It is very important to be careful with the kinds of movies we let our children consume. Excessive strictness leads to estrangement; while an overtly-permissive attitude opens the door to danger, scandal, and both.
Many parents pat themselves in the back for not letting their kids watch movies with "woke indoctrination". Some of them sign petitions on Life Site News or akin sites whenever Disney makes an attempt to include LGBT people. Many obsess over the skin colour of remake Disney princesses and the personality of their actresses. Others will try to decode hidden occult messages, often assuming that one of the characters is a false Christ-figure.
However, I am yet to see "conservative" influencers actually attempting to dismantle the real problem with some of this films. Instead of focusing on fake moral panics and anti-woke slop you tubers, they should give to this movies a serious analysis.
This would allow them to find whatever might be erroneous on this films, assess the extent of the damage and permit the viewers to find this questionable messages for themselves. So today, in the Pasture of Knowledge, we will discuss one of the most common family movie tropes that should be either questioned or held accountable.
What is the "Self Acceptance" Message?
The most prevalent moral that we can find in family movies is what I call the "Self Acceptance" message, or, alternatively, the be yourself message.
"Be Yourself" is a rather ambiguous frase, but under closer examination I realized that it is a slogan for the following principles:
1: You are perfect just the way you are. Accepting yourself is virtuous.
2: You shouldn't stop doing what gives you happiness / identity for the sake of others.
3: Others should accept you just the way you are and you should accept others just the way they are
Another form of the "be yourself" message is present in those movies that preach acceptance. This is what we find in classic non-discrimination movies for families and adults alike.
The Acceptance message embodies the third principle above as well as the mandate of being kind to others.
The acceptance message, on itself, it's not evil. The only problem is when "accepting" others is the only value we have, or when we are asked to accept evil.
What is Wrong with the "Self Acceptance" Message?
The be yourself message is wrong for the following reasons:
1: Being yourself is evil if you are an evil person. One should never be encouraged to love their defects, but to cleanse them patiently and effectively. Whatever is evil within yourself, is not sanitized because it comes from yourself.
2: It implies others aren't entitled to request a change in your attitude if there is something annoying / concerning about it.
3: The message is repeated on and on until it is the only value people have. Many apply the be yourself message to defend themselves against good condemnations and constructive criticism. The typical example would be the rainbow people, however this can be used to justify any harmful activity.
4: The be yourself message is pushed by the establishment as a way of promoting degeneracy; a degeneracy that they themselves practice and
that is used against us.
Before we continue I would like to point out that the "self acceptance" message is also used to good values, such as:
1: The value of not being a hypocrite (albeit to be fair some people are not hypocrites because they are just evil)
2: The value of not obsessing over the opinions of others
3: The value of accepting something about yourself that doesn't make you an evil person but still brings discrimination (like being ugly)
The problem comes from false principles being taught together with true values, in a way in which the viewer accepts both the harmful principle and the truth.
Case Studies
It is important for us to be able to find this message on movies. The following movies have the be yourself message and can be used to establish the main ways in which this dictate of modernity is presented to us.
The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid (1989) is a straight forward example of a "be yourself" movie.
It is what I would call a "self acceptance" movie about actions. Here our character isn't allowed to be themselves because they are forbidden from doing something they like.
In the movie we are presented with princess Ariel, a mermaid who longs to visit human society & marry a prince. She is however forbidden from this adventures, since her Father thinks humans are dangerous.
This movies will often present a similar scenario: Our main character who wants to be themselves (by doing something that they like and it's therefore part of their identity), vs another character (often an entire society) who forbids their desires. The plot of the movie will resolve this conflict by allowing the protagonist to be freed from the prohibition and accepted by everyone else.
Ariel makes a contract with a witch and loses her ability to speak for a pair of human legs. She has fun with the prince but fails to fulfill her part of the deal. The witch then uses this to steal the prince for herself.
Later she captures the princess and trades her with the King: If Triton sells his kingdom, Ariel will be spared from becoming a depressed seaweed.
Triton sells the kingdom, giving power to the witch who then proceeds to torment the mermaid. However, Ariel is saved by the prince and everything returns to normal. Triton turns his daughter into a human and fulfills her dream. He accepts that his prejudice was rooted on fear and decides that maybe this random prince he barely knows is actually a good person.
