All through this series we have been analyzing some cuestionable family movie tropes and the different way in which they might appear. Considering the educational aspects of my posts, I have decided to conclude this series with a summary of all of them. So today, in the Pastures of Knowledge, I will provide a summary of the Millstone Revival series.
Chapter One: The Self Acceptance Message
What is the Self Acceptance Message?
+ This message consists in the following premises:
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
What is the Little Brother of the Self Acceptance Message?
+ The little brother of the self acceptance message is the acceptance message.
+ In this message, you are encouraged into non-discrimination and are told to accept others.
+ The acceptance message is not evil per se. It's just that it is everywhere and therefore it becomes the only value for society.
What are it's different variants?
+ In some self acceptance movies, our protagonist is forbidden from doing something they like. They learn to accept themselves for what they like and make others to accept them.
+ In other self acceptance movies, our protagonist is discriminated against. The character learns to accept itself and teaches others to accept them. It's about accepting what you are.
What's Wrong with them?
+ One shouldn't "accept themselves" if what they are doing is evil. One shouldn't "accept themselves" if they are corrupted / evil.
+ In short: You shouldn't just "be yourself" if you are evil. It's better to be the best version of yourself. Whatever is evil within yourself is not sanitized because it comes from yourself.
+ The be yourself message can be used to teach good things (Ie., the value of not being a hypocrite) but that doesn't mean it's the only way of teaching this values.
Chapter Two: The Good Villains
What is a Good Villain?
+ A Good Villain is a what happens when a character who would otherwise be an antagonist, is the protagonist of our story.
What is Wrong with a Good Villain?
+ There's nothing wrong with a redemption story, but the following tend to appear in this films:
+ They are used to introduce the be yourself message
+ Many feed into the idea that if you have a sad backstory, you have an excuse to engage in evil. This mentality is used in real life to protect criminals, independently of their will to redeem themselves.
+ Some show villainy as something fun and cool. While the kids will not necessarily become cartoon villains after watching "The Minions", they might become nihilists who believe there's no distinction between good and evil.
What are it's Different Variants?
+ The Symbolical good villain is when our character is a common symbol of evil (ie., a dragon) but behaves in an acceptable way.
+ The Acceptance Good Villain is when our character was corrupted due to discrimination. The redemption arc often involves learning to socialize.
+ The Discordian Good Villain is a character who is just evil and we are supposed to think that their evil is funny.
Chapter Three: Villain Songs
What is a Villain Song?
+ A villain song is a song were a malevolent, antagonistic character sings about themselves and their motivations.
What's Wrong with Villain Songs?
+ In some villain songs, the antagonist try to justify themselves, making excuses for their behavior that sometimes land very well.
+ Some villain songs are glorified power fantasies that make their motivations enticing and convincing.
+ Other villain songs glorify evil, because they consist on a villain boasting about their malice.
Chapter Four: Lowbrow Moments
What is a Lowbrow Moment?
+ A lowbrow moment is any moment that includes a reference / joke about reproduction.
What are some of the movies that have taken the Lowbrow Moments too Far?
+ Bee Movie, Penguins of Madagascar, Show Dogs 2018, Zootopia.
Which Movies have glorified toxic / questionable relationships?
Belle and the Beast, K-Pop Demon Hunters.
Chapter 5: Toxic Environmentalism
What is Toxic Environmentalism?
+ Toxic Environmentalism is when one tries to defend the planet and it's biomes using false ideas, or uses environmentalism as an excuse to exercise hatred for other humans.
How does it Manifests Itself?
+ It manifests itself in those movies were pagan entities will help save the planet, or when pagan entities must be saved from pollution.
+ It manifests itself in those movies were mankind is portrayed as the beacon of unredeemable evil.
+ It manifests itself in those movies were every single tribe in existence is conformed by elf-like people who live in perfect harmony with nature and no tribulations, till the point when its almost laughable.
Chapter 6: Pagan and Occult Themes
What is Paganism?
+ Any religion is pagan that:
1: Worships multiple gods (polytheism).
2: Worships gods that are not omnipotent or whose omnipotence depends on something else.
3: Worships gods that dwell within nature, or are one with nature.
4: Worships ancestors or items on the natural world (stones, trees, animals)
How does it manifest itself?
+ Any films where the story happens in a pagan world:
1: With multiple different gods
2: With an energy that dwells within things
3: Where the gods are not omnipotent
4: And when one can be spiritually guided by ancestors, stones, plants, etc.
What is The Occult?
+ Esoteric religions are those whose doctrines remain hidden or secret. Some of this are also secret societies.
+ I am also counting here religions that indulge in magic (the using of mysterious forces) like Wicca and Voodoo.
+ Sometimes their practitioners mix different forms of esotericism.
+ Some examples of esoteric groups involve the Kabbalah, the Ordo Templi Orientis, Freemasonry, Theosophy, Anthroposophy and some Satanic associations.
How Does It Manifest Itself?
+ It manifests itself through symbols; sometimes they are naked to the eye, sometimes they require attention, and sometimes they are so subtle that only the initiates can see them.
Chapter 7: Feminism
What is Femenism?
+ Feminism is any movement that seeks to protect women's welfare in an unseemly way, or due to the influence of false ideas.
How Does it Manifest Itself?
+ Some films are not about feminism, but contain some femenist ideas / undertones.
+ Other films use the be yourself blueprint as a way of explaining femenist ideas. The character does something they like against the expectations of society.
+ Many films include overpowered girl bosses, downplaying the non-female characters as the film focus, exclusively (and often very poorly) on how powerful the girls are. Many of this girl bosses can be said to be horrible people.
Conclusion
It's very important to be careful with movies. They're often not written with out best interests in mind.
But most importantly, it is necessary to take proper care of your children and your soul at all costs.
+ Do not be too harsh with your children, or else they will rebel against you. Even in those things you got right. Humiliations, comparisons with other siblings, and sarcastic comments must be avoided.
+ It's not okay to ban things that were never forbidden by the Church (like going to theme parks or playing videogames) for the sake of an attempt at austerity. Be austere with yourself first before banning everything.
+ Do not be too weak with your children. Put them limits and they will grow up to follow those limits. Pampering a child into weakness it's also a form of neglect, and you won't even like the final result.
+ Be clear with the instructions you give, and explain the motivations behind them.
+ If you socially isolate (no friends outside the family structure) your child for "Homeschooling", you are a bad parent. Your children can meet other children at parks / extracurriculars.
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