Isaac absolutely loves the movie Wizard of Oz. I first began showing short clips of it in order to get him to sit still so I could cut his nails. Soon he was 'grooving' to the music and laughing at the silly characters ... except the Wicked Witch of the West. The apprehension was visible and he'd curl up holding his blanket and sit still as a stone until she went away.
It is for that reason that Kent and I have never shown him the ending. We get to the Emerald City, the Lion sings his song about being king of the forest and CUT!!! It sounds silly, but how does one introduce the concept that there is good and evil in the world. More than that, how do you teach it and still nurture the childlike faith in God/goodness.
Our Family Home Evening lessons have focus on that a little. Isaac was captivated as we told him the stories of David and Goliath, Moses and the Egyptians and parting the Red Sea. These were the things I remembered as a child helping me to understand that there is evil, but that good in the end (even if it is only in the eternities) will always triumph. While the Wizard of Oz is by no means on the same level, it would be the first visual (beyond just pictures) of that eternal battle. So we gave him a prep talk and 'binkified and blankified' him for the worst of it and I was surprised how well he took it all.
The dearest part of all was to see the soft heart in my son when Dorothy said goodbye to all her friends from Oz. He actually shed tears silently. How I pray his heart will forever remain that tender and sweet no matter what life brings.
Wow, he understands a lot, huh? Litlle H is not too far from your son's age, but I think his complihension is not as good as your son. Well, I do not show him movie nor TV much so he doesn't show intereste to TV screen much. His interest is still everything he can tuch.hahaha. I am impressed how smart your son is!!!!
ReplyDeleteI'll just break up my thoughts:
ReplyDelete- so cool that you have family nights!
- I get the good vs. evil thing. We've gotta teach it: it's good for them, it's essential and healthy. But how? And how intensely, how vividly, how soon? There's a fabulous book, Sacred Romance, which talks about the essential God story being present in all captivating fiction. I'm telling you, I watch Disney in a new light now.
- I, like an idiot, took Noah and Jared to see Prince Caspian last year (on Jared's birthday!) I thought, "PG means no sex, no language, no blood, so we're good." Ha. PG is no G. It was dark and violent, and Noah was great. In the (to me, intense and scary) scene where the White Witch's ice shatters, Noah cheered! It was amazing. These little ones catch on so well, though, that I end up second-guessing what all to expose them to.