Wattmag Issue #9

The Reality of Retelling

Retellings. A revisit to a well known story, but taking the characters by the hand and leading them down a new path.

How do you feel about that? Do you like it? The Wicked Witch becomes a misunderstood, bullied girl who becomes 'wicked' for good reasons? The evil, snubbed, witch is actually a lovely, caring - though troubled - individual who takes a wrong turn but comes out good in the end? Wicked and Maleficent are only two of the popular retellings of recent times, but there's so many more.

And the Meek Shall Walk, here on Wattpad, had the Little Mermaid bent on revenge and enacting retribution through decapitation and dismemberment. Red Queen, the FCRAs winning story by the same author - some guy I seem to have heard of but can't place - has Alice's Red Queen beginning the story in a mental home due to the treatment from her family.

A retelling can be a delightful, and savage, twist on a classic tale.

But how would I feel? How would I like it if someone took my story and twisted it around? Now supposing, for a moment, I'm not actually real. Let's pretend I'm this fictional creation and the rumours about my reality or surreality are true. I know, complete lunacy but humour me. Or, if you've no sense of humour, humor me instead.

That's a Brit spelling joke by the way. I'm hilarious if you hadn't noticed.

But, let's say that's true. I'm not real. I'm a made up invention of some bloke scribbling during his lunch break. Not quite believable, but we'll go with it. What if someone thought they'd change things? What if someone threw all those words in a bag and shook them up? How would I feel? Would I even know? I mean, I think I would, but I don't know... Would it be like Back to the Future, where I'd be the only one who could see the timeline had changed and everyone else thought I was an idiot?

Not that they don't already, but you get my point.

Or, would I be included in the rehash and not know anything was out of order? I don't know which option is worse, really. I'm not sure which is scarier - knowing or having no idea. Being stuck in a world where you know every step you take and every word you make someone's watching you and forcing you to do their bidding. Of course, if I really was fictional (yeah, right), someone had already done that but, though my life isn't all daisies and unicorn dust, it's still my life. Cue the epic Talk Talk song. This is all I know. This is, though it's a crappadoozie whirlwind, mine. I don't want it changed.

Sure, people die around me. I mean, I'm not overly happy about that. You wouldn't be, would you? But who has the right to change that? Who has the right to say "You know what? Let's turn things around."

They could, of course, improve my lot. They could give me those daisies to chain and unicorns to ride. They could make me happy and jolly. Not likely, though, is it? Who would read that? Who'd be interested? Oh, Sin went to the shops. Sin read a paper. Sin watched the latest episode of Legion (totally awesome show, by the way). You'd have fallen asleep in three pages and that's if you had downed fourteen cans of Red Bull. No, they wouldn't. My story - if that's what it is - is full of death, suicide and insanity. I try to be a nice guy but bad things happen. A reader would prefer to keep that going, wouldn't they? Wouldn't you?

So, I wonder how Maleficent feels about being the nice guy for once. Would she feel her character was diminished? I mean, I don't. I liked the movie. I enjoyed the musical Wicked. But I'm neither witch, whichever witch is which witch. How do you think they feel?

Of course, I'm real. I'm not a fictional character, whatever people say. But, makes you think, doesn't it? If we were all dots in a ball hanging from the collar of a cat (do you recognise the reference? Please say you do!), and there was someone else who could join up all your dots to create a different picture, would you want them to?

Please (re)tell.

Yours Fictionally (apparently)

Sin