Monday, August 17, 2015

"Feel Good" Movies: An Animated Debate

I saw this meme the other day and thought, "Wow, I totally understand the person who came up with that". Because once upon a time I watched this horrible, terrible, depression-inducing film and sustained long-lasting trauma still prevalent today. I can't imagine who could ever watch this movie and actually classify it as "feel good".

The same could be said for a number of other "children's" movies. Bambi. Old Yeller. And don't think for one second I've ever got over the Baby Mine scene from Dumbo. Seriously, who comes up with this stuff? After Disney burned me in 1988 with the delightfully depressing Oliver and Company and then moved on to the killing shot -- otherwise known as that horrific Land Before Time scene where Littlefoot sees his shadow and thinks he's found his dead mother -- my parents wisely decided to stop taking me to kids' movies featuring animals.

Now, with impending motherhood barrelling toward me, I have my own decision to make. Every parent is faced with this same dilemma. Will they let their children start watching PG-13 movies before the age of thirteen? Rated R movies . . . when is too soon? How much do we shield our beloved offspring from film and TV horrors?

My parents have often been teased or criticized for allowing me to watch The Terminator when I was seven years old. And okay, I may have gotten a few nightmares from that one. And sure, Aliens is perhaps not the most appropriate film for a nine-year-old (I think their regretted that decision in retrospect).

But the truth is when I look back at my childhood cinematic education, I've come to terms with my fear of robot uprisings and alien invasions, but the first strains of Baby Mine can reduce me to tears faster than the time it takes for Walt "Trauma Inducing" Disney to kill off an animated mother. So I ask you -- what can we really consider a "feel good", kid-friendly movie? 

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Insecure Writer's Support Group

It's the first Wednesday of the month and time for another Insecure Writer's Support Group. A big shout out to Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh for starting this amazing group, and all his co-hosts of the month for their help keeping things running. If you're an insecure writer or just looking to support those of us that are, check us out here


I'm seven months pregnant and my writing inspiration has shriveled up for the summer. So instead of writing about my insecurities, I thought I'd share a few quotes about writing from sources much more inspiration than myself. Check them out: 


“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” 



“Substitute 'damn' every time you're inclined to write 'very;' your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.” 



“You never have to change anything you got up in the middle of the night to write.” 



“No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.” 



“The road to hell is paved with adverbs.” 



“Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia.” 


I hope you enjoyed the wise words (the last quote in particular hits home for me). To all my fellow insecure writers out there, keep bleeding, weeping, getting up in the middle of the night to bang away at your keyboard and generally acting like a socially acceptable schizophrenic!