroine of the story kept antagonizing her, making her reveal a nasty side which she probably would be just as happy not indulging in. If we do not keep having people agitating us, we can live a content life. The queen was just trying to defend herself.
The huntsman. This poor guy got involved with helping Snow White and became a Criminal as he killed the queen, all while trying to help little Snow White. Here is a chap who was minding his business trying to enjoy a nice hunt for some game meat on a beautiful day, and the next thing he finds himself is deep into a conspiracy plot of assassination and his own life is in peril.
The poor dwarves. These men were going about their normal lives, and Snow White disrupts their home and gets them all hot bothered into an unnecessary adventure. She is so forgetful all the time that she messes up their house. They get tempted and are lured by her beauty to join her on the mission to kill the innocent queen.
Snow White. Well she pretends to be naive and sweet, loving the nature and singing away. She skips around like she owns the forest, and with her charm this not so quiet girl, actually a woman, manipulated everyone to cleverly eliminating her opposition. She is in fact the “evil “ one disrupting everyones’ lives and taking over the throne with her fantasy prince who was also whirling around on her skillful finger, following her every command.
What is the lesson here? if we broaden our perspective, we can realize that nothing is as it seems. There is always an opposite side to any story, but do we dare to look. The narrative of the Grimm Fairy tales have deeper meanings for sure and symbolisms, yet we can also change the narrative and see a very different learning. Even the current movie has a totally new angle that diverges with the original story line almost a 100 years ago.
Keep an open mind in everything that we encounter is a more balanced way of living life. Never take anything for face value, for there is a deeper mystery that lies underneath, even more so if one turns the narrative on its head, perhaps the truth is there, or somewhere in between.
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I love you
