G.A.W. (Ginger Appreciation Week), Day 3: The Fictionals
Looks like the G.A.W. is one big trip back to my childhood (and that's great fun!)
As far as gingers go, she was the unchallenged idol of my childhood:
Pippi Longstocking aka Pippilotta Viktualia Rullgardina Krusmynta Efraimsdotter Långstrump(as portrayed by Inger Nilsson)
I loved and still love just about everything about her, from her clothes to her monkey to her pirate father's ship Hoppetossa. Pippi's self-confidence, fairness and seemingly unlimited imagination cemented my life-long love for the work of Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. I can't thank my parents enough for their patience; looking back now, spreading the content of my cushions in the bed room, sticking candy to the garage door and hiding the lemonade bottles in the birch outside were probably not the brightest ideas I ever had. But I have no regrets!
I inherited a ton of books from my much older siblings, and unfortunately, only one of them had taste in their choice of reading material. The rest were incredibly annoying and, to my young me, very boring books mostly written by Enid Blyton. I hope fans of Enid Blyton won't take any offense now, but huuuh, how I hated those stupid O'Sullivan twins and their equally stupid friends. Rage! (Not that it kept me from reading, but it certainly gave me some very strange ideas about life at boarding schools...!)
My mother had her own ideas about "books of high educational value" - the less said about "Little House on the Prairie", the better. However, I have to thank her for introducing me to
Cordelia Anne (with an e) Shirley of Green Gables
and the books of Lucy Maud Montgomery. Anne's life on a farm on Prince Edward Island and her struggles to find her place in life was of far more interest to me than those friggin' boarding school girls and their tennis lessons. There's something very honest, open and charming about Anne, and I feel that the movies (and actress Megan Follows) really captured that spirit.
The following heroine is probably better known in Europe than across the pond; one of those cultural goods we really should export.
Red Zora and her Gang (Die rote Zora und ihre Bande)
Based on the books by German author Kurt Held, this TV series was a German-Swiss-Jugoslawian cooperation in 1979. It's set in Croatia and tells the story of orphan Branco. He's accepted into the gang of Zora, called "red" because of her flaming red hair. The gang consists of other orphans, treated like outcats by society and trying to survive. They call themselves the "Uskokes", and despite being "criminals", they have a strong feeling of justice and solidarity. Together with fisherman Gorian, the only one who accepts them, they fight a big fishing company who wants to ruin him. Zora was passionate and smart; anybody looking for strong female characters: this is one for you!
And of course, we must not forget
Tintin by Hergé
I own all the books and I've read them a bazillion of times; some of the copies fall apart at the seams. They had it all, adventure and humour. My favourite character wasn't Tintin, though, but his dog Snowy and, of course, Captain Haddock and his doomed battle against the charms of singer Bianca Castafiore and the hearing problems of Professor Calculus.
I love the books, but I'm well aware that some contents are really, really not ok. But though there's a lot of racism and tons of other -isms, I don't believe pulling the books from the shelves is a smart move. To take the most controversial book, "Tintin in Congo": it's racist and bigotted on a "WTF" level. The mind, it boggles. But Hergé presented a view of Africa as it was held in Belgium (and elsewhere) back then. People seriously thought that they would "help" Africans by colonialising their countries. Awareness for everybody's colonial past is declining; rather than censoring books like "Tintin in Congo", I'd suggest special editions that come with a documentary, explaining why those views were held and why they are wrong. As for impressionable kids getting the wrong ideas: "parenting" is the magic word!
Last but not least:
Obelix
The first book I ever read all by myself was "Asterix the Gaul", and it was a beginning of a life-long love. Together with his friend Asterix, Obelix the Gaul contributed a lot to my interest in history and many trips to the local Roman archaeological excavations. I was very disappointed when I finally got to sample wild boar, though. Blech! And that one experiment when I tried to mix a magic brew and my sister took a sip and... well, let's not get intot that. I love the wit and the charm of these comics, and while the German translations were great, I could only really appreciate the full extent of René Goscinny subtle humour when I read the French original. "Asterix in Switzerland " is a work of genius!
Tomorrow: Classic Hollywood's red-haired ladies!
