Beastly is in the Eye of the Beholder - Part IV

While “Roswell” and “Smallville” fit neatly into the genre of Science Fiction, that category has always seemed too limiting for Vincent and Catherine.  Our story is a romance with supernatural and/or fantasy elements.  In more recent years, the Vampire Romance as been wildly popular.  When examined more closely, this “new” kind of paranormal romance is really just a slightly darker twist on the Beauty & the Beast theme.  The vampires at least started out as humans.  But, what could be more Beastly than a boyfriend who must drink blood to survive?  There is always the threat that he might lose control over himself and drink his love’s blood as well - much the same way Vincent feared losing control and hurting Catherine. The Beauty & the Beast elements we love are almost always present in these stories – it’s simply an adjustment in the symbolism.

In The Vampire Diaries, there are many Beauty & the Beast nuances.  Stefan comes into Elena’s life at a very difficult time, when she is grieving the death of her parents.  For Elena, this is the life-altering event that parallels Catherine’s attack.  It is later revealed that Stefan actually witnessed the crash that killed her parents.  He pulled over and rescued Elena from the car that was quickly becoming submerged in a lake and then vanished back to his solitary life.  She had no memory of the event and he had no intention of ever seeing her again.  But he then returns to Mystic Falls, in the same way Vincent returned to Catherine’s balcony eight months later, because, as he puts it, he “had to know her.”

As the title of this show would suggest, Elena keeps a diary.  At one point she misplaced it and Stefan found it and returned it to her.  He assured her that he didn’t read it.  When she asked why he didn’t take advantage of the obvious opportunity he responded, “I wouldn’t want anyone reading mine.”  The sensitive Stefan, like Vincent, also keeps a journal.

Towards the end of the first season, the show even managed to produce a very good recreation of The Trilogy.  Stefan does not normally drink human blood because he is against killing humans.  However, this makes him weaker than most vampires.  At one point, he was forced to drink a lot of human blood and it had the effect of bringing on an illness or “madness” very similar to what Vincent went through.  Stefan was slowing losing control of his more Beastly urges and we saw a side of him that, up until now, we would not have believed existed.  Not wanting to alarm Elena, he pretended for a time that all was well – but it was clear that he was coming unraveled.  When she confronts him about it, he snaps at her and tries to drive her away with a Beastly growl.  Then, in the next instant, he realizes how he has frightened her and collapses in her arms sobbing and apologizing profusely.  Through it all, Elena stands firm in her love for him and belief that he won’t hurt her.

It is interesting to also consider the Beauties in these stories.  Elena and Lana begin their respective series being the most popular girl in school.  They were most certainly the high school equivalent of Catherine’s Upper East Side socialite persona.  Lana and Elena were even both cheerleaders. Lana was dating the star of the football team. But they both make changes – such as quitting the cheerleading squad - after meeting Clark and Stefan.  They see the shallowness of their activities for the first time and decide they want to devote themselves to more meaningful things.  Lana became restless with her quarterback boyfriend and he was written out of the show in the first season.  But my feeling was that she would have stopped dating him eventually, for the same basic reasons Catherine ended things with Tom.

The female leads in these shows, Liz, Lana and Elena, play the role of the Beauty well by being unbelievably dedicated and understanding, as Catherine was, and loving him in spite of his differences – whatever they might be.  The Beauty’s job is to love the Beast in spite of the fact that he might not love or accept himself.  In a larger sense, it is what holds us back from love that makes us “Beastly,” that could be many things.  Likewise, it’s what gently brings us toward love that makes us “Beauty-full.”

Liz and Lana were more Catherine-like in that they held back and didn’t always say in so many words what they were surely thinking in some of the more obvious displays of Beastliness. Elena, on the other hand, is a bit more outspoken.  She puts herself in danger quite often and when questioned about it has declared, “If anyone is going to die in this [situation] it’s going to be me.”  It was very hard not to think of Catherine at that moment and how she is often put down for being “careless” when I believe this was always much closer to her true motivation.  That’s just how Beauties are – unselfish to a fault.  They would much rather put themselves in danger than have the people they love hurt because of them.  Didn’t the original Beauty of the fairytale volunteer to take her father’s place without giving any thought to herself or the danger that might be involved?

