Find your rainbow

Tonight me and Leah went to the Tivoli and saw a midnight showing of 1979's THE MUPPET MOVIE. According to Jim Henson, the Muppet's first movie is (loosley) based on his own rise to fame. Kermit has a dream to entertain people and goes on a typical quest to make this dream come true. In the end, he and his Muppet friends walk into a movie execs office (Orson Welles...a PERFECT role for him, he after all battling Execs all his professional life), anyway they waltz in and he just looks at them. Then he gets on his intercom and tells his secretary to "draw up the usual fame and fortune contracts." Poof. Just like that, all of Kermits dreams are realized.

Initially I thought this was rather cheap. "Henson's Muppets are cheating!" After all, we know making it in life isn't that easy. But that's not the point. The hard part wasn't getting the movie deal, it was getting to Hollywood (thus the adventure of the movie). So I guess, the point of THE MUPPET MOVIE is really very inspirational. Kermit goes through all this shit, nearly gives up...but decides to press on (face his problems) and thus, succeeds. THAT is the true battle of life--not giving up once one finds his/her "rainbow." Find that dream, hold it tight, and maybe Orson Welles will stare at you one day and give you that contract. Probably not, but if Kermit had just given up and gone back to the swamp, it never would have happened. And if the movie hadn't worked out, well look at what he got along the way--freinds! A bear that tells jokes (and drives), a pig that loves him, and a cool band to follow him around, playing songs.

I wonder where people like Henson are today, in my generation. People who have a vision and a message. People don't want to make things for kids (young and old) of quatilty that tackle serious subject matter. Movies like "Shrek" are funny, but in the end sort of hollow compared to Henson's Muppets. We're all so cynical today. If THE MUPPET MOVIE had been made in 2006 everyone would have been winking during all the silly, optimistic songs. We do that nowdays. We say really sincere things, but the whole time we wink and nudge each other. That way when people laugh at us, we can say "oh we were just joking! Ha, ha!" It's not cool to actually say what you mean: to believe in yourself, your friends, and the that the things will be better someday. Everyone is afraid, even embarassed to be genuine. Childhood innocence is out of vogue I suppose. For a culture so obsessed with youth, I find this puzzling. Everyone has become a kid wanting to grow up so fast.