Daughter of the most ancient myth and rituals. Passed orally from time immemorial, it taught, encouraged and entertained. Designed for adults and not for children. It is the fairy tale, capable of creating parallel realities animated by witches, elves, fairies and many others. The sixth edition of the Modena Fairy Tale Festival is dedicated to this timeless narrative genre.
On the meaning of the fairy tale
It happens to think that the fairy tale is exclusively something for children. Just as it happens erroneously to speak of fairy tale and fable as if they were the same thing. Common mistakes that make scholars of this literary genre straighten their hair. So, better do some clarity. Speaking of experts in the sector, it is appropriate to recall the observations of Vladimir Propp, among the greatest connoisseurs of the field. Propp reminds us that the fairy tale has existed for as long as man has existed. Let's think for example of the Prehistory when the absence of critical, logical and rational thinking led man to seek answers through other channels. And this is where the fairy tale comes into play.
Rituals and myths: the parents of the fairy tale
Rites, myths and legends to make sense of things. The fairy tale is the daughter of the human need for explanation and reassurance . Certainly not a genre for children, not something born yesterday, much less written. Its origins are rooted in magical-religious thought which belongs to the most remote times. Man's need to answer questions that seem trivial to us today. Why does the sun "rise and die" every day? Will he come back tomorrow? Will it rain so that the earth can benefit from it? In that world of uncertainties, man creates the myth and therefore the fairy tale. Performing rituals made us feel heartened, it was believed to have the guarantee of something that could not be explained otherwise. And it is precisely with the ritual that the fairy tale has a lot in common.
The protagonists are men whose stories are intertwined with fantastic characters good and bad. The scenario in which the story develops often proposes some obstacles to overcome to reach the so-called "happy ending". Among the most frequent settings is the wood. A context that is directly linked to those initiation rites that mark the passage from childhood to becoming a man. Thus the boy was introduced into the woods from which, coming out unscathed, he manifested his readiness for adult life. Fairy tales exactly like rites replicate the same structure. An initial balance, the development of the story with the departure of the protagonist, who will find himself to overcome difficult situations and finally the epilogue.
Modena Fairy Tale Festival
To understand the fairy tale you need to go on an anthropological journey. Getting lost in the irrational thought of man, contextualizing it e give it back that value of importance it had since its birth. That's why the city of Modena present the sixth edition of the Fairy Tale Festival. An appointment spread over three days from 14 to 16 June at the Circolo Culturale Filatoio as well as numerous locations located in the neighborhood adjacent to the historic center. Un event's audience for adults, intended for an aware public, in which fairy tales will be told. Narrative voices as it happened at the beginning. After all, “fiaba” derives from the Latin “fabula” with reference to speaking, to saying. To reinforce the fairytale atmosphere, Modena has decided to give each narration a specific space. For instance room 22 of the Hotel La Pace will be a suitable place for listening to Little Red Riding Hood.
So many people involved in this rich event that sweeps across the territory. Not only singers but also actors who will be protagonists of performance in period costume as it will happen for a classic of the fairytale tradition, the story of the disturbing Bluebeard. And still artisan shops as a backdrop but also bars. Like this at the Filatoio coffee shop it will be possible to sip that green potion that stimulated the creativity of the "cursed poets". Shot glasses of absinthe that are well linked to the theme to which this edition of the Fairy Tale Festival is dedicated. Madness. Like that distillate that numbed reason. An event not to be missed conceived by Nicoletta Giberti. Creating stimuli, reflections, favoring contact with our most unconscious part but above all giving back to the fairy tale its original meaning.
