Wonder Woman

Is there a new kind of Wonder Woman? I wonder what she will be like? On NPR this weekend there was a pretty good story about how Snow White and her particular archetype is replacing Cinderella as the current popular fairy tale for women in our culture. In her new film, Mirror Mirror, Julia Roberts at least has the decency to play the witch – a juicier and more succulent role than the snowy babe, I’d warrant. The evil queen speaks to a boomer woman’s anxiety about aging, and her potential transformation into an old hag. Certainly an archetype many of us can utilize to confront our fears of aging and also have some fun playing the powerful wicked witch while we’re waiting.

I’ve always had a bit of an affinity for the naughty ones – the rabble rousers who stir up trouble. Christopher Woods new book Sacre Bleu, about the roustabout painter Toulouse Lautrec sounds touching and funny – and the author sweet and refreshingly humble, although his writing is astonishing. Yes, the Beats, Film Noir, German Expressionism – I fancy them all. Just picked up a book  – A Literary Paris – read an excerpt from Jack Kerouac’s , Satori in Paris, written in 1966 – the year I moved to New York City to start college at NYU. Funny how I was only peripherally aware of the tectonic shift the country was experiencing. It takes me awhile to catch on. Speaking of Paris, my cousin Maureen Vermilya is there for three months and she is doing a lovely job on her blog.

Well, to keep to the subject at hand. If we are to enjoy our wicked witch days, and maybe even become artists and social activists in our own small ways, and keep living outside the box with other creative souls, there’s always carrot juice!