harbarger theory:

love can change us

Wendy and I went to see Maleficent in the theater, believing that it's the kind of movie that is best seen on the BIG screen, not just the big screen that we have in our home.  We were right.  

Of course, after being spoiled by movie prices in the Athens, Ohio area ($4 for all movies ... and FIRST RUN movies too! ... at Movies 10 near Nelsonville!!) we had some sticker shock at the theater prices.  WOW!!  But, that's another blog at another time ... or not.

Let me start with a confession.  I'm not a big Disney fan.  The movies are alright and some are even fun (Jungle Book   - for the music, Aladdin - for Robin Williams as the Genie), but this one was powerful!  Angelina Jolie brought her A game, I think and the Elle Fanning held her own quite well!  The story line was really good, too.

Maybe it's the story lines that bother me about the "Princess" Disney movies.  They are all about damsels in distress that NEED a man/boy to rescue them, or they are willing to give up who they are and what they have so they can have a boyfriend.  That story line really, really bothers me.  I'm all about self-sacrifice, but ... to get a boyfriend?  I don't think so.

But, this was not about getting a boyfriend.  It was about love, ambition, betrayal, anger, revenge, redemption and true love.  Powerful stuff and real-life stuff.  I liked it.  I liked it a lot!! Especially for a Disney movie!

And, here's the crux.  Love can change us.  

SPOILER ALERT!  

At the end, when Aurora, on her sixteenth birthday pricks her finger on the spinning wheel and falls into the sleep (after all, this is the story of Sleeping Beauty), the only thing that can awaken her is "True Love's Kiss."  So, they bring in a boy upon whom she has a crush.  He kisses her.  Nope.  Nothing.  Nada.  Bupkes.  She is still asleep.  So, they (and we) all assume that all is lost and Aurora will sleep forever.

Because Aurora was not afraid of Maleficent like everybody else, she has spent a lot of time with Maleficent in the Moors.  And Maleficent has come to know and actually love Aurora for who she is.  Therefore, Maleficent is taken apart by the effect of her own spell that even she cannot undo.  The one ... the only one ... whom she loves is hopelessly possessed by a powerful spell that leaves her asleep.  

Maleficent is distraught, overcome, beside herself.  She is undone.  So, in the midst of pledging to protect Aurora forever with a fierceness that makes you hope YOU never unwittingly threaten Aurora, Maleficent kisses Aurora with a tearful kiss ... and the spell is broken.

The spell wasn't broken because Aurora needed a boyfriend ... or even a dashing prince.  The spell was broken because someone who was committed to hate and revenge found herself loving someone.  The spell was broken.  But not by a boyfriend ... or a mother ... or a father ... but by a stranger who had come to love this one she hated.  Love changed Maleficent and when she kissed Aurora, she kissed with "True Love's Kiss" and broke the spell.

Now, I realize that the problems in the Middle East and among races and across religious divides are as dense, thorny and impervious as the thorn wall that Maleficent put up to protect the Moors where the Fairies lived.  Nothing seems strong enough or tough enough to take the wall down.  

But, I believe that a long campaign of love can and will defeat hatred and revenge.  There will be casualties.  There always are.  It will not happen quickly.  It never does.  But, do we want to change the world and ... really change it?  We do it with love.  Love can change us.

So, let us wage a lifelong campaign of love in this world.  Love the people you meet (whether they deserve it or not).  Love the people in your household (whether they deserve it or not).  Love yourself (whether you deserve it or not).  Love God (who actually DOES deserve it!).  If you have a choice (and we always do) ... choose love.  ALWAYS CHOOSE LOVE.

Love changed Maleficent.  Love has changed me.  Love can change the world. 

harbarger theory: love can change us