LET CHILDREN ENJOY THE FAIRYTALE

Age Appropriate Movies...

It was a Wednesday evening and a friend who was visiting me at my office strong armed me into going to see a movie with her at the cinema. Anyone who is an Abuja resident understands the rush, traffic and crowd that pile up to the cinema on Wednesday, mostly because the cost of viewing movies is slashed by 50% and you get free popcorn and a soda.  Much as I loathed the crowd on such days, I decided to do a little movie schedule search online before we left. I wanted to check to see the movies showing that week, the time, running time, and watch the attached short movie teasers. We decided on seeing the movie “Jupiter Ascending”. I found it was a sci-fi movie showing at 7:05pm about whimsical beings, with the different planets of the universe battling for supremacy and ultimately romance between a human female and a winged extra-terrestrial male. 

The movie seemed to suit our moods and so we began the painstaking traffic laden journey to the cinema complex. After battling it out on the road, we arrived the ticketing stand at 7:00, bought two tickets and all but dashed through the popcorn vending point and into the theatre. By the time we found a seat and settled in it was 7:13pm. Thank God for small miracles that cinemas in Nigeria always start a little late and almost always lead off with previews. I bet they put into cognizance our tendency for using the “African Time” excuse of always getting to places later than stated. 

Thirty minutes into the movie a family walked into the theatre with two children. One looked about 3 years old and the other, maybe 8 years old. At first I thought their entry distracting as they made huge shadow-like reflections on the white projected wall of the cinema and I had to duck this way and that way in an attempt to be able to see the screen. While they looked around for a seat, they chose the row right in front of us and settled in. just as I was silently cursing my ill luck of sitting behind whiny and fidgety kids, the characters in the movie were engrossed in an intense lip lock and were all gooey eyed and just then a host of scary evil villains attack them. And immediately my eyes darted to the kids seated in front when I could almost hear one of them flinch. And all of a sudden I began feeling bad for them.

I remember as kids, we had to struggle to sneak into the sitting room, and then hide behind sofas as the adults watched videos like Nneka the snake girl, Ayamatanga and Anaconda. And when i got to watch Michael Jackson’s Thriller video for the first time, despite the fact that I hid my eyes behind my palms, I remember still getting really scared. And I remember having bad dreams at night for years because of the scenes I had watched. So I worried for these children who were more or less seeing a movie that wasn’t age appropriate. And then my worry switched to anger for the adults who brought them in. Did they not read the age rating? And if they had somehow missed that, what about the cinema security? Didn’t they see them walk in? 

I itched to lean over and ask the parents why they chose an inappropriate movie to bring their kids to, but with the way modern Nigeria doesn’t take too well with any kind of criticism, I decided to mind my business. But since then my palms had been itching to pen something down about this, perhaps parents will learn to pay more attention to the 'Parental Guidance' and age ratings of movies.

It is quite simple, if a movie specifies the age restriction for viewers, it is best we obey it. I for one am still scarred by some unpleasant scenes I saw as a child and these thoughts sneak up on me at unplanned moments, seizing me with fear. And I am an adult, so you can imagine what that may do to kids. Allow children to be children, let them enjoy the fairy tale of life before they are forcefully tossed into living the harsh reality of life. Let them enjoy their innocence while they still have it.

Let them gobble up the simplicity of Spongebob, or the dreamy princess life of Snow White and Cinderella. And then gently introduce them with sound teaching and guidance the ways to go about life. Don't let movies be their first teacher before you get the chance to put them through yourself.

As a famous Vin Diesel quote says... 

"Protect your innocence... 
Our innocence allows us 
to do what the practical mind prohibits"

SOULS THAT NEVER GROW OLD

I read with so much mirth today’s newspaper which had a picture of the “Stiletto race” in India sponsored by the women fashion brand- Elle, to mark the International Women’s Day celebration. It wasn’t so much the funny shot of a lady tipping over in her high heeled shoes but yet remained persistent in reaching the finish line that caught my attention. It was however the subliminal message of women as resilient, valiant, strong and determined to achieve life’s goals amidst hardship that registered with me.

The picture uniquely captured the very essence and soul of a true woman. She is expected to work like a horse, while still looking impeccable and well put together. The imagery of using stilettos to race I believe might have been to show that as uncomfortable as high heels are, a woman wears it as though it was all effortless. She straightens her back, squares her chin and carries herself through this difficult life while looking graceful.

This got me to thinking about the rather ever youthful mindset of women. Though we deal with a myriad of things in the course of our lives, we never seem to tire of giving love nor do we become soulless. And in the grand scheme of things, no matter how much we lose, we are always looking for someone or something to give love to. It’s our blessing and our curse.

Women nurture, birth, cater to, love, feed, and in all these, we do it with a smile. It’s as though we have a will of steel. Being called the fairer sex, I believe has more to do with our ability to show and give love more than the assumption that we are by virtue of their physical composition, weaker than our male counterparts.

Therefore, I dedicate this piece to all women in the world, especially those who have seen so much bitterness, sadness, loss and pain and still yet retained their joy.  In a world that is constantly trying to put women down, segregate, oppress, plunder and pillage its fairer sex, I send this out as a shout of encouragement to all who still stand strong.

To my grandmothers, Dah and Mama Kafanchan who is always full of life and still imitates the way I danced as a kid, I celebrate your joie de vivre today and always. 

To my mother, Momma Jates who’s my pillar and chief disciplinarian, you are loved beyond measure. 

To my aunties, sisters and cousins who have all played pivotal roles in my life, may the Lord’s mercies be upon you all. 

To my friends, who have become sisters, you make the world go round.

Happy International Women’s Day to me and to all women in the world… God bless

Picture after the cut....

 Photo credit: Google 

                       USA today