MMC is not the worst thing she could be watching. It teaches a lot of skills that preschoolers need. It has characters that I support my daughter liking. It's filled with music, and it's filled with morals.
Every once in a while, they air an hourlong special, which then lives on my DVR for weeks/months at a time, and when we desperately need an hour of quiet time, it provides that.
There are a couple of things about the show that really bother me, though.
Wait. Three things. Goofy's singing is so unbearable that I have to leave the room whenever that happens.
If you've never seen an episode of MMC, here's a summary of what happens:
- The gang (or some of the gang) gets together for some event or activity.
- Mickey visits the "Mousekedoer," which is a machine that gives Mickey 3 "Mouseketools" that he will need for the activity, plus a "Mystery Mouseketool."
- They embark on their adventure, and a lot of the time, this includes the evil Pete trying to thwart them while lamenting the fact that he's not part of the gang.
- Along the way, they encounter 4 obstacles (sometimes caused by Pete). Shockingly, all 4 objects from the Mousekedoer are exactly what they need to overcome these obstacles! Sometimes the tools are a stretch, like using a broom to tickle a sleeping giant laying across the path so he'll wake up and move. Other times, they're flat-out miraculous, like a Mouseketank when they encounter a horde of zombies. (That may or may not have happened, but in this show, it's highly plausible.)
- In order to obtain the Mouseketools, all they have to do is call for Toodles, who has something to do with the Mousekedoer. I still haven't figured this out. He pops out of the Mousekedoer, I guess, and then when they yell "Oh, Toodles!" he flies in to save them like the eagles in Return of the King. Toodles is the ultimate Deus ex machina.
- On Pete episodes, after spending a half hour screwing over Mickey and Co. every chance he gets, everything is magically okay in the end, and they forgive him and invite him to be part of the gang. Of course, the next time they all hang out, he's not invited again, and we go through the whole process again.
The first thing that bothers me is Toodles.
I'm completely okay with teaching children that God will help you out when you need Him. I fully believe He will. My daughter is barely 2 and understands the concept of prayer, and does a surprisingly good job with it (when she's not cranky or silly). My issue is that the show is teaching kids that every single time you need something, God will just magically hand it to you. Mickey and Co. don't even pack for their trips. They're not backpack savvy like Dora & Diego. They just go to the Mousekedoer and it does everything for them. EVERYTHING. That's not the God I know. He provides everything, sure, but there has to be some effort on our part. Otherwise, my food storage would kick trash, and I would be ready with a tank when those zombies come.
Toodles isn't that big of an issue for me, though. When she's old enough, it will actually be a good discussion topic with Lucy to talk to her about how great God is, but in the real world, we need to do our own part as well. Faith without works is dead, as we've been taught. It will be about as epic as when I use A Charlie Brown Christmas to teach the true meaning of Christmas. Possibly more so, because in our house, Disney somehow trumps Peanuts.
Let's talk Pete, though.
I fully support turning the other cheek. But I hate the message that the show sends about letting a horrible, awful bully into your circle of friends EVERY DANG TIME. Pete does things to put the group in jeopardy to the point where they could literally die if it weren't for the hand of Toodles coming down to save them. And the message is that this is okay? I'm sorry, but when my daughter is in school, if somebody tries to kill her to get to the treasure before she does, I'm going to tell her to go ahead and not invite them to her next birthday party.
This is actually part of a bigger issue. By allowing Pete into the group every time, they're enabling him. They're saying that his behavior is acceptable, and we should not only tolerate it, but reward him with what he wants. This is one of the biggest downfalls I've seen in today's society. Not only are we becoming more and more entitled, but many of us are enabling others all the time to be as awful as they want.
As a teacher, I watched parents and other teachers enable students all the time. Student doesn't want to do an assignment? They shouldn't have to. Doesn't feel like coming to class? They're busy. Being a teenager is hard. I would say that I couldn't wait for college to eat them alive, but when I was in college, some of the teachers were just as bad. It's more effort to actually help the students than to let them get away with things sometimes.
In the theatre world, enablement is awful. I've seen others get walked all over by some nasty, but talented people, and when the opportunity arises to work with them again, they take it, because as talented as they are, it's worth it to put up with the crap. However, in putting up with it, they're saying "I LOVE your crap. Keep doing it. It's helping you get what you want, and I'm grateful to be a part of it and will reward you for treating me like garbage!"
In the business world, I see people who do terrible work, don't follow the rules, and are awful to work with, and yet they seem to get ahead and their behavior is validated time and time again. If Seinfeld were on the air today, I'm pretty sure George Costanza would have worked his way up to be the head of Apple or Microsoft by now. When I interview potential job candidates, it's fascinating to see how many come through my door expecting me to practically BEG them to work for me. Was I that big of an ass right after graduating college? (Don't answer that.)
