((An essay I did for class. Feel free to comment. It was for an art class called "Interactivity" (digital stuff like Flash and Director) and we had to answer the question "what is a fairy tale" in context of the original Pinocchio and the movie A.I. . I also went into post-humanism, since it's just a hop and a skip away. On another note, in the original version all the titles are italicized))
The Nature of Fairy Tales
In Italy of 1880, Carlo Collodi wrote The Adventures of Pinocchio, a story about the feats of a marionette boy in his quest to find his father-type, Geppetto, and become a real, lovable boy. In 2001, Stephen Spielberg directed A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, which was based on Stanley Kubrick’s storyboards and, in turn, based on a short story by Brian Aldiss called “Supertoys Last All Summer Long” written in 1969. A.I. is a story, set in the 22nd century, of a “mecha” (robot) boy named David on a journey to find the Blue Fairy so that he, like Pinocchio, could become a real, lovable boy. The two works have their obvious and not-so-obvious similarities and differences, and both explore the nature of fairy tales and post-humanism, popular and relatively relevant to the “digital revolution” and the field of interactivity.
What exactly is a fairy tale? Here is what dictionary.com says:
The definition appears sound, and both works could be classified as such. In Pinocchio, a self-animated wooden boy practically travels a continent filled with talking animals, rescues Geppetto from a huge, mile-long shark, and actually contains a fairy within the tale (the Blue Fairy to be exact). Carlo Collodi structures the story in such a way that it would be very easy for parents to read aloud a chapter a night to their children before bed and, in the process, instill in them a not-so-subtle message of “listen to your elders or you get into a heap of trouble.” While not approved for children, A.I. is hardly any more violent or mature in nature than Collodi’s Pinocchio, where a highly advanced robot boy, with the ability to love and dream, searches in a future world filled with fantasies of technological achievement yet jealous of their advancing creations. David (the robot boy) evades the dangers of a flesh, the crowded streets of Rouge City and, for a time, Cybertronics, and eventually is frozen for two thousand years when David is discovered by aliens, where he is finally able to complete his quest and, in the process, the story provides an explanation of the significance of the human spirit, of dreams, and of love in a lonely existence.
The two works share some strong parallel, even taking into account that one (A.I.) directly references the other (Pinocchio). For starters, the two stories are not really aimed for children (despite what was said earlier, Carlo Collodi was initially aiming for something more of an allegory or satire, and originally had a much more tragic end involving Pinocchio not becoming a real boy and committing suicide.) Both works also share a significant scene involving a theater element, with Fire Eater and his show of marionettes in Pinocchio, and Lord Johnson-Johnson and the other workers of the Flesh Fair in A.I. The two stories revolve around the protagonist’s desire to be loved by their parent figure, it being the father-type Geppetto in Pinocchio, and the mother-figure Monica Swinton in A.I. A sort of “pleasure island” is significant in the two works appearing as Rouge City in A.I. and as the Land of Toys in Pinocchio. The two stories even drew the climatic areas in the waters, with David having ‘discovered’ the Blue Fairy under the waters of Manhattan and Pinocchio saving Geppetto from the Terrible Shark in the deep seas. A.I. and Pinocchio certainly are likely to be taking stabs at the time and place in which they were published.
The two works also share significant differences, however. The protagonist in Pinocchio almost always does the wrong thing, and on purpose, and generally not a very ideal example of the human spirit (though perhaps a bit more accurate), whereas the protagonist in A.I. usually did the right thing, as far as his conditions applied at least, and was more of an ideal example of the human spirit. On that note, the theme and message of Pinocchio focuses more on social and moral issues (like how about… listen to your elders?) as oppose to A.I., which focuses more on the nature of reality and fantasy, not to say that neither of these stories dealt with the other’s theme and message. On a small, ending note, Pinocchio obviously has a more fantasy element, with talking animals and magical events, and A.I. stays with a more science-fiction element (though strictly speaking it is not science-fiction.)
The elements of these two works and how they present what makes a fairy tale have been analyzed, but has not been analyzed is the mass, the energy, the dimension. What is a fairy tale? A fairy tale is a dream, sometimes one of happiness and hope, other times a nightmarish vision of what can go wrong. A fairy tale is what drives the human spirit to grow, to become more than what it is. These two works, The Adventures of Pinocchio and A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, each show us the artificial child that wishes to become what would seem impossible, challenged by desires and fears alike. That which has been soulless becomes gifted with such potential, and seeks to share and (magic word) interact in one of the most essential ways: love. In the tradition of post-humanism (and Star Trek), people seek out to better themselves, and unlike cybernetics, robotics aims for something more as well: to create life. Art, as often said today, is life, but art is not just life. Art is an ever-lasting reality, life is an evanescent reflection.
