Tuesday, March 14, 2017

The Beauty and the Beast Controversy

Seeing as where this movie is going to be hitting theaters this weekend I decided to jump on this big Disney controversy. I am not going to share my own personal thoughts on homosexuality, I am simply going to use this as a chance to just clear up a few important points. That being said,   I am sure if you have been reading my post for any length of time you have a pretty good idea of what my thoughts are on the subject.

First off let me say that I do personally know someone who is gay. In fact, I have known this man since I was a little girl, but didn't know until about 15 years or so ago that he was in fact a homosexual.  If I see him I am kind and courteous to him. He has always been good to me and when my oldest was sick he even came to visit her in the hospital and has helped with my youngest 50 state rock collection. Why did I feel the need to point that out you might ask?  Well, I want to make it clear to y'all that I do not live a sheltered life where I am hiding away from society. I know people and I know about the lifestyle they live.  I just didn't want my readers to think I am writing this without actually knowing someone who is gay.






Now back to the topic at hand. I will be discussing three things I think are super important for us not only as parents, but as citizens of this free nation to consider with this movie controversy. 

1.  I am the parent!  It is my job as the mother, the parent, the legal guardian of my children to explain delicate matters to them. I have two children, the oldest knows what homosexuality is and the youngest is beginning to get the idea, but it is not something we have explained to her.  At this point I am doing my best to explain to her how she is growing up, much less what is going on with anyone else.  I think of it like I did the Santa Claus issue. We never told our girls that there was a Santa, but we always made sure to let them know that it was not there place to tell that to other children. We explained that it is the parents responsibility to teach their own children about such things. All that being said, it is my responsibility to teach my children about such things. It is not the job of Hollywood, movies, cartoons or Disney.  '

2.  If I was a business owner/government it is up to me what I do!  It has recently come to light that a Russian lawmaker wants to make the movie illegal. Russia has decided to show the movie, but only allowing those over 16 to see it. Whether or not Russia does this is simply up to Russia. It has also been revealed that the films release in Malaysia has also been postponed due to the controversy, even after the film censors reportedly cut the controversial scene from the movie. I have no control over what any government does or does not do. We have also heard that a private movie theater owner is refusing to show the movie because it goes against his moral/religious beliefs.  I am waiting for our government to step in and shut them down for it. This is in a nutshell the business owners right. I believe that if a person is faced with doing something that goes against their religious beliefs they should not be forced to do so. I am sure that others will say that goes both ways, you can't support one religion and destroy another.  The way I see it,  the only religion anyone is trying to destroy in the country is Christianity. (Another topic, for another time)

3.  What else have you not noticed?  I know for a fact that this is not the first time Disney has raised my eyebrows. I remember specific instances of adult themed content in their movies.  Of course little kids don't get it, but the adults do.  Here are just a few examples of what I am talking about.

 I remember in the original cartoon version of Beauty and the Beast there was a scene with Lumiere (the candelabra) and Babette. They were behind the curtain and some questionable stuff was going on.

And how about this honeymoon joke from Aladdin and the King of Thieves?


And who could forget this interaction between Buzz and Jessie?


Not to mention Who Framed Roger Rabbit! That entire movie was highly questionable! (Beware: this trailer shows exactly what I am talking about) 


I am not just picking on Disney here, there are plenty of other company examples,  but they are the ones who got this whole thing started.

When I first heard about all this I wondered if it was "an in your face moment" or just a suggestion? I was trying not to pass judegement, but I did pass the information on to a couple of families that I know.  I felt that people should be made aware of what was being said.

After reading this you might be asking, what do you plan to do?  I will wait, let someone else do the viewing and then I will decide if and when we should watch it. I have already heard a couple of early reviewers that say it is really just a suggestion that LeFou has feelings for Gaston, which was what I suspected.

I guess I will find out in a few days!


"That's my 'two-cents worth', what's yours?" 





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