Another interesting parallel between our show and these others is the question of how to deal with The Secret. It was very clearly understood, and never challenged, that Catherine could not tell anyone about Vincent and the Tunnels.  Poor Catherine was very much alone with The Secret.

Liz tried to keep the secret with all good intentions, but her best friend, Maria, soon knew that something was wrong and coaxed it out of her, as any best friend would.  Maria was a bubbly Jenny-like personality that contrasted sharply with Liz’s more elegant Catherine personality.  Maria wound up being drawn into the alien drama and even dated the other alien, Michael.

Once again, Elena was a bit bolder on this issue as well.  She made a conscious decision to tell her best friend in the first couple of episodes!  Then she went straight to Stefan and told him that she had shared his secret with Bonnie.  In response to his look of surprise she said, “I can’t do this alone.”  To which he relented, “You shouldn’t have to.”  It’s difficult to not feel Catherine’s influence on these two.

(continued...)

Beastly is in the Eye of the Beholder - Part III

The first program that I remember seeing this in was “Roswell.”  It’s the story of the small town in New Mexico where aliens are believed to have crash-landed.  In the series, the aliens take the form of three teenagers, a girl and two boys, who are living with adoptive parents.  They believe they must keep their alien identities hidden, even from their parents, or face being “hunted” and/or “studied” in laboratories.

Liz is the girl next door who works at the local café.  One day, Max and his friends are eating in the café.  While they are there, the café is held up and Liz is shot.  In the confusion that follows, the three aliens would normally just slip away.  They are used to keeping a very low profile in town, not wanting to draw any unnecessary attention to their lives.  But Max can’t leave; he has admired Liz from afar for a long time and cannot let her die.  Going against everything his instincts for survival, and the other two, are telling him he uses his alien power to save Liz’s life.  His healing leaves a hand print on her body and so there are lots of questions afterward.  Eventually, Max tells Liz the whole truth and asks her to keep his secret.

The main mistake that this show made was having it be all about the teens.  The parents (one of whom was played by Jo Anderson) were 100% clueless to all that was going on right under their noses, and this got annoying very fast.

Right around the time this show ended, “Smallville” premiered and improved on the concepts that “Roswell” had started.  “Smallville” corrected the adults-are-all-stupid flaw in the “Roswell” premise. Clark’s parents were fully aware of their unusual child.  Jonathan and Martha Kent were the most intelligent and supportive parents you ever wanted to meet, and this went a long way toward giving the show appeal to a much wider adult audience. 

The main underlying theme that both these shows shared was the idea of an alien in the role of the Beast.  Both Max and Clark were secretly in love with the most beautiful girl in town.  But they knew they were Different.  They both had a big secret.  Max felt that his secret was a burden for Liz to share.  Clark feared telling Lana the truth for the same reason.  Clark believed he too would be rejected by everyone he loved if they knew the truth about him.  There was also a lot of guilt.  Clark knew that Lana’s parents had been killed in the meteor shower that brought him to earth.  In essence, he blamed himself for her pain.  In addition, both Max and Clark knew nothing about their planet of origin and that made them doubt themselves even further.  In each case, they reacted much like Vincent would to the progression of a romantic relationship.

Of these two shows, granted, “Smallville” had a lot of themes going on, and especially when Lois came along, lost the Beauty & the Beast flavor.  “Roswell” was much more focused on the romance overall.  In what may have been one of the best TV theme songs ever, the singer Dido echoed Vincent’s words in “Nor Iron Bars a Cage” in haunting beautiful tones:

I am what I am…

I’ll do what I want, but I can’t hide.

I won’t go, I won’t sleep, I can’t breathe,

Until you’re resting here with me.

I won’t leave, I can’t hide, I cannot be,

Until you’re resting here with me.

 

 

 

(continued...)

Beastly is in the Eye of the Beholder - Part II

Versions of this story, which scholars like to categorize as “Animal Husband” stories, exist in all cultures and time periods throughout history.  As most of us know by now, the first written form is generally thought to be the Greek Myth of Cupid & Psyche.

