Shifting perceptions

Have you ever had one of those moments when you look at something familiar and see it in a whole new light? I don't mean that guy or girl you've been friends with for ages, but a book or a movie that you may feel you know inside out, until you look up one day and see something you never expected? I don't just mean the jokes you didn't get when you were younger. I mean a complete perception shift in how you relate to a story or a character. This could be days, weeks, even years in development, but it will happen.

This is not quite related to tvtropes' 'Fridge Brilliance' page (although it is similar and a very good place to start rethinking your perceptions).

Allow me to put this into context based on two moments I had.

I am a big Disney fan. I love (most) of the films for one reason or another. Sometimes it will be the story, the music or the animation that will stick with me So it will come as no surprise to learn that 'The Little Mermaid' has long been a favourite of mine. It was my first introduction to the genius that is Alan Menken and the delight of Howard Ashman and his lyrics.And it was one of the first films that made me appreciate how time consuming and beautiful animation can be.

So it came as something of a shock to me when I rewatched the film a few years ago to realise that something had changed. It wasn't the film, it was still as beautiful as ever. The music was still incredibly catchy (to the point where I bought the entire soundtrack).

It was me. Or more importantly my perception of Ariel.

Doesn't matter how old I get, I LOVE her hair!

As children, we are meant to believe that Ariel is this strong, confident individual who has to fight mistaken perceptions and assumptions in order to follow her heart to her true love.

As an adult, I saw things a bit differently. I saw a child who kept trying to be a grown up when she clearly wasn't ready to be. I saw a selfish, sulky little girl who didn't look beyond her own wants and desires to see things from another perspective. In her father, I no longer saw a tyrant who was denying his child the thing she desired most, but an old, frightened man who didn't really know what to do and was doing his best for his children and his kingdom.

I got this feeling again when watching Pixar's 'Brave' (another excellent film). After seeing it, I got into a discussion with a friend of mine and it was rather enlightening to have the two perspectives. He loved the character of Merida, with her bow and arrow, firey temper and intelligence whereas my focus was drawn to the more dignified Elinor, with her confidence, intelligence and great depths of love.

Neither character is perfect, but like Triton, I saw Elinor as someone who was desperately trying to keep a very delicate situation from combusting. Think about it. She has lived through one great war in her lifetime. The last thing she wants is for her children to go through the same danger. So the plan is to have her daughter marry into one of the three remaining clans in order to keep this stability.

Can I blame her for essentially trying to mould her daughter into a copy of herself? No. Look at the respect she has as a wife and a queen. When she walks into a room, people pay attention to her. Who wouldn't want that for their child?

But do I think she was RIGHT to do so? No.

Merida does grow on me and she learns to use the skills her mother taught her, but I spent a huge chunk of the film thinking she was a complete brat. Would I have felt the same way at 13 as I do at 24?

I don't hate 'The Little Mermaid' by any stretch of the imagination. The concept of believing in something so strongly that you have to go against the people you love is one that has been told again and again and can, at times, be rather inspiring if the reason is powerful enough and the idea is executed well. The ones that succeed are the ones where the primary focus is on something else. In 'Brave's case, the primary focus was relationships and communication. In 'The Little Mermaid', the focus was on identity and choosing your own path.

Yet another redhead with wonderfully awesome hair!

Not every new perception is a negative one. Several years ago, I read two books by L.M Alcott entitled 'Eight Cousins' and 'Rose in Bloom'. The story is about a little girl who lost her family and is sent to stay with an uncle she has never met. He lives near a number of relatives; aunts, uncles and Rose's eight cousins (don't ask me to explain the family tree. I'm not sure I could). They are all boys and it's quite interesting to see the dynamic between the sexes. The second book involves a much older Rose and how she copes with the temptations and responsibilities of being a young woman of good looks and fortune, even in issues of the heart.

The second book does feature all of the cousins, but the eldest ones get particular focus throughout. Among these is Archie, the eldest and most sensible. I absolutely love him as a character, mostly because steady, kind-hearted individuals in fiction always catch my attention, but the first time I read it, he was my favourite. I grew more and more frustrated as Mac (the bookworm of the group) was featured more often. I found Mac boring and annoying, which you would think was strange considering how often I myself read.

But I loved novels and stories. Mac was busy learning anatomy.

Let's skip a decade now and I am reading the same two books and learning all about the same characters. My feelings about Archie hadn't changed, but they has mellowed significantly. I started seeing Mac in a completely different light. Yes, he was still studying, but I suddenly realised he wasn't a one-trick wonder. He  simply loved to learn and the things he studied were vast. Yes, he still read about anatomy, but he read (and wrote) poetry himself. Yes, he still became ill after reading in the sun, but now I had memories of having very mild sunstroke and how frustrating it was to have to lie in a cool, dark space and have nothing to occupy yourself.

And more importantly? While he was still absent-minded at times, he was willing to give up his comfort and confidence for someone else several times, even if it made him look foolish in the process.

Suddenly, the character I had hated most as a teenager had become one I had grown to love a great deal.

I think that's one of the reasons why we should not only try new things, but should sometimes take a moment or two to look back and revisit things we had forgotten. Do we feel the same way about a character now that we know more from our own experiences? Or perhaps, do we see where the villain is coming from? Are the heroes really that obvious, or are there chinks in their armour that we can see at last? And in a series of any description, how has the story changed now that you know what's up ahead?

You may discover something you never expected.