Disney Princesses Redrawn

"Snow White" by Chad Sommers

I found a great art book at the library called The Art of the Disney Princess. The Disney Princesses were redrawn in different medias including digital art. My favorite images are the simplistic ones, especially if they require a longer glance for meaning.

The book cover itself is breath-taking. Can you see the hidden image on the right? Artist Chad Sommers said he was inspired by Salvador Dali's surrealist art.

"Snow White" by Eli Trinh

I have to share the Snow White piece down below because it goes with my post The Monster and The Victim on how dead or sleeping woman are depicted as beautiful. At first glance, you think Snow White is standing up, but Eli Trinh must have drawn Snow White when she's unconscious/dead from the poisoned apple. The frame then represents the glass case she is placed in for all to view.


I recommend this book to artists and Disney Princess fans. I'm going to buy my own copy. :D The images will be inspirational for my horror poster parody project and even shirt design.

In fact, the last image I'll show is a Sleeping Beauty one that looks a bit like a horror poster.

Here is Eric Tan's "Sleeping Beauty." I like how the hair looks like fire. :)

And here are 2 old horror posters from my Pinterest board. 

Eric Tan made poster-styled art for other Disney Princesses too.

The Monster & the Victim

This year I started using Pinterest for project references. For parody posters and a story, I have a board for Old Horror Posters. Sometimes I found that the Italian posters focused more on the horror than sex appeal. I wanted to talk about images for Creature From the Black Lagoon (Movies from the 50s had longer titles).

First, here's the trailer: 

One of my screenwriter instructors said that a common theme for old horror movies was the monster trying to be human. One way was to impregnate a female human so that its offspring will be more human. In Creature From the Black Lagoon, fish evolved to a stage where it thinks itself compatible for our women. We are divided as us and them, but they want to be more like us. I'm sure you can think of more movies with those lines of thoughts and outside of monsters.

Back to movie posters

It has claimed her as its mate.
You may be next!

I'm not sure if the image on the right is an official movie poster, but let's start off with it. I like the scene and close-up, but also how much the image evokes is why it is my favorite representation for Creature From the Black Lagoon. :)

For example, the water level reminds us of the dividing line between monster and human and between danger (monster's territory) and safety (our territory). The high water level could show how the monster is spilling onto our side. Another interpretation could be the far distance the monster came from and the distance the hero will have to travel to rescue the victim. The swimmers seem to still search for both monster and victim.

In old horror posters, kidnapped women are either screaming or asleep, the damsel's version of fight or flight. Unconsciousness makes them helpless in the situation.

Another one of my professors commented on how sleeping or dead females in media are portrayed as attractive because they are most docile in those states. We discussed fairy tales and Orphelia in Shakespeare's MacBeth.

Disney's Sleeping Beauty

Most sleeping beauties are in wait for their prince and first kiss. Thus, the horror when they wake to find a monster grabbing at them instead. Some females faint from the shock, keeping them in that helpless state and continue hoping their prince will come.

Although I could not finish reading Spinning Straw into Gold because of the poor flow and structure, I was impressed with Joan Gould's discussion of sleep as an emotional defense of distance. These women try to escape internally (mind and emotions) while leaving their external (body) in the threat, but they do so in wait for when their internal is ready for the situation. Gould gave a real life testimony as an example.

Now for the Faceless

It wants to save her from
the man and his knife!

The image on the right is the Italian poster for Creature From the Black Lagoon. We cannot see the monster's face, but we see the fear on both human figures. The faceless monster matches the fear of the unknown referenced in the trailer.

However, the man looks threatening too by grabbing the woman with a knife in the same hand. He is no real threat so the purpose is to portray him as the non-princely mate with sex appeal and protection.

The woman is kept awake to face her threats, but we feel a safe distance by having the monster's focus entirely away from us. Still we feel so closely behind that it may hear our footstep. We wait in suspense for when we do come face to face with the threat. 

After the last two posters, I was disappointed when I saw the following image down below. :( I think it is a book cover.

It has brought home the meat.

This time we cannot see the woman's face. When a figure's face is cut off, covered up, or exaggerated like in propaganda, the figure has been dehumanized. We cannot see the woman's identity and emotions, but we have a clear shot of her sexy lower body. She has been reduced to flesh. The viewers see her as the monster does.