Molly originally posted this entry at http://joyful-molly.dreamwidth.org/364096.html. You can comment on LJ or DW, using OpenID.
As far as gingers go, she was the unchallenged idol of my childhood:
Pippi Longstocking aka Pippilotta Viktualia Rullgardina Krusmynta Efraimsdotter Långstrump(as portrayed by Inger Nilsson)
I loved and still love just about everything about her, from her clothes to her monkey to her pirate father's ship Hoppetossa. Pippi's self-confidence, fairness and seemingly unlimited imagination cemented my life-long love for the work of Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. I can't thank my parents enough for their patience; looking back now, spreading the content of my cushions in the bed room, sticking candy to the garage door and hiding the lemonade bottles in the birch outside were probably not the brightest ideas I ever had. But I have no regrets!
I inherited a ton of books from my much older siblings, and unfortunately, only one of them had taste in their choice of reading material. The rest were incredibly annoying and, to my young me, very boring books mostly written by Enid Blyton. I hope fans of Enid Blyton won't take any offense now, but huuuh, how I hated those stupid O'Sullivan twins and their equally stupid friends. Rage! (Not that it kept me from reading, but it certainly gave me some very strange ideas about life at boarding schools...!)
My mother had her own ideas about "books of high educational value" - the less said about "Little House on the Prairie", the better. However, I have to thank her for introducing me to
Cordelia Anne (with an e) Shirley of Green Gables
and the books of Lucy Maud Montgomery. Anne's life on a farm on Prince Edward Island and her struggles to find her place in life was of far more interest to me than those friggin' boarding school girls and their tennis lessons. There's something very honest, open and charming about Anne, and I feel that the movies (and actress Megan Follows) really captured that spirit.
The following heroine is probably better known in Europe than across the pond; one of those cultural goods we really should export.
Red Zora and her Gang (Die rote Zora und ihre Bande)
Based on the books by German author Kurt Held, this TV series was a German-Swiss-Jugoslawian cooperation in 1979. It's set in Croatia and tells the story of orphan Branco. He's accepted into the gang of Zora, called "red" because of her flaming red hair. The gang consists of other orphans, treated like outcats by society and trying to survive. They call themselves the "Uskokes", and despite being "criminals", they have a strong feeling of justice and solidarity. Together with fisherman Gorian, the only one who accepts them, they fight a big fishing company who wants to ruin him. Zora was passionate and smart; anybody looking for strong female characters: this is one for you!
And of course, we must not forget
Tintin by Hergé
I own all the books and I've read them a bazillion of times; some of the copies fall apart at the seams. They had it all, adventure and humour. My favourite character wasn't Tintin, though, but his dog Snowy and, of course, Captain Haddock and his doomed battle against the charms of singer Bianca Castafiore and the hearing problems of Professor Calculus.
I love the books, but I'm well aware that some contents are really, really not ok. But though there's a lot of racism and tons of other -isms, I don't believe pulling the books from the shelves is a smart move. To take the most controversial book, "Tintin in Congo": it's racist and bigotted on a "WTF" level. The mind, it boggles. But Hergé presented a view of Africa as it was held in Belgium (and elsewhere) back then. People seriously thought that they would "help" Africans by colonialising their countries. Awareness for everybody's colonial past is declining; rather than censoring books like "Tintin in Congo", I'd suggest special editions that come with a documentary, explaining why those views were held and why they are wrong. As for impressionable kids getting the wrong ideas: "parenting" is the magic word!
Last but not least:
Obelix
The first book I ever read all by myself was "Asterix the Gaul", and it was a beginning of a life-long love. Together with his friend Asterix, Obelix the Gaul contributed a lot to my interest in history and many trips to the local Roman archaeological excavations. I was very disappointed when I finally got to sample wild boar, though. Blech! And that one experiment when I tried to mix a magic brew and my sister took a sip and... well, let's not get intot that. I love the wit and the charm of these comics, and while the German translations were great, I could only really appreciate the full extent of René Goscinny subtle humour when I read the French original. "Asterix in Switzerland " is a work of genius!
Tomorrow: Classic Hollywood's red-haired ladies!
Molly originally posted this entry at http://joyful-molly.dreamwidth.org/364096.html. You can comment on LJ or DW, using OpenID.