Which story has the fairest of them all?

My first introduction to Rammstein came just about two years ago when I worked in a local music shop, and the metal-head manager put on the band while we went through the closing procedures (he only put that on at night as we weren’t allowed to put on anything considered heavy metal). The only song I was able to recognize (after hearing the albums over and over) was ‘Du Hast’. I had absolutely no idea what the German band was singing about, but I found myself nodding along to the beat nonetheless!

I was once again shown the worldwide recognition of Rammstein during my class on Folk and Fairy Tales, when we were shown the music video for ‘Sonne’, as the entire video is based upon the tale of ‘Snow White’. But how does it compare to the collected stories of Snow White by Maria Tatar?

For certain, the least similar to ‘Sonne’ is that of “The Young Slave” By Giambattista Basile. Basile tells a tale of a Baron’s niece that is abused by his wife, her aunt. Painted a slave by the cruel Baroness, our heroine, Lisa, we see as she struggles with the idea of suicide until her uncle finds out the truth of his niece and rescues her from the pits of despair, sending the cruel woman back to her parents. 

The Snow White portrayed by Rammstein shows a risqué, selfish woman that takes advantage of the dwarves. Nowhere in the tale of Basile did I find anything that would remind me of the conventional tale of Snow White (by “conventional tale”, I refer to that of the Disney movie). 

However, I would argue there is something to compare and that is the mention of suicide. In the written tale by Basile, the young woman is threatening to kill herself, and is about to do the deed, when her uncle barges in and saves the day. On the same note, the protagonist in the music video is addicted to gold (which seems to be symbolic for either heroin or cocaine), snorting the powder, and using a needle to insert it into her body. This is what causes “Snow White” to go into a deep sleep. Therefore, I would say a similarity between the two is the idea or contemplation of ending the pain, or thoughts, or escaping them- through suicide or drugs… which often leads to the exact same place. 

Behind the Scenes of the 'Sonne' music video- pic from Pinterest

Meanwhile, the story many people know (or close to it) is the story of “Snow White” by the Brothers Grimm. I find the biggest correlation between Rammstein’s video and the story by Brothers Grimm is when it comes to the characterization of the dwarfs. In both versions, the dwarfs have a positive relationship with Snow White (from their perspective I believe. I would argue that the beauty in the music video does not have a positive relationship with the dwarfs- it is a very one-sided relationship). In both versions, the dwarfs care greatly for the human and are devastated when she goes into her deep slumber. They then put her into a glass coffin and carry her onto the mountain where she can lay, mourned by the little men that loved her. This is where the similarities end. Snow White, in the music video, is awakened when the single apple falls from the dead tree on the mountain. The tale from the Brothers Grimm ends with Snow White awakening from, not from true love’s kiss, but from the piece of poison apple falling out of her throat. 

A curious similarity between the Rammstein video and “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” by Anne Sexton is the use of modern language and tools. In the video, the dwarfs are using power tools- something completely unthought of. Fairy tales are supposed to be timeless, you are not supposed to be able to pinpoint an exact time or place that they occur. But, with showing the power tools, we can identify that it is more modern day. 

Little Orphan Annie comic cover- pic from Amazon

In the poem by Anne Sexton, it seems completely timeless, until the first mention of a modern-day item- an Ace bandage. This struck me as so odd, as the poem portrayed a usual fairy tale, but the language almost felt out of place. Then, also brought up, is Orphan Annie. The original comic strip was published in 1924 (while the original poem was written in 1885). This still gives direction to a time, and perhaps a place (the comic was published in the New York Daily News). 

The final iteration I read in the compilation by Maria Tatar, and my personal favorite, was “Snow, Glass, Apples” by Neil Gaiman. In both this, and the ‘Sonne’ version, Snow White is portrayed as an evil character- well I should say that I personally find that the ‘Sonne’ version of her is evil. She is all about the sexual promiscuity, shown by her fixing her lace thigh-highs and having the dwarfs take care of her every need. There is even a shot of the dwarfs worshiping her body. Meanwhile in the short story, the Queen had sex with her future son-in-law, and was quite descriptive of so.

This version happened to be my favorite because it was just so unlike anything I had ever read and trust me when I say that I have read many, many different versions of fairy tales in my time…. But never have I ever read a version of ‘Snow White’ where the delicate heroine was actually a bloodthirsty monster that in the end, faced no true repercussions.