When speaking of a princess who took a bite of the poisoned apple given by an old hag, we can all, undoubtedly, complete the rest of the story: she falls down unconsciously and rests in a glass coffin until brave prince charming brings her back to life with his magical kisses.
Stepping into a whole fantastic world of fairy tales, years before we are capable of choosing what to learn, we have grown up reading and listening to stories enriched by archetypal characters and a myriad of extraordinary elements. Along with an exciting journey that fairy tales offer, we come across not only gingerbread houses or supernatural creatures. They are, instead, very unique mediums through which a shared cultural heritage is transmitted from generation to generation.
Is red apple just a randomly selected fruit or does it appear as an object symbolizing universal norms? How about Snow White’s unusual coffin made out of glass? The glass itself perfectly overlaps with an untouched, fragile princess lying in a transparent coffin and desperately waiting for her savior, right?
Traditional motifs disguised in tales, whose seeds can be traced back hundreds of years have succeeded to evolve, flourish and remain alive until today in line with plenty of social transformations. Hence, they keep on showing up in tales where the collective consciousness is strongly represented by both direct and symbolic elements.
What fairy tales comprise are crystal-clear dichotomies, such as pure good and evil, in which princess is the symbol of goodness and live happily ever after whereas wicked stepmother inevitably comes to a much-deserved, dramatic end. No room for uncertainties in this world. Justice, on the other hand, is always served.
If a dash of magic is added to the lives of children during the developmental stage, they can explore and redefine their confusing feelings by setting apart the mystery from reality in a safe environment. Aside from ensuring a healthy emotional development process, folk tales are precious sources to reinforce intellectual growth and more expansive vocabulary. Also, in a secure area enclosed by enchanting tales, important life-long lessons are given to children in order to deal with difficulties they may encounter along the way.
Magical narratives sound deceptively simple on the surface but once you start digging a little, a hidden world of deeper meanings and their social messaging will crop up. Ethical values and beliefs adopted by the majority of society have blended in with collective cultural imagination, passed down for generations and made it into the mainstream eventually. Patriarchal norms rooted in fairy tales, for instance, have been perpetuated until today as they are pretty well-adapted to the modern way of living. Although the original plot undergoes slight changes in terms of space and time, core components of the narratives are preserved in different languages and geographies very well.
With various versions in existence, stories endure throughout our lives. It is very important to conserve this cultural heritage, which is shaped by a mixture of folk tales and a bit of glamour for centuries, and also it’s important- to challenge them! This is exactly what we’ve done with children during INCOMPLIT story completing workshops so far: challenge stereotypes through tales themselves.
INCOMPLIT is a social initiative that aims to enhance social impact through several channels. Tales, both already familiar to us and newly born out of children’s imagination have been our guide from day one. With the purpose of creating an unlimited space for their dreams, we listen to open-ended narratives, which then completed by each unique perspective. Instead of reproducing stereotypes, we refer to social and ecological issues. Sometimes, we tackle a current universal problem such as marine pollution with the incomplete story of a mermaid, and sometimes we stand against gender inequality by bending expected gender roles.
With our most powerful source of inspiration, we aspire to add a touch of magic to children’s lives!
Written by Şevval Akbaş