In late December, or possibly early January, I forget which, I found one of my childhood teddy bears and had some sort of epiphany about a part of myself I had lost.
Specifically, that childlike - note, childlike, not childish - part of myself which can still be innocent.
I've expressed this in the last week or so through a couple of media - Pokémon, and tonight (well, late last night I suppose now technically) the film Ghostbusters.
Ghostbusters is the kind of film they don't really make any more outside of Pixar.
Although there's an undertone of Bill Murray's character basically hitting on anything that moves, that aside, Ghostbusters is that rare film that's just outright daftness.
The concept is insane, the characters are almost all idiots, the whole film is crazy and Bill Murray is clearly riffing on every single line in the script, having the time of his life.
But it all comes together to make a film that's not too dumb for adults and not too smart for kids.
As I said, aside from Murray's hitting on people it's totally innocent on every other level.
There's a kind of purity in that; comedy that's just funny and timeless without needing to be breaking the fourth wall or overly shocking or dating itself with political references.
Speaking of purity, I recently started playing through a borrowed Pokémon Yellow on my Game Boy Colour.
For all the offensive nicknames I gave to both my character and Gary's, Pokémon is totally innocent and even pure in so many ways.
I'm not a huge fan of the depressing Lavender Town (ALL MY POKEMON ARE DEAD), but the game is mainly just about running about doing the quests, raising your Pokémon, having fun with it.
The creator of the game always made sure that there was no blood in the game and no Pokémon die in battle, they only ever faint. He said there was too much violence in the world already and I think there's something quietly beautiful in that.
This appreciation of something childlike is something that can go hand in hand with adulthood and maturity and a personality trait we could all use.
I know I've been missing it for far too long.
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So true!
ReplyDeleteInnocence goes hand in hand with 'ignorance is bliss!'
I think many adults don't think to watch kids films because they are... well... kids films! Forgetting that creators are aware that adults will have to watch it too with their children so there is a lot of humour added in just for adults but also not rude/crude/innapropriate because of the kids! It can be done and it can be funny!
As a child, your experience of life is so rudimentary. Up until I turned 16, I can remember daydreaming in class about video games and cartoons - doing little sketches of Mario and Charizard in battle, while ignoring a lesson on the fundamental principles of Pythagoras' theorem.
ReplyDeleteSince I've been back, I've tried to re-engage with my inner-child. I helped Sky build a Lego tower the other day, but despite her obvious enjoyment, I found it impossible to immerse myself into the experience. A larger part of my brain was dealing with other complexities, other tasks, other responsibilities which never used to be there, but equally will never disappear because of the adult I have become.
Adult life has conditioned us this way, and will further condition us still. I can only hope I will always have some connection to my childhood, however tenuous, before I become a fully-fledged adult with the weight of very real responsbility on my shoulders.