There is not much else for our focus. The rest of the image shows the danger of the monster already having her in its hidden lair. The woman in this image is closer to becoming a victim of more than kidnapping. Her potential saviors and her territory are nowhere in sight. Sadly, missing a face makes it harder for us to connect with her. We feel we don't know her. We don't even know if she is unconscious or dead.

Don't you feel more sorry for the screaming face on the DVD cover below?

It has stolen one of our own!

In each image, the woman looks sexy. Sexy enough to even make the monster attractive for finding her desirable. Her reaction on the right shows best that his behavior is unwanted and dangerous. Despite how much he has evolved, his behavior has not progressed enough to be her equal.

I don't always like the role of women in old horror movies, but I find the themes and ad designs interesting. Sometimes it can all be ridiculous enough to laugh. From what I discussed in this blog, women seem to be the measure of danger, humanity, and good breeding. The monster can be found in our species as well.

Balloon Hats

A few changes can be enough for a story.

The expressions didn't changed, but the silence is enough to express the moment. I hope you got a chuckle from this comic. :)

When You Eat With Others

Hello. A few weeks ago I visited some of my college friends and remembered a literary observation in high school.  My senior English teacher said that characters who ate together are connected with harmony or communication. Think of scenes such as the political dinner in The King and I where food is used in attempt to create harmony. Also think of fictional meals with disconnected characters which is shown by a character not touching his food or a disruptive, early departure from the table. Interesting demonstration of the relationship between characters.

Because I can get cranky without food, I try to include it in get-togethers or at least eat beforehand. In addition, people are usually comfortable talking at meals. One reason could be that your attention is divided from eating, listening, and talking so you are not concern only with the impression you make.

During my visit, I met some girlfriends over sushi because it was fun last time and the place has excellent deals. Afterwards, I continued talking to one of my friends over yogurt (more food). In our long talk, I remembered about connected characters eating together and my persistence to include food in a meeting with a different friend the next day.

Then I realized that when you eat with others, food is more than an activity you share. Because food is a need, you are sharing a satisfied need. If you're comfortable sharing a personal aspect such as a need, then you are more comfortable sharing about yourself as well. I think the yogurt helped opened up the conversation more between my friend and me. =)

With characters that eat together, you can also see the passion between them. My teacher had mentioned sexual tension portrayed through two characters gorging themselves at a dinner. One unsatisfied need is shown through the satisfaction of another one, but at the same level of intensity.

If you are interested in more metaphorical interpretations, then I recommend How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster.

Pausing One Dystopia For Another

My younger sister talks about the movie adaptation for The Hunger Games by Susan Collins in March 2011. Even my mom has read the series already. Haha. Thus, I bumped the first book higher on my reading list and have even stopped reading  Nineteen Eighty-Four  by George Orwell.  (I may have spoilers in this post!)

 Nineteen Eighty-Four has been a slow read for me, especially because I note elements of dystopic societies such as systems and rules. Here is my book with color-coded sticky notes (I barely passed the half-point):

I wrote on only a few sticky notes. The rest just mark passages.


The Hunger Games has been a faster read, which makes this book better than Nineteen Eighty-Four  for young adults. Sometimes Nineteen Eighty-Four  has long passages about regulations that are close to a manual.

I'm glad I read past chapter 2 before I wrote this post. I'm on Chapter 6, and I have placed 4 sticky notes (I limit myself because the book is my younger sister's).

At first I noticed how the main character, Katniss, is not as blind as many dystopic protagonists. She disagrees with her society and knows how little the government cares for people in her district. Winston in Nineteen Eighty-Four is the same way, but Katniss' attitude is stronger. Then I felt that she knew too much, especially for an adolescent.  Also twice already a moment was explained instantly instead of letting the read figure it out.

However, when Katniss changes her mind about Peeta's motives, I saw that she is confident in her view of things (The reader gets to interpret!)  This quality makes her seem more dystopic and adolescent to me. She may be blind about some facts after all.

The Hunger Games does differ from other dystopias by starting the story after a rebellion. Society has already stood against the government, and the people now face the consequences of their failure. The oppressed life has become more harsh for all common folk.

