The Heart of a Classic

Beauty and the beast - warning - spoilers

A heartfelt fan analysis of the 2017 Beauty and the Beast film.

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Wow! I am in awe after watching Beauty and the Beast 2017 again - ITS SOOO BEAUTIFULLL!!! 

I am touched by the adjustments Disney made in the script and characters to weave a story even more lovely and entertaining than the original (though the original gives it a run for its money).

The casting was on point, the acting excellent, the music impeccable and emotional, the visuals, costumes and magic, absolutely stunning.

As I watched, the deeper meanings began to move me and by the credits my face was scrunched up between tears and smiles, I didn't want it to end.

On watching the second time, I was struck by the character of Gaston. I will get to the others but for now I am bursting with the insight wrought from his character. Though he was terrible, the people followed him. Why? There's such a purposeful contrast portrayed between he and the beast.

In the beginning you see Gaston's, pride, vanity, lust and greed - at first seemingly harmless and simply annoying. You see elevation of self, manipulation of others, immaturity, ignorance and selfishness. 

Later, he gets worse.  He convinces the town to take violent action, he is a persuasive leader with a hunger for power.  What a classic moment when Belle says

"He's not a beast, Gaston, YOU are!"

And what a moment when the Beast echoes this statement and spares Gaston's life.  You could clearly see Belle helplessly watching the scene between them and her quick smile when the beast chooses mercy, wow!

It's very dramatic when Gaston, the wicked, "receives his just reward".

Ah, Emma is so perfect in this roll. Besides her looks, she fits so naturally - and not surprisingly - into the role of someone who is kind, deep, passionate and giving. She wants to share what she has with others, she wants to create and inspire. She wants to see and know everything.  

I love the deeper character they gave Belle's father and how they changed him from the comic relief in the original to a devoted and loving father. You see the sorrow he's gone through and the choices and sacrifices he's made to protect his daughter. Excellent. 

I love the part where Belle is convincing him to try to escape. You know he's thinking 

"You're just like your mother"

You see him visibly change from someone who has protected her in fear for so long, to someone who will trust and dare to be courageous again.

I like how Lefou is portrayed with more of a sense of conscience and how he eventually realizes Gaston's not so worth his efforts. It's nice to see him join the others in defense against the dictator.

And the Beast - I like how we see a little more of his past. He had heartache and was raised by a bad example of a father. We see him held accountable for his actions as an adult. Isn't that the way life is?  

Something that stood out to me was the gift from the enchantress - the magic book that offered the beast a little escape to the outside world. It was called "one of her cruelest tricks of all," but I think it was a gift offered in kindness.  

Though she punished him, she was kind and merciful. She was there in the end to set things right even when all was clearly lost. She was already waiting to heal the land before the miracle happened.

 

Oh the ending! The transformation was beautiful!!! I only wish Bella said "It's you!" when the prince appeared. Also his real name was never spoken and that bothers me a little :) 

I love when they show his eyes and they finally touch as human beings. 

The examples of love, courage and not settling for the company of people who have no integrity are gems to be taken to heart.

Fantasy vs Reality - Do We Have a Choice?

                                 

The more I observe the workings of the world, the more I realize the hold money has and the influence it has on all aspects of our lives.  The people that decide what we wear by creating the clothes, the corporations that decide what we eat because they make the food, the companies that decide what we think because they write the films and music.  Do we really know what we're getting into?  Do we question the intent of the ones shaping our world?  Are we really making our own choices in life of what we believe and what we want?

I feel that it's important to realize that money is the object for much of the large corporations of the world.  They want to create what sells and makes the most profit.  They are not concerned with helping us be healthier. or more satisfied or grow in morality.  The food industry in America for example, is all about producing food at a low cost and turning a profit - at the expense of so many things - our health, our environment and living creatures.

Much of the media takes no thought to encouraging moral standards or helping people to live a satisfied life.  They create dream worlds, things we wish were real.  They keep us hungry for these ideas.  How life really is, how relationships really are, the things people believe and do are easily skewed to make a story more interesting and attractive, therefore people will spend their money on it.
Commercials portray images that are nothing like the food itself, they exaggerate how you'll feel when you eat the food they're advertising.

I think it is very easy and common for people to believe what they see on the screen as an accurate portrayal of the rest of the world, but it's not.  Personally, whenever I relate to the world something I believed from the media, I see people look at me in confusion because it's not the way things are!

Music is the same.  When I hear the latest, most popular music,  I can't help but wonder how much of it is actually based off an artist's experiences or a dream world the writers are trying to make money off of.  I feel really bad for kids who are allowed to listen to much of the popular music these days. They know it word-for-word and are growing to believe the things it says when life is so (thankfully) different than that.

Magazines do it too. Models and photography, computer edited pictures make people look a certain way - looks that are impossible to achieve without constant work and sacrifice of quality of life. Thankfully this subject is getting talked about more lately.   Again, we buy the magazines because they are beautiful.  We see these things and think we are lacking something.  We don't realize how good real life is anymore.

