today i watched enchanted again (yay free cable tv!)
yes, it is a cheesy movie. i mean, come on. the guy who picks you off the street just happens to be your one true love, and the crazy dude who comes after her just happens to his fiancee's prince charming? (which sane woman jumps into a manhole with a guy shes met for 2 seconds o.o)
but there are good things about the movie. one thing i really enjoy is the music. i mean, the world needs more movie musicals, and im talking more about the dancing in the rain variety then the glee and hsm kind. the kind where emotions are expressed in song. the kind where a song starts playing and everyone knows the steps and the lyrics. we need more moments like that in real life (and it happens. ive seen it before. its not impossible!)
as far as songs go, the most famous one from enchanted has to be
and its also my favourite. yes, it gets annoying after 5 million plays, but ultimately, it is so true.
just as giselle was very disappointed to discover, the real world is much less genuine that she would like it. face it, people just dont go around telling people how much they mean to them. thats why she was so refreshing, not only to robert, but also to me (and many of the audience, i believe). giselle is the kind of girl who says how she feels, and when she gets upset its all over her face.
enchanted ends in the typical disney way: happily ever after. but considering this is a movie about cartoon to real-life (then back to cartoon), the ending is as fantastical as any. if it wasnt so, i wouldnt be surprised to find if, after a while, giselle too loses her wide-eyed wonder and blends into the background of us "normal people".
the thing about a society that is so used to being underappreciated, is that it is also very good at being underappreciating. and then the entire thing becomes a vicious cycle. when the default attitude is humility and everything that resembles flattery is given the negative stamp almost indiscriminately, its no wonder that even those who start off as happy and joyous as giselle soon... give up. it doesnt matter how "overflowing" you are with love, if theres no one there to smile back at you, you may as well be running into the wall.
repeatedly.
i quote from my innova gp prelims paper "I mean what I mean when I say 'I love you.' Period. Without exceptation, condition, term limit, or obligation. To say that - and to mean it in that way - makes me happy."
we like to think that such a thing is possible. but is there really such a thing as a purely one-directional outflow of love? maybe im not yet mature enough to believe in it, but i think its merely idealistic. we all like to claim it exists, but every parent finds it easier to love the child who reponds more positively. service is more rewarding because the person you are helping smiles back at you. holding the door open is worth your while because you get thanked. its not so much an expectation, but it just feels much better. and that feeling reinforces the "pass-it-on" cycle.
imagine living in a world where everything you do out of your bottomless heart goes unacknowledged. where you take time to send a message and receive no reply. where you tell the person you love that you love her and get a nod, but no smile. where you take the pains to make time for them, but they dont do the same.