In general society, I see people do this all the time as well. People are labeled "difficult," but we do what they want anyway, because it's just easier that way.
The most disturbing one for me is the enablement that we see within the LDS Church culture. I've actually seen cases of somebody in a leadership position causing ridiculous amounts of damage, but their superiors haven't wanted to do anything about it because they're afraid of what they'll do. Not long ago, there was a woman in our ward who literally whined herself into a calling. SHE WHINED HERSELF INTO A CALLING. The same woman picked fights with people in church all the time, and nobody fought back. She said wretched things to people's faces, and they put up with it because it was easier than the alternative. Once, she picked a fight with my wife in front of the entire primary. After she had turned both cheeks and then some, my wife snapped back at her. When this happened, the woman stormed out of primary, found a member of the bishopric, cried to him, and then he confronted my wife about it. Instead of fixing the issue with this woman, it became my wife's problem. How is that okay?
I was recently talking to a friend about this issue, and she posed the question "How do we stop that?!"
I honestly don't know. I've actually been called mean and unfair because I've not given into enabling before. And when I've honestly felt like I've taught somebody a lesson in a kind way by not enabling them, I've seen them go to someone else who enables them, further leading them to believe that I was the one in the wrong.
How DO we stop that?
I answered my friend the only way I knew how.
We don't. We can only do our best to make sure that our children can rise above that awful sense of entitlement.
I can't wait until Lucy is old enough to have some of these conversations. Pete is a jerk. And Mickey would be absolutely right to NOT let him come along on the next big adventure. God is good, and will provide, but don't be lazy. And most importantly, food storage and tank acquisition are a must for the impending zombie apocalypse.
As a teacher, I watched parents and other teachers enable students all the time. Student doesn't want to do an assignment? They shouldn't have to. Doesn't feel like coming to class? They're busy. Being a teenager is hard. I would say that I couldn't wait for college to eat them alive, but when I was in college, some of the teachers were just as bad. It's more effort to actually help the students than to let them get away with things sometimes.
In the theatre world, enablement is awful. I've seen others get walked all over by some nasty, but talented people, and when the opportunity arises to work with them again, they take it, because as talented as they are, it's worth it to put up with the crap. However, in putting up with it, they're saying "I LOVE your crap. Keep doing it. It's helping you get what you want, and I'm grateful to be a part of it and will reward you for treating me like garbage!"
In the business world, I see people who do terrible work, don't follow the rules, and are awful to work with, and yet they seem to get ahead and their behavior is validated time and time again. If Seinfeld were on the air today, I'm pretty sure George Costanza would have worked his way up to be the head of Apple or Microsoft by now. When I interview potential job candidates, it's fascinating to see how many come through my door expecting me to practically BEG them to work for me. Was I that big of an ass right after graduating college? (Don't answer that.)
In general society, I see people do this all the time as well. People are labeled "difficult," but we do what they want anyway, because it's just easier that way.
The most disturbing one for me is the enablement that we see within the LDS Church culture. I've actually seen cases of somebody in a leadership position causing ridiculous amounts of damage, but their superiors haven't wanted to do anything about it because they're afraid of what they'll do. Not long ago, there was a woman in our ward who literally whined herself into a calling. SHE WHINED HERSELF INTO A CALLING. The same woman picked fights with people in church all the time, and nobody fought back. She said wretched things to people's faces, and they put up with it because it was easier than the alternative. Once, she picked a fight with my wife in front of the entire primary. After she had turned both cheeks and then some, my wife snapped back at her. When this happened, the woman stormed out of primary, found a member of the bishopric, cried to him, and then he confronted my wife about it. Instead of fixing the issue with this woman, it became my wife's problem. How is that okay?
I was recently talking to a friend about this issue, and she posed the question "How do we stop that?!"
I honestly don't know. I've actually been called mean and unfair because I've not given into enabling before. And when I've honestly felt like I've taught somebody a lesson in a kind way by not enabling them, I've seen them go to someone else who enables them, further leading them to believe that I was the one in the wrong.
How DO we stop that?
I answered my friend the only way I knew how.
We don't. We can only do our best to make sure that our children can rise above that awful sense of entitlement.
I can't wait until Lucy is old enough to have some of these conversations. Pete is a jerk. And Mickey would be absolutely right to NOT let him come along on the next big adventure. God is good, and will provide, but don't be lazy. And most importantly, food storage and tank acquisition are a must for the impending zombie apocalypse.
Yes. Love. Thank you.
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