I look around at my nice, but small, one bedroom apartment and think wtf? Belle and I are essentially the same people. We are both bookworms that wanted something more in life than our tiny, hum-drum towns. We both like animals, and like to sing, and are seen as a little odd to most people who don't understand us. So how is it that Belle ended up with the handsome prince, the gigantic castle with a ridiculous library, and a fabulous wardrobe, and I ended up with this one bedroom apartment and the only bookcase I could get to fit in here?!
Oh yeah, she is a cartoon and I live in the real world. Well, Belle can have the real world with its silly realities, and not-so-happy endings. I want my over-the-top ballgown and a romantic waltz with the Beast-Prince. Why are our childhoods corrupted with cartoons that fill us with false hope of a false reality? These cartoons mold us to expect a fairytale with princes, and music, and magic. We grow up playing princess dress-up and holding tea parties for our enchanted friends and dreaming of balls and castles. But oh how harsh reality wanders in! Castles turn to one bedroom apartments, ballgowns turn to jeans, and the Beast-Prince turns to a mortal male who can sometimes act quite beastly.
I am a woman who fulfills my girlhood fantasies by continuing to wear Halloween costumes and reading romance novels when I am bored. Sadly, this is as close to Belle's life as I am going to get. If I have children, I do not know if I will let my children watch Disney movies. Why risk making them go through the same crushing reality I went through? Perhaps I will let them watch movies that are still fantastical, but contain more realistic aspects like The Mummy. Sure, this movie is about an archaeologist and a soldier who raise an evil mummy from the dead, but when my daughter begins to realize real life isn't truly as adventurous as this movie, I can at least say, "Hey, you can always be an archaeologist, and I know some soldiers I can introduce you to."
Oh yeah, she is a cartoon and I live in the real world. Well, Belle can have the real world with its silly realities, and not-so-happy endings. I want my over-the-top ballgown and a romantic waltz with the Beast-Prince. Why are our childhoods corrupted with cartoons that fill us with false hope of a false reality? These cartoons mold us to expect a fairytale with princes, and music, and magic. We grow up playing princess dress-up and holding tea parties for our enchanted friends and dreaming of balls and castles. But oh how harsh reality wanders in! Castles turn to one bedroom apartments, ballgowns turn to jeans, and the Beast-Prince turns to a mortal male who can sometimes act quite beastly.
I am a woman who fulfills my girlhood fantasies by continuing to wear Halloween costumes and reading romance novels when I am bored. Sadly, this is as close to Belle's life as I am going to get. If I have children, I do not know if I will let my children watch Disney movies. Why risk making them go through the same crushing reality I went through? Perhaps I will let them watch movies that are still fantastical, but contain more realistic aspects like The Mummy. Sure, this movie is about an archaeologist and a soldier who raise an evil mummy from the dead, but when my daughter begins to realize real life isn't truly as adventurous as this movie, I can at least say, "Hey, you can always be an archaeologist, and I know some soldiers I can introduce you to."
Chel. letting your kid watch The Mummy is a horrible idea. That movie gave me nightmares for weeks. and I was already 10 when that movie came out.
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