In addition, Katniss is in the same position as Julia in Nineteen Eighty-Four but the attitude and situation differ.  Julia represents the generation born into the dystopic world. She has grown up oppressed and cannot imagine a world without the current government. She breaks rules for fun. However, she is shown through Winston's eyes who has memories prior to the dystopic world.

As for Katniss' world, the adults who remember the failed rebellion seem to have broken spirits. The generation of Katniss may be broken as well from the consequences and conditions. However, survival is more at stake. Thee will to survive and refusal to accept imposed ways show potential and hope.

Suzanne Collins does a terrific job of keeping her readers in anticipation. I long for answers to my questions such as, "Once tributes enter the game, are they stuck in there until the game's over?" (I think I know the answer already but I have to see the answer. Haha). I try to read whole chapters at a time to pass the suspense of just that moment.

Who has read or is reading The Hunger Games? Please do not say anything pass the training center though. I long to see my questions answered.

Do you mark passages outside of school?

Heads up for Sucker Punch

Before I saw the movie, a friend's Facebook status read, "Sailor Moon + Inception = Sucker Punch."  I laughed but I thought Inception was associated only for having a made-up reality.  I understood better though after seeing the movie.

Here's the second trailer: 

The fighting can be seen as the made-up reality, but there's actually 3 levels to Sucker Punch (thanks buddy for the discussion).  I think the viewer needs to realize this fact early so I'll briefly state them so that the story sequence can be understood better.

1ST LEVEL (reality):

As the trailer states, the girl, "Baby Doll," loses her family and she is committed to an institute.

2ND LEVEL (This level can be confused as reality):

In the trailer and movie, you realize that the girls that were once dressed as patients later have prepped hair, make-up, corsets, and nylon like show girls.  This is the world that Baby Doll has created to push away the pain and focus on her situation. 

3RD LEVEL:

Baby doll's will to survive is shown through various fight fantasies.

Levels 1 and 2 have to be recognized as different or else the changed setting and situation only makes sense if the institute was just a front until they change back.

I want to see it again to see if certain characters exist on the first level. Any thoughts to the psychology aspect of Sucker Punch?

On a separate note, I like the movie posters and Alex Pardee's character art like the one below. =)  His other art is more dark though.

Hemingway's iceberg - minimalistic

I mentioned Ernest Hemingway's style in a comment on my post "Personify," but the subject should be blogged. Towards the end of the post I will explain the narration of my comic strip "The Affair."


Hemingway called his minimalistic style the iceberg theory, where only 10% of the information is given.  In a story, he eliminated all that the reader can assume, leaving what the reader could not assume.  Just the essentials, or the minimum, needed to understand the story.  


David Malki, creator of Wondermark.com, has a visual example of this style improving content. The Garfield strip below is redundant through the visual and text. 

Malki states, "the punchline is set up twice and delivered twice." 
Here is Hemingway's theory of just the essentials applied to the strip:

Malki on the strip above: "It allows the reader to connect the dots, and engages them in the narrative.  It leaves room for interpretation, and for Garfield’s true thoughts to only sound in the theater of the reader’s mind."

Without the speech bubble in the first panel, the reader can interpret that Garfield's throwing the ball for fun. As soon as the Odie, the dog, is spotted, the game of catch is determined.  So redundancy killed the humor because all the interpreting work, in a reader's role, is done already, leaving  the reader no reason to linger on the story.  

For more on Garfield, look up Eric Burns who Malki referred to as the one who noted Garfield's redundancy.  Malki has more posts on newspaper comic strips in Comic Strip Doctor. 

In my comic strip project, "The Affair," I intended to state what the reader is less likely to determine on his/her own.  Click the image for a full view.

I never describe the affair mentioned in the title because the reader can interpret the Jack's  interest in the Queen from his shortened distance. If I state that the Jack moved closer to the Queen, then text would be redundant.  Instead I narrate the actions and feelings of the other characters which cannot be easily determined from the visual. The minor characters get their story in the captions because the main story is visible enough.


The next time a story seems to be about nothing check if you, the reader, have interpreting work to do.  


For writing, this minimalistic style is more difficult because the information is all text.  The easier cases are dialogue and description.  Do the character's repeat too much of what the narrator states?  Inner dialogue, thoughts, typically do not need to be repeated in conversation.  Having someone read your story can help to determine what can be assumed and what cannot.

Can you think of an example of this minimalistic style or a story that could use it?