Musings of a Gen-X Geek Primary fandoms: Elena of Avalor, Dragonlance. Others include but are not limited to: General Hospital, Miraculous Ladybug, Dr. Who, Motherland: Fort Salem
I'm still shocked by how many of our close friends decided on the first option. Were they faking their friendship for years? if they thought so poorly of us, why be our friends in the first place?
I went with the second option. I love that Elena is allowed to make mistakes and learn from them. And she's just so confidently wrong in this scene it makes me laugh.
“Out of nowhere, he started beating me viciously and bit my ear"
“We have injuries all over our bodies, everything is swollen. We went through what felt like a terror attack. It was horrifying.”
An Israeli mother, 62, and her daughter, 23, were brutally beaten in Thailand by a French tourist.
“He started beating me viciously,” the mother said. “My daughter tried to protect me and was beaten too. We both fought him. I was hit in the head, and at some point I apparently lost consciousness.”
The two women were on the Thai island of Koh Phangan when they were approached by a French national asking where they were from. When they said Israel, he became irate and demanded a debate.
They told him they did not want to discuss Israel/Palestine, and he appeared to walk away, after stating he was "against violence." Then he launched himself at the mother and started biting her ear and punching her until she lost consciousness.
Attacking women on vacation will not help Palestinians. Everyone silent about this violence isn't helping anyone, either.
Sofia The First, Jake and The Neverland Pirates, And How Adults Talk to Children
TL;DR: I noticed that the adults in Sofia the First get down on a child's level when they want to have a discussion, something that isn't seen in Jake and the Neverland Pirates. So I decided to do a bit of research on the topic and do a little analysis of why this is and what this says about both worlds.
Disclaimer: I am not a psychologist or a licensed professional. Just someone who overanalyzes preschool shows too much. Feel free to correct me if there's something I got wrong.
Why Getting Down on a Child's Level Matters
Before I get into both shows, let me elaborate on why this observation is important.
Perhaps you've done it subconsciously to little ones in your life, or experienced it when having discussion while having the "we're very disappointed in you" talk with your parents. Perhaps you've seen it in other children's shows like Bluey, where a kindly father kneels before their disgruntled kid to have one of their famous pep talks.
From an animation standpoint, I've been told that setting up the characters in this way makes it easier to focus on both subjects without having to change the composition of the shot. However, it also communicates something between both parties: mutual respect and acknowledgment.
When you stay up instead of getting down to speak to a child at their height, not only does it difficult to make eye contact and maintain interest in the conversation, but it also makes it seem like you are trying to assert dominance over them and makes it hard for them to trust you. Getting down means you are communicating through your body language that you and your child are on equal footing. It helps them see that they are safe, their feelings are being understood, and that whatever they share will be heard.
"When a child is falling apart or experiencing stress and acting out, you should first connect with them on an emotional level that will get to them in that moment. Often, that means making physical contact, kneeling down to their level, perhaps putting an arm around them and looking them in the eye.." (Lisa Friestone, Psychology Today)
"This is a great tip for any time you're having a conversation with a kid where you want to encourage them. Don't be up here. You get down and you meet them where they're at and you go face to face. Because they feel safe. They feel seen. They feel, subconsciously, we're on equal footing." (Jonathan Decker, liscenced therapist, analyzing Ponyo)
While this does have roots in psychology, it's also practical from a screenwriting standpoint. It shows, through subtext, how grown ups view child and childhood in general.
Enchancia: Parents, Childhood and How Adults Perceive The Children
Just to be clear, I'm not trying to say that Enchancia is a utopia, or that everyone in Sofia's life is flawless (in fact, that's what I love about this show); there's a lot I can say about the pressure this girl is put under. However, seem to have a good safety net in the kingdom.
There's the general expectation that childhood is a valued ("The Elf Situation") and that the kids are given a lot of room to grow and make mistakes. The show seems to put a lot of emphasis on growth and personal journeys, as seen from the pilot and how the writing progressed throughout the seasons, and all the times the kids mess up, they are scolded and they face repercussions with the additional safety of knowing they have support. Be it from her parents, the castle staff, the school teachers, or other people she happens to meet, Sofia has older people she can confide in.
