Day 20: Planet of the Apes

Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle, translated by Xan Fielding.  ISBN: 9780814900642.

I can't very well read Planet of the Apes without thinking about the movies.  I loved the Planet of the Apes movie, which completely took me by surprise.  I'm one of those people who will watch movies just because it's become part of the popular culture; I've seen some bad movies for exactly that reason.  The same applies to books of course.  The only reason I read Twilight is because I feel professionally obligated to read what the masses are reading.

I think it's interesting that the stories that are part of our collective conscious have transitioned from oral to literature and now to visual.  I doubt that the current generation has the same exposure to the old fairy tales that we do, and what they have been exposed to was because of Disney (visual).  This is completely detrimental to our youth because they are being fed images rather than creating their own.  These stories used to activate creative and imaginative processes which led to a deeper understanding of the moral presented by the tale.  Now our children are being exposed to watered down versions and what's worse: they're no longer required to think the stories.

Thinking about the stories is what really ingrains them into our psychesWithout these common stories to base our experiences and our understanding of morality on, I fear that it will be harder to relate to each other.  We won't have those common stories to talk about and discuss on deep levels, and really, there's only so much you can say about Disney's Little Mermaid.  I'm not saying it will be impossible, but I do think it's going to be much harder for the future generations to find something they all share that will connect them to both their own generation, and those that will come before and after.

Note: I'm looking for guest bloggers.  If you are a librarian, are working towards becoming a librarian, or are in a related field and would be interested in participating, please contact me at acampb8@kent.edu, or leave a comment with contact information.