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The Wonka Manifesto
Sweet Activism for Young Marxists
My memories have started to become slightly less Technicolor
as I approach 35/40/45.
I used to ponder the origin of
my community activism, but in retrospect it was
no accident. When I was 10, my mother dragged
me into the night to make "get
out the vote" calls for
the Democrats. It's hereditary.
However, the more interesting theory
goes like this: my dad takes me to
see Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and
I walk out an fully-formed activist. This later
leads to my enrolling in USC's film school, and
later still in learning the shadowy dance called
marketing.
For a six year old, Willy Wonka
and the Chocolate Factory was
more inspiring than any 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 justifiable suffering of overeating,
gum-chewing, spoiled rotten, television-addicted,
rule-breaking ogres...or a magical chocolate
factory, whichever you prefer.
While watching a film is inherently
passive (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 sweetly delivered that it's
difficult to
imagine
a more perfect vehicle for a malleable young
mind. And my brain squishy when I was
young.
There is no reason for unhappiness
in the Wonka World. Roald Dahl (yes, I read the
book as well) shows that
a) people cannot escape
their basic nature
b) temptation is ever-present
b) greed isn't necessarily
a bad thing
c) if they don't give you a
song to sing, you will end up grossly deformed
and purple.
UPDATE: 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 through
the roof of established norms and mores in a
glass elevator?
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