Good intentions

I once toyed with writing a post about how republicans would respond if the movie Dumbo had been released in the last twenty years--unwed mother, underage drinking, positive modeling of hallucinations--but decided against it in light of Dumbo becoming a gazillionaire at the end because of his ability to fly with his ears.  The end of the movie would fit nicely into the republican worldview that being born with a gift most of us don't have (a la the silver spoons in the mouths of Bush the Lesser and Romney) is somehow inherently the fault of the poor bastard living paycheck to paycheck.  After all, if he'd been born with jumbo fucking ears perhaps his life wouldn't have been so miserable.

Ahem.

This is the kind of piece we Liberals write that I hate railing against because a) the author, Alyssa Rosenberg, is most assuredly right, and b) it's a thoughtful and well-written piece.  Still, rail against it I will because it's just another example of Liberals getting off track and looking silly.

Ms. Rosenberg's central thesis is that we should not judge a woman's sexuality by her gender performance, i.e., a woman who enjoys athletics is no more likely to be gay than a woman who enjoys gardening.  A+  for accuracy, right?  Unfortunately, Ms. Rosenberg uses the movie Brave (haven't seen it) as an exemplar of this, mostly in anger from a piece written by some joker from Entertainment Weekly. (Note to Ms. Rosenberg:  People who write for magazines like EW suffer from a common malady known to common folks as "Lack of Brains and Talent"--who starts college thinking, "You know what I want to do when I grow up?  Watch and write reviews of '2 Broke Girls!'"--and it's best to ignore them.)

Look, I'm the parent of a seven-year-old, and now that school is out for the year, the only things he's interested in are the Wii, "Phineas and Ferb," and Legos.  If perchance we take him to see Brave (and we might, it looks entertaining from the nine thousand or so commercials we've seen on The Disney Channel over the course of the last month) the only things he wants is a few laughs, some exciting scenes, a few moments to talk about on the ride home, and his share of the popcorn and soda.  And as a parent, the only thing I'm looking for is a little above average entertainment for our son (or a little cat nap if it's below average) and a little family time with a fun outing that we all recall fondly a few months from now when we're buying the DVD.  Sexuality?  Gender performance?  Fine and wonderful things, but not looking for them in a theater full of kids, mostly ten and under, who are making mental notes for their "What I Did Last Summer" essays when school starts back up in September.  (Note I also have a grown daughter and would feel exactly the same had this occurred when she was seven.)

I appreciate Ms. Rosenberg's passion and intelligence, but sometimes it's best to remember that if something walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck.  And sometimes a children's movie is just that, a children's movie.

Peace,
emaycee