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| 1 | I am a romantic idealist. I never thought I'd label myself as such. But I cannot be in denial any longer. I am what I am. Now that I have come to grips with this fact about myself I am presented with the question: why? As I explore this endless, age-old question it's amazing to discover how something that seemed rather harmless and uninfluential as a child can suddenly be connected so strongly to my thinking as an adult. |
| 2 | This phenomenon seems to be the case with a Disney movie entitled Sleeping Beauty. The story itself is a relatively simple one. There is the ancient dilemma of good versus evil. There is a beautiful princess and a prince who find their love unattainable due to some outside force. And, of course, a fairy tale could not be complete without a happy ending in which everyone lives "happily ever after." This is the basic formula for most stories of this kind. However, there are some ideas in this film that after watching it at least a hundred times, can be very influential in a young girl's life. |
| 3 | One such idea is that good and evil are easily identifiable in the world and good always wins over evil. In this film the fairies are not simply fairies but they are "the three good fairies:" and the evil protagonist is called Maleficent. The bad creatures look bad and the good creatures look good. At the end of the movie all the evil in the world is destroyed and good triumphs. These are the types of idealistic views that have tainted my perspective on lift: since I was old enough to understand the concepts of the world. Although I don't believe myself to be a blind idealist, I do tend to be too optimistic in regards to the good always winning in the world. |
| 4 | This excess of optimism has become apparent in the times when I haven't fought back when I was wronged because I would assume they would get paid back eventually. In my mind bad can never truly win in the long run. This type of attitude can be an asset in some instances, but oftentimes it can cause many problems. |
| 5 | One area in my life that this trait has caused problems is at my work. There is a man there who does small errands for the entire city. One of his jobs is to stock our lunchroom. I decided that we finally needed to invest in some sponges. I asked him politely to pick some up when he made his monthly visit to the store. He flatly refused. There was a bit of conversation between us about the subject before finally I gave up. I decided it wasn't worth it. I assumed he would have to get the sponges someday and if he continued with this type of attitude he would be fired. Of course, a lot of time has passed since this incident and he still works there. His behavior has not changed and he continues to treat everyone just as badly. This is just a small example, but it illustrates nicely how I always think karma will visit people and how I am continually disappointed when it doesn't. I believe the movie Sleeping Beauty influenced my attitude in this regard. |
| 6 | The biggest influence, however, is the romantic aspect of the movie. There are three romantic ideals that are emphasized: true love conquers all, love at first sight, and "they lived happily ever after." These three ideals have had a profound and lasting effect on the way I view love in my own life and how I feel it should he expressed by others. |
| 7 | The first of these ideals is true love conquers all. This is how I feel love should be. Unrealistic, yes, but nevertheless what I desire. I want my true love to give up everything, defy all rules, cross all boundaries, even move mountains to love me. That is how I want to be in love. If we are truly in love things such as: age, ideas, and being ready should not be an issue because true love overcomes such minor things as these. As I write this I realize how completely ridiculous this romantic notion sounds, but it is honestly how I think. |
| 8 | After comparing these notions to Sleeping Beauty the connection becomes very clear. These views of love are presented in the movie that I watched extensively as a child. The words "true love conquers all" are used in the first scene of the movie when one of the fairies is bestowing her gift on the child. True love is said to be the only thing that can break the curse of the evil Maleficent. Prince Philip defied his father and was ready to renounce his throne to marry what he thought was a peasant girl. Scenes like this are sewn into the entire story line of this movie and are clearly connected to my romantic notions mentioned earlier. |
| 9 | Another connection is the idea that it is possible and preferable to fall madly in love at first sight. Again, my logical side shouts "ridiculous!" but my emotional side secretly craves this type of romance. I want instant attraction and instant love. I want to know that we are meant to be, even before I know his name, just like it was in the movie. I want to feel immediately safe and comfortable and lean my head on his shoulder and then proceed to ask him what his name is. This, of course, is the extreme side of my views but I write them here to emphasize the point that I want love at first sight. In the film, Briar Rose meets her prince in the woods by accident and after dancing with him for less that a minute they are in love. In my romantic, idealistic mind this is what I want. |
| 10 | The third romantic ideal laid out in this film is that "they live happily every after." Anyone with any real sense would know this to be completely insane. It's impossible for these two teenagers who don't even know each other to "live happily ever after." Yet, the ending scene of the movie where the princess and her prince dance away into the clouds is so compelling that it makes this silly notion believable and desirable. I have incorporated this idea into my life unknowingly. In the deep recesses of my emotional mind I do believe this to be true. |
| 11 | As I innocently watched this movie in my younger years I was completely unaware that this entertaining cartoon would come to affect my thinking to this extent. In fact, before sitting down to write this I was oblivious to the connections, but they are very apparent now. This movie has had a large role in turning me into what I never thought I could be: a romantic idealist, and damn proud of it.
Nominated by Dr. Bradley Stiles, Writing Instructor
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