Below are a few clips of "pep talks" Sofia and the other kids have gotten over the years. Pay attention to how the adults approach these conversations through their body language.
Roland Reassure Sofia that She Is His Daughter. (Skip to 0: 19)
2. Amber and Miranda Make Up (Skip to 2:39)
3. Miranda and Roland Comfort Sofia When She Faces Fears about Being a Princess (Skip to 2:35 and 3:05)
4. Cinderella and Sofia (Skip to 0:40)
Notice how the adults take the time to get down and go face to face when they're trying to comfort of encourage the kids?
In Sofia's world, children are valued for the most part. Yes there's a divide (and that divide widens when your name is Cedric), but there's also an open space. It's almost expected for things to go wrong, but just as Miranda says when Sofia comes to her with a problem, "I always have time for you."
Children in Enchancia get the chance to be treated as people.
Neverland: What You Miss With Childhood Freedom
Neverland is basically a kid's vision of childhood should be. No parents! Excitement and adventure at every turn! Getting to decide what to do with the day without school or responsibilities sucking up all a kid's time! What child wouldn't want that for themselves?
But here's the thing. Jake and his crew do have adult burdens. They're cooking, cleaning and taking care of themselves; they're fighting individuals who constantly put them in danger; they're learning to do things like sailing and sword fighting without any guidance; and, as Peter confirms in his special, he left them to protect A WHOLE ISLAND without any instructions or assistance on how to do so. Now, this applies to everyone, but I'm gonna the focus on Jake because, like Sofia, he is the protagonist. There's share so many things in come (age, roles, responsibilities), but that's an essay for another time.
Unlike Sofia, Jake has almost no one to turn to. Instead, the grown adults are often turning to him to fix their problems and lead them in to battle, and no one questions it. And whenever the adults talk to him, they are either towering over him or craning their necks down to be condescending.
Here are few clips to prove my point
Captain Hook "Comforting" Jake (Skip to 0:18)
2. Jake Doubting Himself (Skip to 1:50 and end at 2:00)
Jake and Hook Again (Skip to 0:02-0:09)
**And even then, it's hard to find clips of the adults talking directly to Jake rather than at him.**
You can chalk it up to JATNP being about action and thus having very different goals. And Hook is, without a doubt, a villain. So he stays up because he NEEDS to be intimidating
However, even in the adults that are kind to Jake, never once do they converse in the same Sofia does with the adults around her. It informs us that there's no blur between children and adults on Neverland. Everyone has to learn to survive and Jake and his crew have learned to keep adults at arms length. Even in his moments of doubt, Jake never goes to any of the other captains for advice or encouragement, because they won't get it. He has to figure things out for himself.
On Neverland, you are only considered a "child" when adults are talking down to you. Otherwise, you have the burdens of adults with none of the respect. If you want help, well . . . better hope you can find it yourself.
Conclusion
JATNP and STF have depict two vastly different ways for how children are viewed, and it's interesting to go back and look at the interactions. It really does drive home how different the two shows are, and yet, they were the most popular on the channel.
Maybe in the future, I will do a protagonist comparison for both, because Jake and Sofia have a lot of similarities. Because my goodness do these two eight-year-olds have a lot of baggage to unpack when they are adults.
Feel free to add to the discussion! I would love to see what you guys have to say on both shows regarding this subject, or if there's anything else you guys noticed.
Bonus: Here Are A Couple of Articles I Consulted on The Subject
Too often, when parents feel provoked or triggered by their kids, discipline becomes more about releasing their feelings than teaching the c
How do you encourage positive behaviour in kids? Give children positive attention when they behave well, rather than just consequences when
Language difficulties are nobody’s fault but changing the way you talk can really help your child. How do I use this strategy? When you are
This last one is a study done for patients and healthcare practitioners rather than children, but the concept of being on equal footing is there.
Nonverbal communication plays a pivotal role in the provision of effective patient care and has been associated with important patient healt
I think this is actually what I love about Sofia’s universe/ The EverRealm at large (because this happens with many of the adults and children in Elena of Avalor as well).
