31 May - 6 June 2001
Issue No.536
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 31 May - 6 June 2001 Issue No.536 |
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Limelight
'The child is father of the man'
"Once upon a time," continues to cast its magic spell. Like the slumbering strains of a lazy lullaby, it surfaces now and again, to comfort and delight. Shrek, a children's - animated feature film has broken all previous records at the box office, exceeded only by the Lion King in 1993. Since its creation a century ago, the motion picture industry has targeted children. Animation, the technique of making motion picture cartoons from a series of drawings, rapidly became a favourite medium. The caricature style of exaggerated expressions and emotions proved to be everlastingly appealing, as it is universally pleasing. The first animated long feature film was made in 1937. Snow White is as popular and as perfect today as it was then, standing tall and unblemished in its simple splendour.
What is the secret ingredient behind this enduring success of children's films? It is the adult! Whether or not we are conscious of it, we are all children at heart -- at least those fortunate amongst us. We luxuriate in childhood pleasures as they transport us, sans souci, to magic land. Adults try to "recapture, that once careless rapture" by gleefully joining in their children's fun and frolic. They queue to buy tickets to the circus, the cinema, the theatre. They rush to purchase books and CDs; they fight to grab the toys and memorabilia -- all for the love of a story!
Storytelling is as old as time. Like singing and dancing, it grew out of man's inherent need to express and share his emotions and experiences. Historically, all literature developed from storytelling. It is the very foundation on which the multi billion dollar motion picture industry stands. Though a little known fact, storytelling literally saved film from extinction. Early in its infancy, after a few short years of moving trains and rushing waves, audiences became bored with films and attendance declined. George Méliès, an unknown French magician started to film fairytales, "et voila"! Film was reborn. In a fairytale we endeavour to awaken and nurture the responsive soul of a child, helping it to be on the side of the good, the courageous, the unjustly offended. Kornei Chukovsky, Russian poet - storyteller reflected on the goal of the storyteller: "it consists of fostering in the child compassion and humaneness -- this miraculous ability of man to be disturbed by another being's misfortunes, to feel joy for another being's happiness, to experience another's fate as one's own. Without this, a man is inhuman".
Shrek learns to love...
Having spent a lifetime reading, writing, and telling stories, I know first hand the rewards of teaching a child to participate with concern in the lives of imaginary people, animals, and other creatures. As children we first learn this invaluable ability to feel compassion -- a lesson artfully disguised as a fairytale. The tale that enchants also leaves a deep impression, which we resort to, in later years.
Before books were published, country storytellers travelled from village to village, troubadours sang their songs of unrequited love, and wandering minstrels recounted their tales of courage and honour. The Brothers Grimm collected German folk tales. Hans Christian Anderson thrilled at the villagers' stories. Between them we were introduced to Cinderella, Snow White, The Ugly Duckling, and The Little Mermaid. From Aesop's Fables, to Mother Goose, and The Arabian Nights, stories sprang from every corner of the globe. The telling of tales kept growing and flourishing, as joyful faces and sparkling eyes wept with despair and laughed with glee. Adults continued to reach for their Garden of Eden -- their childhood.
Then came the 20th century. It marked the birth of film! It also marked the birth of one Walter Elias Disney (1901 -- 1966). By 20, he was well on his way to becoming the genius storyteller of the century. His cartoon magic enchanted millions of the young and the young at heart. No one has had more influence on children's education and entertainment as Walt Disney. Who amongst us can deny partaking of the platter of pearls and pleasures that Disney lay before us! Following in his footsteps came Steven Spielberg who gave us E.T, Star Wars, and Indiana Jones thrilling children of all ages. With an eye on Disney hits, his company Dreamworks produced several animated films including Antz, Chicken Run and now Shrek. Shrek is the first complete animated fairy tale, with a twist. Written by William Steig and produced by Jerry Katzenberg, once a member of the Disney Company, it is as hip as it is hilarious. A fat, ugly, angry, green ogre Shrek, eventually learns to love and be loved. The vivacious and frolicsome voices of Mike Myers as Shrek, Eddie Murphy as his companion Donkey, John Lithgow as Prince Farquaad, and Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona, make for rattling rollicking fun. The three-dimensional techniques used by Pacific Data Images in this production, take computer animation to an even higher level, dazzling and delighting all audiences. While adult films may not always be appropriate for children, children's films are always appropriate for adults. Habits that are developed during our childhood, die hard! The more we read to our children, the more likely they will reach out for a book on their own. The more they read, the more they will hunger and thirst for knowledge. Not just general knowledge of scientific facts and places and things, but the knowledge of the heights and depths of the human spirit.
"The child is father of the man", indeed! Wise words borrowed from William Wordsworth, the romantic English poet of the 19th century, are as true today as they were yesterday and will be tomorrow. It is up to us to encourage the child within, allow it to peer out its head again and again, to secretly hide the latest edition of Harry Potter, gape in awe at a circus dare-devil, weep uncontrollably with The Little Mermaid, and laugh hysterically at Shrek. Time may ravage with uncharitable brutality our physical exterior, but it is a far harder task to penetrate our hearts. May the child in us grow and prosper and indulge in childhood fantasies for as long as we live, and beyond.
Jesus said it best -- "Let the little children come to me, and do not forbid them, for of such is the Kingdom of God" (Luke 18:15,16).
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