Sunday, 10 January 2010

FMP inspiration: Guillermo del Toro












I am a big fan of Guillermo del Toro's films and I am interested in how his films deal indirectly with horrific real life stories (such as the Spanish Civil War and the fascist dictatorship of Franco) through a coded fairytale. Guillermo del Toro is interested at looking at the world through the eyes of a child. Even though his films have crazy monsters in them, the actual monsters in the stories are humans.

For my FMP I am interested in using this juxtaposition of imagined creatures with real life monsters, and imagined realities with horrific things that are going on in the real world through using current news stories and images.

"There are fairy tales that are created to instill fear in children, and there are fairy tales that are created to instill hope and magic in children. I like those. I like the anarchic ones. I like the crazy ones. And, I think that all of them have a huge quotient of darkness because the one thing that alchemy understands, and fairy tale lore understands, is that you need the vile matter for magic to flourish." Guillermo del Toro


Curiouser and curiouser...my initial FMP idea

Ever since i was little i have been fascinated by fairytales and fantasy. My favourite books included Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton, Chronicles of Narnia by C S Lewis and Hans Anderson's fairy tales. I still love the escapism into a whole other world reading such stories creates and i am interested in how these artificial and elaborate tales can teach children the fundamentals of life and to also stretch the imagination. I would like my Final Major Project to address our ability to still believe in magic, myth or fantasy once we have grown into an adult and become consumed in every day life. Everything in life is fast and cheap, people seek the shortest route to something, people are cynical about everything...so where is there space left for daydreaming and appreciating the naivety of being a child again.

"In a utilitarian age, of all other times, it is a matter of grave importance that fairy tales should be respected." Charles Dickens (1812-1870)

"If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales." Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

Images i am taking inspiration from...

Arthur Rackham:



































Kerstin Kartscher:




































Ernesto Caivano:




Sunday, 3 January 2010