Five Important Lessons Learned from Maleficent Movie
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| Photo sourced from Maleficent2014.tumbler.com |
The story, for me, isn't just a
fairy tale of a sleeping beauty cursed to sleep forever. It is a mirror for us
to reflect in this lifetime. Here are the five major lessons I learned from
watching the movie.
1.The need to protect the
forest from destruction and human greed. Angelina Jolie, a winged-fairy who recently
represents an international campaign on stopping violence against women in
conflict regions, embarked in a symbolic fairytale movie to remind viewers
about the relation of human populace and the need to protect the remaining virgin
forest reserves of all countries. Wanton logging and mining of minerals in
forested areas and waters contributed to the depletion of our natural
resources and of the ensuing ecological destruction wrought by corporate greed.[1] Whence a child, in the story, Maleficent asked the little vicious prince to return the gem stone which she thereafter threw back to the pond.
2.Story of love and
betrayal. Her lover, a prince who was fortunate to see her as a winged fairy --
for not all of us have the visual capacity to see the spirits living harmoniously in forest lands, fooled her of love and took her wings to
avenged his father (who had a historic confrontational battle with her and the spirits of nature) and in an aim of becoming an heir of a
throne that wields such political power. In guilt, he lived a life of solitude,
conversing like an idiot with the trapped wings of the fairy. He spent his lifetime
readying on that moment when he sees her again.
3.Those who curse will suffer a lifetime of burden to correct one’s error. Maleficent, who was terribly hurt by her lover’s betrayal, took a dramatic rampage to the King’s palace to cast a wish, a spell, and a curse on the child when she’d reach the age of 16 “to fall asleep forever." No human could repel the curse except for a "true love’s kiss”. Maleficent dropped it in her empirical belief that there is no such “true love.” Yet, since the child was put under the care of three fairies at a barn, in a forest, where Maleficent and her beautiful hawk live, they also became duty bearer of the child in all magical ways possible to help her. The child, in turn, recognized Maleficent as her fairy godmother. This emotionally touched the winged-fairy that despite her curse, the child she dubbed Beasty, saw her kindness. She attempted to remove the curse in a ritual but failed. Only right after the curse was perfected that she was able to prove that her kiss-- a true love’s kiss, was the only cure.
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| Photo sourced from Malificient2014.tumbler.com |
4.Life is a battle between
good and evil. Choose goodness. "You are no king to me." The king’s ultimate goal apparently is to put an end on Maleficent’s life to have access and control on the resources and minerals in
the forest. The fight was violent but the princess who understood fully well of
the injustice done to the winged-fairy, exerted contribution too to return the wings to her
fairy godmother by pulling down the huge glass cabinet where its trapped. It was also a very unfortunate fight that ended the king’s life and his greed.
5. Humans are part of an ecosystem that we need to protect. We must take part in restoring an environment where our ecology, including the living spirits within, is respected. We need to remove anthromorphic tendencies to be in harmony with nature.
[1]
WWF (2014). Environmental Problems in the Philippines: Saving Precious Remains,
Web: http://wwf.panda.org/who_we_are/wwf_offices/philippines/environmental_problems__in_philippines/
Retrieved: June 14, 2014.
