[thanks imdb.com for the image!]
Loved it.
So we watched it a lot. We liked the peppy music and the tale was fairly engaging, albeit less for the 15th time in the week.
The gist of the story is an eccentric entrepreneur/widower remodels this magical car, and he and his two children (along with a beautiful candy company heiress) end up in a land where children aren't allowed.
The widower's two children get captured by the child catcher
and the father and the pretty lady sneak into the castle, rescue the two main children and free the town's children living under the city.
People who want to live in a world completely without children are portrayed as selfish and juvenile themselves. It's an adorable fairy tale, and like most fairy tales, the premise is ludicrous: early 20th century cars with minds of their own and a world where children "are not allowed"? Preposterous.
Plus, Dick Van Dyke. He makes any movie awesome.
Enter the 21st century and its glimmer of technology and modern thought and prejudice against children.
Haley, of Carrots for Michelmas discusses this issue beautifully. She writes "What I’m talking about is widespread and accepted discrimination against children. Blanket statements such as “I don’t like children” as if the millions of kids all over the world are all exactly the same and simply not to your taste.What I’m talking about are the pushes for child-free restaurants, airplane flights, church services, you name it. The idea that it’s fine to just “not like being around kids” giving you the right to never have to brush shoulders with any of the little beings who may inconvenience you with their messes, laughter, shenanigans, and wonder. "
And she's right. People are annoying, each and every one of us. And little people, with their many questions, and their tiny hands that can't quite reach things but can throw everything, and their trusting, hopeful spirits can be annoying.
I've watched my siblings grow from cuddly babies, to hyper toddlers, to questioning preschoolers, to independent elementary school kids, to pensive junior highers, to changing high schoolers, and now several of them are adults. Adults with personalities, beliefs, and habits that both thrill and annoy me. But they are people--just like they've always been.
We can't demand that we live in a world where a certain segment of the population is cut off from all the rest. We don't want to live in that world, because worlds like that are dangerous, dark places that pull humanity apart.
Every person was a kid once, but not every person is a kid person. Not every person is a people person, or a doctor who wants to treat the sick, nor does every person have a heart for the elderly.
We're differently, uniquely fashioned so that we can contribute towards the good of others in our own way. Children are a part of the tapestry of humanity. Not everyone is called to teach, or to be a pediatrician, or work in some field with the intention of interacting with children every day. But to go through life hoping, rather expecting, not to encounter children is silly.
It would be like going through life hoping to avoid spring because of the bees that came with the blossoms.
Haley also points out what we all know but like to forget--where there is a child, there is a parent. And most parents work to make sure their little hellions are darlings at least some of the time. Work to teach them manners and how to be upright citizens.
I don't expect the entire world to adore my child the way I do. I only expect the world to embrace my child as a citizen of humanity. As a tiny of piece of the continuing human race. I'm sure he will be annoying many times in life--just as I am annoying many times a day. I'm sure he will do, say, or even smell in a way that causes others comfort level to fluctuate. It's part of living outside a bubble.
I work hard to make sure my baby isn't screaming in public, sporting a stinky diaper, or being a general menace. I'll worker harder (and with fewer good results, I'm sure) to see that my toddler enacts as minimal destruction as possible. I probably won't arrive at a fine dining establishment with my baby in tow--because he can make less expensive messes elsewhere. But my son will appear in the public eye--on airplanes, in weddings, and in church. And during these times, I will teaching him just how to be human, and how to serve and love others.
But please, from a mother, a lover of people, and as someone who observes humans' various tics every day, let's not create a second, childfree society. Let's not take it upon ourselves to ban children from flights, churches, weddings, and restaurants just because we don't like them or because they are inconvenient. Let's not encourage a behavior that seeks to distance children from society as much as possible.
Let's encourage each other to be polite. Let's examine ourselves for our own poor mannerisms. Let's turn a kind gaze on those who work so hard in the name of good, responsible parenting.
No comments:
Post a Comment