|
The Wonka Manifesto
Sweet Activism for Young Marxists
My memories have started to become slightly less Technicolor as I approach 40. Thank god for DVDs.
I used to wonder about the origin of my interest in community activism. My mother dragged me into the night to make "get out the vote calls" for the Democrats when I was in grade school, so maybe it's hereditary. The more interesting story goes something like this: my dad takes me to see Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and, bam, I come out an activist.
For a six year old, this film was
more inspiring than any hymn or manifesto. To
paraphrase Mr. Wonka: if the world isn't the
paradise you want it to be, you are the one who
should change it, preferably through well-intentioned
deceit and the suffering of overeating, gum-chewing,
spoiled, television-addicted, rule-breaking ogres.
Or a magical chocolate factory, whichever comes
first.
While watching a film is an inherently
passive activity (vs. declaring at the dinner
table that WE MUST FREE THE PROLETARIAT which
I did at age 12 after reading Marx),
the messages were so softly delivered it's hard
to
imagine
a more perfect vehicle for a malleable young
mind. And, boy, was my brain squishy when I was
young.
There is no reason for unhappiness
in the Wonka World. Surprisingly, I only know
one other person who also thinks like this, and
that bitch can burn in hell. But I digress. Wonka
shows that a) people cannot escape their basic
nature, b) greed isn't necessarily a bad thing,
and c) if they don't give you a song to sing,
you will end up grossly deformed and purple.
I recently bought the widescreen
30th anniversary DVD edition, which has a pristine
film transfer and Dolby 5.1 sound. On watching
the chocolate room sequence, I can say that despite
being surprised by its brevity (perhaps two minutes)
the message still rings as clear as it was on
first viewing. When you create a world where
you can do exactly as you wish (including drinking
from edible buttercups), the world responds with
happiness and song, which is actually pretty accurate.
If you haven't seen the film, I obviously recommend it to you and your children. I gave it as a gift this Christmas to my niece and nephews. Taken as a comment on what awaits one in life, it's as useful as any self-improvement manual or pogo stick. And what is a world without a few young souls brave enough to blow it up?
|
