Rise of the Guardians

We watched 'Rise of the Guardians' this weekend.  I'm totally going to spoil the plot, so if you care about that, don't read this.

The movie was fun to watch and the kids enjoyed it.  I particularly loved the Cossack Santa and all his bluster.  Actually it is this powerful Santa who introduces the central theme of the movie and a turning point for the protagonist, Jack Frost.  Using the Matryoshka dolls, he shows Jack that every person is layered, and nuanced.  And that knowing what is in your own center, your little central doll, is the key to a happy life.

I loved this discussion!  I completely agree!  Being authentically oneself is the first step to living a life of integrity.  And then basing our actions on that true self - that is what leads to Truth, and connection with the Spirit.  Some may call it our 'calling', others may call it 'listening to the inner light...but however you understand it, I loved that Santa was talking about it in a kids movie. He shows Jack that the answers he seeks can be found by looking inside, and then being true to what he finds there.  By knowing himself, he will find peace.

Of course, there is the antagonist to our Jack.  The Boogie Man.  He is threatening the Guardians and must be stopped...blah blah blah.  This is where, for me, the movie really fell short.  We see the Boogie Man, Pitch Black, and all he has suffered.  He used to rule the world, when people were afraid all the time.  And now he is sad, lonely, and shunned.  He tries to get Jack to join him, but is rejected.  And, in the final confrontation of the movie, he is dragged away by his evil horses of fear. (It was weird - they drag him into the center of the earth.  Was he going to Hades??)

For me, this conclusion was really a lost opportunity.  Santa makes such a wonderful case to Jack about the essence of each person.  And, we get to see some of WHY The Boogie Man is so sad.  So why can't the Guardians engage him, understand him, and lead him into the light?

I am always disappointed when movies for kids teach them things I will have to unteach.  One of the big ones I ALWAYS have to work on is the idea of dualities within us.  We can't push away parts of ourselves that we don't like, in an effort to become the opposite.  We are never one thing OR another.  We are always all things.  It is our limited vision that makes this so hard to see.  So when you find something in you that you don't like, you cannot push it away.  The only way to make meaningful change is to do the opposite.  Embrace it.  Bring a larger, stronger force to bear on it in a loving way.  Then you can walk forward without the conflict.

The Guardians in that stupid movie cast away their enemy, instead of transforming him.  He's just going to spend the next thousand years plotting against them!  The same is true within us. They should have seen him for what he was - dynamic, layered, and nuanced like everyone else. They should have acknowledged him, and loved him, and changed him.

I really really wish this movie had been brave enough to show that to the kids.  Seriously.  They were clearly capable of the concept.  The Santa scene with the doll was great!  Or maybe I'm so fixated on that scene because I thought Santa was kind of hot.  But that is a discussion for another post entirely.