But the version we would recognize as Beauty & the Beast was first published in France in 1740 by a woman named Gabrielle de Villeneuve.  She was a frequenter of the Paris salons where the telling of “Fairy Stories” was a popular form of entertainment.  Her version was long, complex and clearly geared toward an adult, aristocratic audience.

About twelve years later, another French woman named Madame Le Prince de Beaumont took that version and shortened and simplified it, with the idea of a children’s audience in mind.  In doing so, she helped to create the new concept of Children’s Literature, which really had not existed prior to that time.  So, contrary to what the library staff was thinking back in 1987, Beauty & the Beast started out as a story for adults.

What makes this story so attractive and versatile is its symbolism.  Beauty & the Beast asks big, timeless questions like: What is Beauty? And, maybe more importantly: What is Beastly?  These are questions that could be debated endlessly, and can be changed and adapted quite easily, as Madame Beaumont did, to just about any audience.

This idea was brought home to me in 2006, while doing research for a Beauty & the Beast themed English paper.  I came across a critique of Jean Cocteau’s 1946 French movie version “La Belle et la Bête.” It spoke about how there is more to the Beast than just his physical appearance.  He has little of the social refinement that would have been expected of someone in his class and time period.  This Beastly lack of social graces is lost on contemporary audiences. 

Another example is Disney’s Beast.  When you think about it, he basically behaves like a naughty child.  This is evident in how he is repeatedly told he must learn to “control his temper.”  There is also the sweet scene in which Belle tries to teach him how to have more acceptable table manners. 

In contrast to Cocteau and Disney, our Vincent certainly does not need to learn better manners. Yet, he is still the Beast of the story.  The definition of Beast here is much more a comment on our society than on Vincent himself.  After all, we claim to value the princely traits Vincent possesses on the inside – but most people miss them – because of how he looks on the outside. 

It is true that in all of these versions the Beast does look the part – other than human.  Vincent conforms to how a Beast should look, but not how he should act.  Vincent is also the first Beast to remain as he is and not turn into someone more human looking.  This is due, as least in part, to the medium that gave birth to Vincent - television. 

A book or a movie simply ends at a given time. You can hint at the “happily ever after” but you don’t necessarily have to see it.  In television, the end is much harder to pinpoint.  You have to plan for a next week and a next season.  As a result, Vincent and Catherine were the first Beauty and Beast that we really got to know in an on-going and personal way. The more we knew them, the more we loved them – and the more we wanted them to have their version of the traditional “happily ever after” ending. 

These factors created a unique situation in Beauty & the Beast history.  Ron Koslow didn’t intend a “happily ever after” ending.  He didn’t even think it was possible.  Those in charge completely underestimated the power of this story – the very power of love itself!  When they realized what had happened it was almost too late to “fix” it.  Censors would surely pass judgment on Vincent and Catherine having their happily ever after.  Many misguided souls would call it “bestiality.”  There was no easy solution to this dilemma.  But there was no denying the appeal of the story. 

So with Vincent having been the first Beast to step outside the box of expectations, it makes sense that future attempts would have a Beast that doesn’t even look the part at all. In order to have their cake and eat it too, television writers found other ways to create the Beast.

(continued...)

 

Beastly is in the Eye of the Beholder - Part I

This essay began as a speech that I wrote and presented at a Toastmasters Club meeting in 2010.  With the news of the new CW series (based on the 80's original series) I was inspired to update it.

It was a Saturday in the fall of 1987, just weeks after the premier of Beauty & the Beast.  My first impulse, after falling head over heels in love with Vincent and Catherine, was to find out more about the original fairytale. I headed to the public library, where I found nothing at all in the main adult library. I decided to try the separate children’s library next door.  As I walked in, I felt more than a little foolish because I obviously hadn’t been inside that building in ages.

But I had to know more.  I knew almost nothing about Beauty & the Beast at that point. I grew up with many fairytales: the Disney versions of Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and others. I had even seen a version of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid with its horribly sad ending.  But my only childhood memory of Beauty & the Beast was being shown a quick slide show presentation of the story one day in grammar school.

