Hi everyone! This is the Disney season for I’m writing about another Disney movie, Tangled! This is because I find that Disney movies usually have really nice meanings behind them, and they are easy to follow and entertaining. Well if you have any movie or genre requests, feel free to type a comment under the post.
If you haven’t watched it, here’s a short synopsis.
After receiving the healing powers from a magical flower, the baby Princess Rapunzel is kidnapped from the palace in the middle of the night by Mother Gothel. Mother Gothel knows that the flower’s magical powers are now growing within the golden hair of Rapunzel, and to stay young, she must lock Rapunzel in her hidden tower. Rapunzel is now a teenager and her hair has grown to a length of 70-feet. The beautiful Rapunzel has been in the tower her entire life, and she is curious of the outside world. One day, the bandit Flynn Rider scales the tower and is taken captive by Rapunzel. Rapunzel strikes a deal with the charming thief to act as her guide to travel to the place where the floating lights come from that she has seen every year on her birthday. Rapunzel is about to have the most exciting and magnificent journey of her life. (Taken from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0398286/plotsummary)
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.
In this movie, there are three main takeaway points. They are our fear of death, acceptance of the way things are and that people have inherent good in them.
The fear of death was the driving force for Gothel. She used the golden flower, and later kidnapped Rapunzel due to her fear of dying; her desire to live forever. We can see how unrealistic and poisonous her desire was; especially when she eventually died. However, her fear of death is something we can see in ourselves; the prospect of not existing is terrifying because we are so attached to things in this life. Thus we should reflect on this reality in order to come to terms with it and not deny it. One way which we can do this is by reflecting everyday if we were to die now, do we have any regrets? What have we done well and have not? One method that Ajahn Brahm uses is during walking meditation, with one step think “I will die” and the next, “that’s for sure” and repeat. You can refer to the post on “Gravity” for more insights on death. This video also offers some thought-provoking reflections on death.
Flynn was a wanted criminal, and he was to be sentenced to death. However his love for Rapunzel drove him to do much good. He fulfilled her wish to see the city lights, later chose to sacrifice himself when he was stabbed by cutting off her hair with healing qualities so that she would be freed from Gothel, and because of him she was reunited with her parents. It is touching how from seeing him as a criminal they wanted dead, the good in him turned them around to accept him as a son-in-law, and that the royal horse Maximus who initially went all out to arrest him decided to help him escape when he was brought to to the gallows in the castle. This shows how people may make mistakes due to circumstances and they go down the wrong path, but they have goodness in them. By just looking at their mistakes and bad points we are not making a fair judgment. When they do good, we may be so focused on their bad points we dismiss it, but it’s indeed something worth recognizing. By recognizing that people are not perfect but have their own goodness, even if we don’t see it now, we can be more forgiving towards them. Holding onto hate only brings ourselves suffering instead of solving problems, therefore forgiveness paves the way for more peace and goodwill among people.
These things are really not easy to do but by taking things step by step, we can slowly learn to see and accept things as they are, let go of our desires and forgive more easily. I still have a lot more to go, but can already see my progress in these areas. All the best to all of you too in cultivating peace and happiness
- Pei Si
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