Many educators and parents copy the learned behaviors of those around them when dealing with children, and I think you can actually learn a lot about how characters were (hypothetically) treated in past environments based on how they treat others.
Tilly gives what she wishes she could have received. The freedom her father denied her (present briefly in “Through the Looking Back Glass”) is given, perhaps a little too freely, to her nieces and nephew. However, it’s how she learned to survive the pressures put upon her.
So, while she does get level with the young folks in the show, she’s a little more distant and hands off in her approach to actually offering them assistance. Likely, this is because she doesn’t want to risk being overbearing.
Additionally, and this coming more from my background in education than parenting, is that I mark “Substitute Cedric” as the true beginning of Cedric’s redemption arc.
Why?
Precisely because of the leveling phenomenon.
It’s the first time Cedric is level with the youth for an extended period of time, and he’s honestly great at sharing his experiences with them when he chooses to embrace the level.
Yet, it IS worth noting that Cedric has to be forced into the position of being level with the young folks in that episode. However, once he is placed into that position of being “leveled,” he recalls the empathy he received from the only person who “leveled” with him.
His teacher.
Where Tilly seems to give what she wished she would have had, Cedric is still making the same mistakes of all the people who taught and raised him.
Cedric hunches to meet Goodwyn. He hunches around most everyone else too. It’s only his mother who even kind of attempts to find balance between them.
Prior to “Substitute Cedric,” Cedric keeps huge amounts of, as OP says, distance between himself and the youth characters.
Yet, afterwards, there are, at least, increasing instances of him getting “level” with Sofia and possibly James or Amber.
The forced leveling is nice foreshadowing for what we see of Cedric’s character in the reboot - someone who takes the posture of this former teacher consistently in RM - but it is interesting that this character’s journey begins by force and not by choice.
It’s in getting stuck to the chair that Cedric actually ends up being placed level with Sofia and the other characters and, when this occurs, we actually get to see something real in him instead of the grandeur he hides behind.
Again, I find this super meaningful as someone who used to work in education because I worked with admin who used to ask students questions from above and behind them instead of by meeting them face to face at level. I’ve also had to be the advocate for young folks more than once in situations with other teachers/ admin and I’m constantly moved by the small touches in RM.
Nettle lifting up Zane and righting him when he trips - again at Zane’s level.
Cedric getting eye to eye with Camila after she f’s up his classroom.
Cedric bending his shoulders to make eye contact but still direct motion during the opening of “Zane the Hero.”
Like, there are so many great “teacher” moments based on this exact phenomenon in the new series.
But, it’s worth noting that began, for Cedric, at least, by force.
All others, Roland, Miranda, Baileywick, etc, have come down to this place willingly and often since the first moment of the series.
I think it shows a lot about Roland’s growth beyond loss & the stuffiness of his parents. (Like Tilly, giving what he wanted but ALSO what is needed.)
For Miranda and Baileywick, however, I think that stems more from a place of humble origins. Neither of them are royalty by birth. However, they understand the value of hard work, community, and shared experiences with those around them.
So, they level.
With their charges, with their employees, with everyone.
There is both a risk and a reward in being level.
The risk is being vulnerable to touch, to attack, etc.
"It rules in ways I have trouble putting into words how deeply John Oliver commits in these scenes, just buying in completely and going Full Soap in a way he didn’t really have to..."
It's nice to sit back and watch a man have the time of his life.
How did Scott go from being kidnapped (last time we saw him) to living his best life in Key West? I mean, I'm happy for him, but would have liked to see how he got from point A to point B.
We may not be able to change the past. But if we can change ourselves—
When I was a kid, I wanted to sail the Seventeen Seas, explore the world—
Voting ended onAug 6
Quote #1 - We may not be able to change the past. But if we can change ourselves, we have the power to change our future
Quote #2 - When I was a kid, I wanted to sail the Seventeen Seas, explore the world, blaze my own trail. And now that I'm grown up, I still want all that
Going with the moral of the entire show: "We may not be able to change the past. But if we can change ourselves, we have the power to change our future."
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