Hey Arlie,
A lot of what I've written you so far has been a lot of dour forward looking stuff that I think makes people cry (in a good way? but like still crying) and today I wanted to change that up a bit.
Today, I want to talk about something that Daddy is super-duper passionate about: movies.
Now, movies and Hollywood haven't always been (or perhaps have never been) super positive places for women, but as of a few years ago that's changing. There's a new wave of feminism and cultural shift about that's changing things for the better! And what that means is that throughout your life we're going to have some films that I think will not only help from a general humanist standpoint in your life, but even some that will demonstrate the power of women - which as you may have figured out is something Mom and I want to emphasize a little bit in your life time.
So the following are three movies that we will definitely watch someday:
1. Mad Max: Fury Road
I can see your Mom rolling her eyes already. And probably a few others. Mad Max, the franchise is even named after the male character. But Fury Road is a unique entry in the series in that, the hero is actually Charlize Theron's Furiosa. Max is a minor antagonist turned prisoner of circumstance turned helper of Furiosa's battle against her patriarchal male captors by saving her virginal maiden girls to go to the land of older women. Notice a trend?
One of the best things about this movie is that you will be able to see the way it is sometimes in the world. The men hold the women down, minimize them to roles of childbirth or housekeeping. They cause and create apocalypse. "Then who killed the world?" is asked as a pointed question of the male characters in the film - warlords and their soldier boys, except for Max.
At no point do these women need our titular character either. He plays support the whole way allowing Furiosa's vision and fights to come true and find victory. This film provides something very very very few action movies ever will for you: a bunch of kickass women kicking ass in ways that are distinct to the gender.
-
2. Ratatouille
This might be entirely a list of eye rolls for Mommy. Ratatouille is one of my favorite films of all time, and my favorite animated film. What that means is that, you'll probably see it before you ever read this blog.
People really slept on this movie when it came out, because I think it seems silly to its core. A rat cooking in Paris finds a way to cook in his favorite restaurant. He's considered not enough of a rat by his family, but clearly seen as a pestilent pest in a restaurant. However, he's motivated by the mantra of the film: Anyone can cook.
Here imagine cook is write, sing, play an instrument, earn a degree, be a CEO, astronaut, end world wars, be president, become a self-made entrepreneur, be a fashion model, pop star, social media personality, twitch streamer, game developer, or most appropriately, film director.
And what's more is that the film ends with a character - the critic, imagine that - answering not only the reason critics exist, but the reason that people who would sneer at the idea that anyone can do anything are not only frozen over in their hearts, but the feelings they forget about most in the world, something as simple as sitting down to a homecooked meal in a cheap house made with love, and how meaningful that can be for all of our foundation as people.
This movie is magic, and I can't wait to share that magic with you.
-
3. The Witch
Okay, okay, okay stop. Yes this is a brutal horror movie. Yes I'm probably talking about when Arlandria is like a full grown adult but damn it, I can dream can't I!?
A lot of people look at the horror genre as something that doesn't mix with children. And I agree. Horror is an acquired sense. But we let our kids watch films like Edward Scissorhands and Friday the 13th and Halloween: Requiem (okay I had a messed up child hood, it gave me a taste for horror films (and recurring nightmares for a couple of years - I've talked about it with a therapist (I'm fine I'm fine))).
The Witch is about patriarchy again. I know, Dad kind of has a thin veil of what sort of films you should watch growing up (and as a grown up) but these are the ones that came to mind tonight.
To be fair, the girl at the center of The Witch has a lot more pushed down on her and at far younger an age than most women, but it's something that will touch on religious topics growing up and the like.
Also I guess part of me wants you to really really dislike goats. Because I sure dislike goats more after this movie. And everyone deserves to see the goat scene in this movie.
-
So, now that I've talked a little more positively, let me say that: it's okay if we never watch these movies at all. Maybe you'll like movies like me. Maybe you'll think they are "meh" like Mommy. My point in writing this isn't to talk about specific films that if we never watch I'll never be happy or I'll walk around talking about my failed fatherhood and maligned offspring.
Just maybe, if we never see these movies and you're reading this one day remember: You have a father who since day one has dreamed about the woman you'll be, the influences you'll have, and the culture you'll one day reference with friends in a college dorm room, or with family in a living room.
Also goats. Never trust the goats.
Sincerely,
Dad
