Maleficent

We saw the movie Maleficent today on the advice of some good friends. It will be difficult to avoid spoilers in talking about it, but I was very interested in how this movie took a different - can you think Postmodern?- view of this story. It reminds me of Wicked (the musical) and how it did the same thing with that story. Key moral of the narrative is the nature of true love. It is persuasive especially with the cultural climate regarding love today. This version of the story is convincing, that by comparison, the nature of true love is exemplified in a much different way than what the old version depicts. Boy does that have a lot to say about how our culture has changed! It is loaded with fairly typical black and white contrasts that do no damage to the tried and true (though arguable ethnic) conceptions of good and evil. But the sex roles have certainly taken a serious hit, and this is what feels right. There is also an element of Avatar here in the juxtaposition of two cultures. One is natural - magical even of course - and colorful. I half wonder how many of the same CG crew that worked with Cameron worked on this. James Howard did the music. I note especially the appropriate difference in the last song One Upon a Dream. So everything beautifully fits the opposite interpretation of this classic and does so because our culture is ripe for it.