ISN’T IT FANTASTIC
I was horrified when I found out that Kenneth Branagh is directing a live-action version of Cinderella for Disney. He seems far too classy to retell this politically retrograde fable. In a recent interview he explained, gorgeously and somewhat convincingly, “It’s a story with which we all identify. Somehow, the idea of, when life is tough, having things work out, sometimes with a bit of magic … for certain kinds of moments it’s a marvelous thing." For "magic” why don’t we substitute fantasy, or voodoo, or wishful thinking, or pornography? At the heart of the Cinderella story lies a notion that’s a little bit troubling, that a romantic partner will come along and solve all of our problems for us. It’s a fantasy that doesn’t play out too frequently, and, for many, remains persistent.
Then last month I attended an event with Bad Feminist author Roxane Gay. In addition to being an accomplished academic and novelist, she’s a fearsome television critic and live tweeter. She spoke, enthusiastically, about how much she loved shows like Scandal, The Good Wife, and SVU. When asked why she explained, “Without fantasy, we don’t have a lot of hope." She pointed gleefully to some of the more far-fetched elements in Scandal, including the way Kerry Washington’s character works as a political fixer while sleeping with the married president, and can wear a white cape and drink red wine.
If fantasy is necessary for the long slog through adult life, the content of the fantasy we allow ourselves to fall into matters too. A successful professional woman leading a stylish and sexually satisfying life is one fantasy. A young woman waiting to being rescued from poverty and drudgery by a prince is another. Fantasy might be a deeply human need, but it can also mask genuine desire and conflict, and cloud crucial life decisions. There’s truth in what Branagh and Gay say about it, and there’s truth in what Yeats says too. [Here I’m thinking specifically of this poem: Meditations in Time of CIvil War.]