The Lessons that Matter
So I was sitting in bed on an average Friday night, exhausted from a mentally draining day of tests that I’m obsessing over. Too pumped on unnecessary adrenaline, so I sit in front of the TV, and browse through my recordings. And that’s when my fairy tale movie marathon started.
At first, it wasn’t even a relevant observation; I was just idly watching, wondering why I didn’t have a Prince Charming, when it struck me … The lessons that matter are only resounding in the movies of our past.
Take Cinderella for example. It’s a classic tale, about the well used quote, “don’t judge a book by it’s cover”. Who knows, maybe an ordinary kitchen maid/orphan will have more heart and soul than the fancily dressed princess wannabes. And “don’t give up”; even if you’re a mouse and people are intent on crushing you, your size won’t matter if you believe that you can make it.
Beauty and the Beast. Stand for what you believe in, even if the whole town happens to be against someone they view as a monster. Don’t let your judgement be clouded because others cannot look past the fogs of superficial-ness swirling through their heads. Sometimes the right guy is the one secluded in a foreboding mansion in an uninviting forest. Sometimes
the right guy’s outward appearance pales in comparison to the village hearthrob … but the village hearthrob’s a pompous airhead, and your right guy has more heart than him.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Jealousy can spring from the most unlikely people; don’t let it be you. Be mindful not to let materialstic desires take residence of your mind, so much so that you lash out at family. Don’t be a follower, be a leader. Like the Huntsman, grow a conscience and see for yourself that sometimes others, even those you respect and obey, make bad calls, and it’s in your hands to make it right. Help can also come from the most unlikely of sources; seven vertically-challenged men may not seem like a useful ally, but soul over size. Don’t trust strangers; you never know, they could decide to poison you with an apple.
Aladdin. Money can’t always buy happiness. You could be a “street rat”, and still be happy. Maybe all you have is a monkey for a beat friend, but if you remember to count your blessings, you’ll lead a happy life. Also, just because you have all the money in the world doesn’t mean you have reached nirvana. If you’re a caged dove, cooped up for all eternity, take your life into your own hands and go out there. Explore. Live a little. Don’t take things for granted; especially not a genie who bestows 3 wishes. Stick through to your promises, even if you don’t want to; sometimes gaining/keeping a friend is more important than personal satisfaction, even if it is a reward all by itself. Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not; people like you for who you are, no make up or false identities. You can try to impress all you want, but keeping up a charade so that someone doesn’t even know the real you is not a personal gain.
Pocahontas. Race doesn’t matter; skin color is a shallow, surface level seperation that should be taken lightly when judging character. Stereotypes are just that; stereotypes. They loosely encompass a group of people under a broad impression, and not everyone fits under that. Stick with your family, even if you don’t understand their decisions. Parents: don’t try to control your kids life. It’s on their hands, and more often than not, it’ll just backfire on you.
Lilo&Stitch. Family is family. You don’t necessarily need to share chromosomes or blood type to be related. It’s about more than that, a bond, the ability to be 100% yourself with nothing holding you back. Even if you and your family don’t always click, or you feel like one of you doesn’t belong, it’s important to stick by them, because at the end of the day, you only have one family.
Hunchback of Notre Dame. Outward appearances mean nothing in relation to inner character; preconcieved notions about something/someone should be taken with a grain of salt. Everyone is equal, despite of skin colors, accents, religious beliefs, and personal lifestyle. Banning a person/people and consdering them less equal is morally unjust, and those who stand up for what they believe in are true heroes. Friends come in the unlikeliest shape/size, including stone gargoyles that don’t speak to anyone else.
There’s so much more running through my head right now, but the epiphany I had was that even after a lifetime of these movies, of growing up around them, being these characters for Halloween, we are still so oblivious to the messgaes they teach.The variety of life lessons encased in these films is endless and priceless. It’s time we stopped using our eyes to see and started using our ears to listen.
