While working in circulation today at the O.P. Library I had a patron come in and give me some dvds to check in. I noticed in her stack were a couple of different Faerie Tale Theatre episodes. Perhaps you know what I am talking about. I grew up on their campy splendor. If you were not so fortunate, it's not too late to experience this early eighties renaissance of fairy-tale reenactment. It's hosted by that big-eyed Shelly Duvall and has all kinds of well known actors playing the title roles. I mean, there's Jeff Goldblum as the "Big Bad Wolf", Jean Stapleton as "The Giant's Wife", Matthew Broderick as Cinderella's baby-face "Prince Charming", etc. Anyway, you've got the idea.
So I had to comment:
"My gosh! I love these shows. I remember checking these out on VHS from our library while I was growing up. My mom actually just bought all the episodes on dvd a couple Christmases ago. I am so glad there are other people that check these out from their local library."
She said:
"This is actually the first time I have seen them before. In fact, I only got to see one of them. I got them for a friend of mine who will not watch anything but G-rated movies.”
I paused and thought about how that bugs me when people decide to make being a Mormon harder than it needs to be; and I thought about how it irritates me even more when they make a big self-righteous deal of their asceticism.
Then I replied:
“Huh…well, Faerie Tale Theatre is about the best taste in G-rated material around. So well done on finding this undiscovered treasure.”
She smiled, sort of:
“Yeah. I really like the one I saw. It was kind of fun but she told me that most of them had a lot of innuendo kind of stuff that was pretty bad and she doesn’t want me to get anymore.”
Me:
Her:
“I mean she thought it was pretty suggestive.”
At this point all I can think of is: What in the HELL is she talking about? She might as well say that my whole childhood has been subtly polluted with perverse ideas and images. Who does this lady think she is making such claims? She’s worse than those over-analytical types you get in English class who make the shade of a tree in a story to be some metaphor of death approaching. Before I got too far I made my response:
“Well…that is wild. I guess…you know…gosh, that never Ever occurred to me. But there’s people that say that stuff is in Disney movies. Er…”
Her:
“Oh well…there is.”
Me: Huh?
Her:
“Thanks for your help.”
Me:
“Uh yeah. Have a good one….”
When she left I realized:
So I had to comment:
"My gosh! I love these shows. I remember checking these out on VHS from our library while I was growing up. My mom actually just bought all the episodes on dvd a couple Christmases ago. I am so glad there are other people that check these out from their local library."
She said:
"This is actually the first time I have seen them before. In fact, I only got to see one of them. I got them for a friend of mine who will not watch anything but G-rated movies.”
I paused and thought about how that bugs me when people decide to make being a Mormon harder than it needs to be; and I thought about how it irritates me even more when they make a big self-righteous deal of their asceticism.
Then I replied:
“Huh…well, Faerie Tale Theatre is about the best taste in G-rated material around. So well done on finding this undiscovered treasure.”
She smiled, sort of:
“Yeah. I really like the one I saw. It was kind of fun but she told me that most of them had a lot of innuendo kind of stuff that was pretty bad and she doesn’t want me to get anymore.”
Me:
Her:
“I mean she thought it was pretty suggestive.”
At this point all I can think of is: What in the HELL is she talking about? She might as well say that my whole childhood has been subtly polluted with perverse ideas and images. Who does this lady think she is making such claims? She’s worse than those over-analytical types you get in English class who make the shade of a tree in a story to be some metaphor of death approaching. Before I got too far I made my response:
“Well…that is wild. I guess…you know…gosh, that never Ever occurred to me. But there’s people that say that stuff is in Disney movies. Er…”
Her:
“Oh well…there is.”
Me: Huh?
Her:
“Thanks for your help.”
Me:
“Uh yeah. Have a good one….”
When she left I realized:
My gosh! I need to start reading up and learning how to uncover all the things around me that could be perceived as something abominable or perverted. If I could learn to do that, no doubt my life would be filled with joy and I would become so much more receptive to the honest, good and chaste things of the world.
9 comments:
It really scares me to think what would happen if your patron's friend were to read the Brother's Grimm version of these tales. In their Cinderella story the evil mother has one daughter cut off her toe and the other her heel to get their feet into the shoe that the prince brings. She tells them it will be fine because a queen never has to go anywhere on foot.
I can't even tell you how hard I laughed at this since I know a few people exactly this way.
As long as you get to be smug about being better than everyone, then what's the harm, right?
Oh. My. Gosh.
[crickets]
I have nothing to say.
Fairy Tales are not G-rated. Why else would they be so popular?
yeah, we like to call those extra credit mormons.
they are sooo far advanced that they get to work on crap like that.
i'm still working on things like charity, patience, endurance...
This makes me think of a story Bro. Millet likes to tell his classes. . .
. . .when he and his wife were first married, an older couple in their ward who they looked up to told them that they had decided to give up chocolate because of the small amount of caffeine in it. Well, Bro. Millet and his wife really loved chocolate but if this devoted, older and wise couple were giving it up, then it seemed like a good idea for them to follow suit. For 2 years, Bro. Millet abstained from chocolate.
Then, one day he was talking to a friend who worked in the church office building. The friend brought up a recent meeting that the First Presidency had had. The friend told Bro. Millet that at every meeting the First Presidency has, they open it by eating a box of chocolates. "What?" said the suprised Bro. Millet. "Yeah, the senior member gets to pick the first one. . ."went on to explain the friend, who didn't realize the signifience of what he was telling Bro. Millet.
And inside his head, Bro. Millet was thinking: "TWO YEARS OF MY LIFE, WASTED!!!"
Moral of the story - while some of us are fretting over every tiny possibility of sin, the First Presidency is eating and enjoying their chocolate.
. . . and sorry for my horrible spelling!
Dear Cate,
I like your blog and everything but I found this post just a tad bit suggestive. Um, I would appreciate it if you would abstain from making such innuendos in the future. It takes a lot of time for me to discern which friends write appropriate blogs and which ones don't------- I may have to block you from my reading material as well as from all of my future children.
love Mary
PS actually you know what happens to kids who have mothers like this? They go crazy, in the worst way. I can think of several examples. It's really really sad because they're trying really really hard.
Post a Comment