Happily Ever After .....

Canadian photographer Dina Goldstein hit the nail on its head when she did a series of pictures depicting the life of princesses from fairy tales. Is it a bit cruel, you say ... what if kids get to see these pictures, would it destroy their dreams and "childhood memories"?

I for one, believe strongly that these fairy tales, while enjoyable, have a too profound effect, especially on girls when it comes to their expectations in their future love life. Many still harbours the strapping guy riding in on a white horse, their knight in shining armour, even though some may tweak the white horse image into any high priced sports car.

The "sweeping off your feet" mentality is another dangerous idea. Sad to say, so is the "happily ever after" sentiment. In much the same way that weddings are over-celebrated, when in reality, its just the first step into "oblivion" when you have twenty or thirty year olds making a firm decision about something that is supposed to be 40-50 years or that should last for the rest of their lives.

Here we have Snow White stressed out with three kids in an unkempt house with a TV watching Prince Charming husband glued to the sofa seat with a beer in hand.

Unhappy ending: Fallen Princesses, a project by Canadian photographer Dina Goldstein, shows iconic characters having succumbed to tragic fates, including cancer, alcoholism and unhappy marriages.

Ms Goldstein told Cargoh.com that she was inspired to create the images when her daughter first became interested in princesses, and her mother was diagnosed with cancer shortly thereafter.

'The two events collided and made me wonder what a princess would look like if she had to battle a disease, struggle financially or deal with aging,' she said.

'I began to imagine what could happen to the princesses later in life and after the happily ever after. Naturally they would have to deal with challenges that all modern women face.'

Indeed, she explains her first idea was to depict a modern Rapunzel, who had lost all her precious hair to chemo.

The image shows Rapunzel looking forlorn as she sits on a hospital bed, clutching her long blond locks that have been fashioned into a wig.

Sad fate: A dark image of Cinderella shows her sitting with her head down in a dingy bar, holding a shot glass as a group of men look on. Cinderella, close to being an alcoholic drowning her sorrows daily.

Obesity epidemic: The modern version of Little Red Riding Hood is more plump than little. She is pictured in the woods sipping on a large fountain drink and cradling a picnic basket of fast food

The Little Mermaid, obviously living a quite different life after being caught and put on display in an aquarium.

Old maid: In Ms Goldstein's modern rendering of Pocahontas, she watches television alone in a dark room, surrounded only by dozens of cats.

Strong female: Aladdin's love interest Jasmine is depicted as a modern warrior carrying a huge gun in the middle of a war zone. A bit politically incorrect but it could happen.