Or so I thought.
The other day I pulled out my polymer clay, and set up a station close to the living room as my favourite movie is only in VHS form in our house. I pop it in the VCR and as I start to mould the clay into that day's order, two little people coming running in, jump up on the couch and quietly watch the movie with me.
Very quickly Little Miss begins dissecting my VHS friend into bits and pieces of sin and shame. It wasn't fun.
"Why is she hiding the computer? Doesn't she want her husband to know she's on it? Isn't it wrong to keep secrets?"
"Well, yes," I say, "daddy and I always tell and show each other our facebook pages, and like sharing funny things... I just like it that she runs a shop and it's a lovely romantic movie..."
"He called her his girlfriend - They're not MARRIED? Why are they in the same house? Well, where is HE going now? [In a different scene] Does HE have his own house?"
"Well, yes, he has his own house," I sigh, thankful for that truth.
"But he DOESN'T LOVE HER!"
"Oh, good grief, it's okay, it all works out. Let's turn this off...." but she not listening to me anyway.
And then when she sees their Fox boats, she blows them out of the water...
"What kind of a boat is THAT? They live down there? They have it all set up like they don't need to pack ANYTHING!" She is outraged that such a frivolous life exists.
And so, from the beginning to the end, the movie, my favourite movie, has been turned upside down; the sins of the flesh, the wanton greed, and the bad business manners have been revealed and shaken in front of my face. Sigh.
I am sorry. Hollywood is no match for the purity of spirit and firmness of Christian law in the heart of Little Miss. She expects everyone to walk a straight line and there are no exceptions. Little Miss has a constant call to arms when it comes to fairness in Wii time, the size of your piece of pie, and now, the disgrace that movies have left in our minds as "harmless". Of course, does this change how I feel about the movie? No. I still love it, and I will still want Meg Ryan's hair every time I watch it. Do I mourn for that innocence I once had? A little. I never cared for rules as much as she does, nor did I ever see my world in such black and white terms. But it does bite a bit when I have to explain why movies are portraying ideas that are not what we believe they should be. This past year, amongst her friends, she's learned of separation, divorce, terminal sickness, step-siblings, and death. She hears of one parent leaving the home of a friend, and wonders why. If she could, I know she would step up and set them all straight. In her world, everyone knows the rules, and why wouldn't they obey them?
Well, why wouldn't they?
That day I just wanted to watch a movie about a girl with her own little store, meeting a man who sweeps her off her feet. Instead, I exhibited a lot of sighing, mumbling and explaining. Now I need to teach Little Miss about grace.
Indeed I feel sorry for her future husband. He won't get away with anything.
Now, let's see what she thinks of Finding Nemo...perhaps Dory and Marlin swim too close together or spend too much time alone in the whale??