The Nature of Fairy Tales
In Italy of 1880, Carlo Collodi wrote The Adventures of Pinocchio, a story about the feats of a marionette boy in his quest to find his father-type, Geppetto, and become a real, lovable boy. In 2001, Stephen Spielberg directed A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, which was based on Stanley Kubrick’s storyboards and, in turn, based on a short story by Brian Aldiss called “Supertoys Last All Summer Long” written in 1969. A.I. is a story, set in the 22nd century, of a “mecha” (robot) boy named David on a journey to find the Blue Fairy so that he, like Pinocchio, could become a real, lovable boy. The two works have their obvious and not-so-obvious similarities and differences, and both explore the nature of fairy tales and post-humanism, popular and relatively relevant to the “digital revolution” and the field of interactivity.
What exactly is a fairy tale? Here is what dictionary.com says:
Quote:
fairy tale (noun)
1. A fanciful tale of legendary deeds and creatures, usually intended for children.
2. A fictitious, highly fanciful story or explanation.
1. A fanciful tale of legendary deeds and creatures, usually intended for children.
2. A fictitious, highly fanciful story or explanation.
The definition appears sound, and both works could be classified as such. In Pinocchio, a self-animated wooden boy practically travels a continent filled with talking animals, rescues Geppetto from a huge, mile-long shark, and actually contains a fairy within the tale (the Blue Fairy to be exact). Carlo Collodi structures the story in such a way that it would be very easy for parents to read aloud a chapter a night to their children before bed and, in the process, instill in them a not-so-subtle message of “listen to your elders or you get into a heap of trouble.” While not approved for children, A.I. is hardly any more violent or mature in nature than Collodi’s Pinocchio, where a highly advanced robot boy, with the ability to love and dream, searches in a future world filled with fantasies of technological achievement yet jealous of their advancing creations. David (the robot boy) evades the dangers of a flesh, the crowded streets of Rouge City and, for a time, Cybertronics, and eventually is frozen for two thousand years when David is discovered by aliens, where he is finally able to complete his quest and, in the process, the story provides an explanation of the significance of the human spirit, of dreams, and of love in a lonely existence.
The two works share some strong parallel, even taking into account that one (A.I.) directly references the other (Pinocchio). For starters, the two stories are not really aimed for children (despite what was said earlier, Carlo Collodi was initially aiming for something more of an allegory or satire, and originally had a much more tragic end involving Pinocchio not becoming a real boy and committing suicide.) Both works also share a significant scene involving a theater element, with Fire Eater and his show of marionettes in Pinocchio, and Lord Johnson-Johnson and the other workers of the Flesh Fair in A.I. The two stories revolve around the protagonist’s desire to be loved by their parent figure, it being the father-type Geppetto in Pinocchio, and the mother-figure Monica Swinton in A.I. A sort of “pleasure island” is significant in the two works appearing as Rouge City in A.I. and as the Land of Toys in Pinocchio. The two stories even drew the climatic areas in the waters, with David having ‘discovered’ the Blue Fairy under the waters of Manhattan and Pinocchio saving Geppetto from the Terrible Shark in the deep seas. A.I. and Pinocchio certainly are likely to be taking stabs at the time and place in which they were published.
The two works also share significant differences, however. The protagonist in Pinocchio almost always does the wrong thing, and on purpose, and generally not a very ideal example of the human spirit (though perhaps a bit more accurate), whereas the protagonist in A.I. usually did the right thing, as far as his conditions applied at least, and was more of an ideal example of the human spirit. On that note, the theme and message of Pinocchio focuses more on social and moral issues (like how about… listen to your elders?) as oppose to A.I., which focuses more on the nature of reality and fantasy, not to say that neither of these stories dealt with the other’s theme and message. On a small, ending note, Pinocchio obviously has a more fantasy element, with talking animals and magical events, and A.I. stays with a more science-fiction element (though strictly speaking it is not science-fiction.)
The elements of these two works and how they present what makes a fairy tale have been analyzed, but has not been analyzed is the mass, the energy, the dimension. What is a fairy tale? A fairy tale is a dream, sometimes one of happiness and hope, other times a nightmarish vision of what can go wrong. A fairy tale is what drives the human spirit to grow, to become more than what it is. These two works, The Adventures of Pinocchio and A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, each show us the artificial child that wishes to become what would seem impossible, challenged by desires and fears alike. That which has been soulless becomes gifted with such potential, and seeks to share and (magic word) interact in one of the most essential ways: love. In the tradition of post-humanism (and Star Trek), people seek out to better themselves, and unlike cybernetics, robotics aims for something more as well: to create life. Art, as often said today, is life, but art is not just life. Art is an ever-lasting reality, life is an evanescent reflection.
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