The wisdom in kiddy movies

My daughter has been listening to music from the age of seven months. Seven months in the womb that is. So you could call her a bit of a pro. Apart from my rather plebian tastes (Cranberries, Corrs etc) she has also listened to the classical maestros. So you could safely infer that music moves her. And now, at age four, it moves her enough to want to know more.

“Do re mi — What’s Do re mi?” her query to my husband explaining the notes led to an inevitable resolution: a communal watching of The Sound Of Music, a movie about a captain who in the despair of his better half’s demise, banishes music from his life and heart. Later, it comes back to him, through the singing of his children…. taught by their governess, a former nun. And he falls for the lady who has brought the music back into his life. She, in turn, realises that she must face up to her demons and not run from them — loving a man does not necessarily mean loving God less. I’ve lost count of how many times I watched this film, growing up. Because it highlighted a certain truth — and emphasised self belief.

Ever think of legacies — how uncanny it is that sometimes, without any planning, you find yourself reliving childhood passions through present-day triggers — a book, a film, a tune — that your offspring now subscribes to. Fanning both buried memories and wonder at the circle of life. Often, that custodian of joy you’re reliving with your child isn’t high art. The simplest of stories capture a baby’s attention, and often it is these that harbour powerful profundities — not just for children, but for us all.

Revisiting the animated film, The Lion King, about a father’s love and a son’s rites of passage, it struck me with renewed force how, as much as it is about colourful visuals and exotic animals, the movie is also about finding conviction of self — evil is a fact of life, it can come to us from those we hold closest, ie, family. To overcome evil, it is necessary to look within, as the lion cub ultimately did. He regained his tribe and his truth by becoming the king he was ‘inside’.

Belief makes big things happen. Especially self-belief in a doubting world. Is the emphasis on the power of belief in this Western animation quite so different from the teachings in the Upanishads: You are what your deep driving desire is?

Self-belief is also the core theme in Kung Fu Panda, the modern-day tale of a tubby teddy who finds himself through martial arts. Not being a movie from long ago that I was revisiting, I confess I wasn’t too thrilled about sitting through a story about Kung Fu with my daughter. Even if it was about a panda learning Kung Fu. That is, till I actually watched it. And then, in a roly-poly bear’s journey of self discovery, that my little one obviously was much taken up with, I too picked up a few precious partakings. Sample: Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. But today is a gift, that is why it is called The Present.

Certainly (and without irony) today is a gift. I figure one could do worse than sharing moments/creating memories with one’s offspring watching a film or two. Especially when that film highlights revelation as central theme — a revelation not confined to the character onscreen, but extending to oneself, delighting in yesterday-once-more, even as feeding the tomorrow-to-follow of a child’s psyche.    

— Gauri Sinh parents a four-year-old human and a 10-year-old canine. She also happens to edit DNA After Hrs