The typical ending of a be yourself movies is just like this. The protagonist gets their cake and eats it too. They are allowed to be themselves with little consequences, and with the praise of the people who once limited them. This oppressors then proceed to recognize that they were mistaken, overzealous, or just didn't listen to the protagonist enough.
In this case, the prohibition was partly justified and partly unjustified. It was justified, because the princess was being reckless and naive; and unjustified, because Triton assumed the worse about another species without caring to learn about them.
Therefore, the viewer is given some nuance to partly justify the inner desire of the protagonist. This makes self-acceptance easier to take for audiences, because it's absurdity is not fully portrayed.
Other Movies with "Self Acceptance" by action:
Zootopia
Brave
Turning Red
Frozen
Frozen (2013) is different from The Little Mermaid. We do have two characters that are forbidden from doing stuff, but one of them is forbidden from showing something about their identity to the world.
This is what we can call a "self acceptance message" about being. The movie focuses more and who the character is rather than on what the character wants to do.
Frozen tells the story of Elsa and Anna, two princesses of the magical world of Arendelle. Elsa is able to produce ice from her hands and loves using this ability to play with Anna.
One day, Elsa injures Anna while playing. The princess is taken to a troll healer named Grand Pabby, who tells Elsa that her powers are dangerous. Elsa's parents lose their minds, socially isolate the princesses, and tell Elsa to keep her powers to herself.
As a result Elsa develops a fearful personality and anxiously hides her ability. But as soon as the powers are exposed, she runs away into the mountains. Being finally free to do whatever she wants, Elsa sings Let It Go:
The snow glows white in the mountains tonight
Not a footprint to be seen
A kingdom of isolation, and it looks like I'm the Queen
The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside
Couldn't keep it in, Heaven knows I tried
Don't let them in, don't let them see
Be the good girl you always have to be
Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know
Well, now they know
Let it go, let it go, can't hold it back anymore
Turn away and slam the door
I don't care what they're going to say
Let the storm rage on
The cold never bothered me anyway
It's funny how some distance
Makes everything seems small
And the fears that once controlled me
Can't get to me at all
It's time to see what I can do
To test the limits and break through
No right, no wrongs, no rules for me
I'm Free
Let it go, let it go, I am one with the wind and sky
Let it go, let it go, you'll never see me cry
Here I stand, and here I'll stay, let the storm rage on
My power flurries through the air into the ground
My soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around
And one thought crystallizes like an icy blast
I'm never going back, the past is in the past
Let it go, let it go, and I will rise like the break of dawn
Let it go, let it go, The perfect girl has gone
Here I stand in the light of the day
Let the storm rage on
The cold never bothered me anyway
The rest so of the movie resolves upon Elsa giving a chance to her sister and people to accept her for who she is. She also learns to handle her abilities without hurting anyone.
This is the nuanced territory we talked about previously. It allows the message to be received by the masses without showing the negative conclusions of "being yourself" as an ultimate value.
Other examples of "Self Acceptance" by being:
Hotel Transylvania
The Bad Guys
Shrek
Summary
+ The "Self Acceptance" presents us with false principles (you're perfect just the way you are) with true principles (the opinion of others is of little value). It can be found on multiple movies.
+ Some movies (like the Little Mermaid) present us a character who is forbidden from doing something they like & gives them identity.
+ Some movies (like Frozen) present us a character who is told to hide something about themselves at all costs.
+ Most movies will introduce the message with some nuance. This not only improves the storytelling aspects, but allows the message to be taken at face value without mention of the negative consequences.
Conclusion
In order to prevent the harm from be yourself movies, the following principles should be applied:
+ Explain to children what is the be yourself message, why it is wrong and the simple fact that it is often used to promote decent values, albeit from an erroneous and often deviant worldview.
+ Try to justify all of the rules you give to children. This will make sure they understand why they are given certain instructions and prevent them from not following them whenever they infringe upon their desires.
+ Explain how the protagonists of be yourself movies are able to have their cake and eat it too only because they are written by studios who believe in this messages.
+ Give to your children plenty of wholesome entertainment.
+ Don't shelter your kids beyond what is reasonable or else you are making a breeding ground for a real-life be yourself story.
It is tough to be a parent but as soon as your children come to your life it is your responsibility and you have no choice but to follow it. May God bless you and guide you and your children.
No comments:
Post a Comment