A Little Closer to the Ground
I saw “The Cabin in the Woods” last night. It’s written and directed by Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard and is all kinds of awesome. I won’t spoil anything here, since I saw the movie unspoiled and you should, too. I’ll just mention that the movie raises one question about horror movies I found particularly interesting: Why do they always feature young people?
Of course, one answer is that those young people tend to be very pretty, and we like to watch attractive people in movies. Another answer, suggested by Whedon and Goddard I think, is that as we get older young people become “the other” to us. As we get further away from our youth, we find it harder to relate to younger people–or even remember what it was like to be young. We even get a bit (or a lot) jealous of youth, of its energy, its naivete, its potential. All this makes it “okay” to watch young people get terrorized in a horror film, knowing, of course, that it’s all just a movie.
When I look at the young people in my life–my kids–I certainly don’t want to see them in pain or hurt. But I’m also reminded that it was a lifetime ago that I was that age. I know some people have vivid memories of their childhood (like actor Stephen Tobolowsky, whose Tobolowsky Files podcast is amazing), but I don’t. I have pretty vague memories of being a kid–happy ones, certainly, but not complete ones.
However, seeing my kids experience life from their perspective–younger, more curious, at a slower pace–reminds me of some of the feelings and experiences I had at their age. Last week at Radnor Lake, Hannah was fascinated by a snail she spotted on the side of the trail. I didn’t notice him, but she did, because she’s closer to the ground, but also because more of the world is new to her. She notices parts of that world that my eyes simply move past.
I don’t remember a specific incident in my childhood like this, but I remember the feeling of exploring a world that was largely new to me, of experiencing life a little closer to the ground. I’ll admit, I’m a bit jealous of Hannah and Lily. They have these experiences all the time. I have to work pretty hard (and sometimes travel pretty far) to capture that feeling.
Seeing the world for the first time again and sharing that experience with my kids–that’s one of the great pleasures and privileges of being a parent.
Image: “Familiar Shapes,” by me, Flickr (CC)