We're all being set up for disappointment, unsatisfaction and influence towards things that destroy us.  We see this stuff and we think "if the people on the screen do it or have it, then I should too".
I'm only speaking out of my own experience and observations.

My solution to this, is I am going to decide who I really want to be and I'm going to look at and listen to the things that encourage me to be that.  I'm going to work at learning about life for-real and not get caught up in the portrayal of something only meant to entertain a fantasy.

Crushing Those Thoughts

Crushes are kind of exciting and can feel a little like a hobby.  

Unfortunately, though, in my experience, indulging in a crush has caused me to become self-centered and insensitive to the feelings of others - I'll elaborate:

I suddenly become worried that I need to seem smarter or funnier and trying hard to be either of these things only ends in disaster and embarrassment.  

Sometimes I say or do stupid things that make others uncomfortable or offended.  This sort of thing can happen with any person - crush or not - that I am wishing to impress.  I end up doing the opposite and I'll tell you why this occurs.

A crush puts pressure on people.  If they know you're crushing on them it just gets awkward.  They may not know quite how to act around you.  It may make them feel like they never want to be nice again if the result is that you start crushing on them for it.

 A person who is kind and loving with the love of Christ should be rewarded by the same love in Christ - selfless love that takes nothing for itself but has open eyes to be respectful and kind to the person.

I have a choice to crush on someone and make things all awkward or to be his friend and sister in Christ.

A crush says "I want" whereas a sister says "how can I be generous and serve him?" 

It's about loving and serving others and taking nothing for me!

Wow! How many times do I have to be reminded of this in every relationship?!  I wish I had the power every day to be resolute in the intentions that please God. 

I want to crush those selfish thoughts and aim to always look to God and to the well-being of those around me. Servant, servant, servant, servant, servant, servant.  Always a servant to my King who will give me all good things in His time.

I Know God is Gentle

image by John Fagan

I know that God is gentle

'Cause I feel Him in the breeze,

See Him in the drifting clouds

And quiet, flowing streams,

Peaceful singing of the birds

Just because they like to,

There's so much silence to be heard

And sunbeams to delight you.

I know God is gentle 

'Cause I've felt the misty rain,

Mighty mountains standing still,

Seasons' fluid change.

Kindness turned my selfish heart,

Patience dispelled fear,

That's how I know that God is gentle

And that He is right here.


- Rachel Fagan

Friends Don't Let Friends Walk in Darkness

I have a shirt that says "Friends Don't Let Friends Walk in Darkness" and on the back it has the following verse:

1John 1:5-7 The Message

God is light, pure light; there’s not a trace of darkness in him.

6-7 If we claim that we experience a shared life with him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we’re obviously lying through our teeth—we’re not living what we claim. But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God’s Son, purges all our sin.

The questions that arise to me are:  What is this Darkness?  What is this light?

I think this verse is speaking of accountability. 

To me, darkness is sin, deception, dishonesty and death.  Unfortunately it is easy for even Christians to walk in this darkness.

The light is accountability, honesty and vigilance to be near God and His people. It brings life.  

For me, living "in the light" means I talk about everything that's going on with me - the good and the bad.  I let others judge and encourage me.  I choose a friend - not always the same one - who I trust, someone who loves me and I know who seeks God and will tell me the truth. 

I feel so refreshed and inspired when a friend helps free me from my demons. 

We all have them! It's important to remember there is nothing new under the sun.

This walking in the light also includes sharing the good as well, sharing our dreams and goals and joys.  How fortunate is the one who has friends who will not simply smile and nod and allow them to go down the wrong path but will help guide them along the best paths.

- Rachel Fagan

Gain From Pain

You know those memories where you felt bad?  When someone said something to you or it's something they've said multiple times to you.  An instance I think of is when I was struggling with something and my mom would say,

"I don't know how to help you."

I would feel so helpless and a bit let-down, almost like she was giving up on me.  It wasn't a pleasant place to be.  Thinking of it now, to me it was pretty impressive that she could admit that, even though hearing it was not fun.  Some parents try to just throw out some solution or tell you to get over it when really they just don't know what to do.

I wouldn't want someone else to have to feel that pain, that moment of helplessness, stuck in the goo of the problem with no solution.

I am tempted in a situation where a friend wants an answer to try to fix it or to say, "I can't talk to you about this anymore" - the former wouldn't help and the latter would certainly be giving up on her which is exactly what I do not want her to feel.

When my mom said "I don't know how to help you", maybe she wasn't giving up on me.  Maybe she was just telling the truth.  Maybe that gooey, tough place of turmoil is actually good.  Maybe I am in the good place I'm in now because I had to go through those bad feelings, those times of helplessness and NOT having all the answers all the time!!

Oh, that we would learn to do hard things and trust that the result will be golden.  If we could go through pain and have others say "I don't know how to help you" and then look back and realize things turned out ok how much more fearless would we be?


- Rachel Fagan

I Love My Little Closet

Singing is always how I express my happiness and praise to God.

I Love My Little Closet

- Rachel Fagan