The book I found that day in the children’s library was nothing special.  The illustrations were very gloomy and vague – not at all like you would expect to find in a good children’s book.  After reading through it, I noticed that the last page of the book had a brief summary of the story’s origins.  This was before the ubiquitous phrase, “a tale as old as time,” and I was fascinated to learn that this show that had me so mesmerized was, in fact, nothing that new, but a story that has had many, many incarnations over the centuries.  You could say that from that moment on, the history of Beauty & the Beast became a passion of mine – every bit as much as the CBS series.

While the Beauty & the Beast story had a long history before Vincent and Catherine, they were still a most unique interpretation for many reasons.  We know that they had a major impact on us as fans, but I’ve had suspicions for years now that they also had a major impact on the medium of television.  I’d like to suggest that our Vincent and Catherine forever altered the concept of Beauty & the Beast and television romance in general. 

Since our show ended, there have been a myriad of other stories that were Beauty & the Beast-like. These are love stories that are special or unique in the same way that Vincent and Catherine were.  These couples have a special soulful connection - with each other - and with the viewers.  I guess it’s possible that such a category of romance could have existed before 1987, but I never noticed it.  And back then, I was a lot less discriminating in the television that I watched.  Now, keep in mind, these characters and the shows they belong to may look nothing like our Beauty & the Beast on the outside, but we fans should know not to judge by appearances. 

It helps to first think about the following question: Why is the Beauty & the Beast story so popular and enduring?

(continued...)

 

 

ONE LIFE without Limits...

We only have one life to live.  I've always wanted to say that! : )

But seriously, I have been extremely distressed over the news that One Life to Live and All My Children have been canceled. I know that these long running shows still have A LOT of fans. I know that they are also gaining new fans because I am a relatively new fan. I became hooked on OLTL six years ago when I was in the hospital for a month with a very bad case of pneumonia.  I grew up watching CBS soaps and was delighted to see Hillary B. Smith, Nora, again after so many years.  The show really helped me through a difficult time. However, by the time I went back to work, I was fascinated with several other characters and considered the show good enough to make time for in my busy daily schedule.  I began recording it every day and have been a loyal viewer ever since.  It's great to be able to record something to watch when there is nothing good in Prime Time - and OLTL has been much better than a lot of Prime Time shows at many points during the last six years!

Drama has a way of touching peoples lives and soap operas in general do this better than any other form of drama because of the fact that they are there every day with no long summer breaks like nighttime shows.  These characters are like good friends that stay with you. To this day, I have cherished memories of growing up watching the soaps with my mother, grandmother, aunt, and sister.  

I remember very vividly one summer As the World Turns had a masked ball.  For what seemed like weeks, everyone wore formal attire and the ladies carried a very elaborate mask on a stick that matched their ball gowns.  I remember sketching similar costumes for weeks afterward.  It was one of many story lines on that show that really captured my imagination. 

The thing that has me the most worried about this soap situation is that I believe the main reason for cancellation is not lack of popularity but cost to produce. The Powers-that-Be at the networks are turning to reality/talk shows because they cost much less to make.

But I say: you get what you pay for!

Reality/talk shows have their place, but I just can't see a daytime line-up consisting of only that kind of program. It would not be something that I would be interested in watching even if I was home, and I certainly wouldn't bother to record those programs.

I understand that AMC will be replaced with a cooking show. I mean, really, there is a whole network devoted only to cooking shows!  If, on occasion, I wanted to watch a cooking show, why wouldn't I just turn over to the Food Network???? That's what hurts so much, the fact that there really isn't any rhyme or reason that I can see in this decision - just a blind grab at saving money.

Since there are hundreds of cable channels out there that are devoted to just about every interest one could have, I think that there must be a home out there for the soap operas that Networks no longer want. I'd like to ask ABC/Disney please, please sell them to another network so that the fans can continue to enjoy this unique art form that does not deserve to just die off in shame.

The timing of this decision makes even less sense to me with the recent conclusion of The Oprah Winfrey Show. Oprah was a rare talk show that will be very hard to replace. But why not just try out a new talk show in her old time slot?  Would not that be the logical move - since we are used to a talk show at that time and would have no hard feelings about giving a newcomer a try?

But with the careless decision to end two much loved soaps, in the same season that we also lose Oprah, well, I would just like to say that I now have absolutely no reason - or desire - to ever watch ABC Daytime again!