Slumdog Millionaire puts me in the dumps

June 7, 2009

Life is good and sweet, we're happy and healthy. All is really well.

Then I watch a movie like this and realize yet again that life is not all well. I know this is supposed to be a modern day fairy tale but seeing children in poverty and pain is a heart and gut wrenching experience for me, regardless of the "happy" outcome.

From an artistic perspective this movie was very visually appealing (when I wasn't hiding behind the pillow or the couch). The rich colors and vibrant light made me ohh & ahh. But my guts were ripped apart at the rest of it.

A review on the back of the movie calls this the "feel-good movie of the year". What the hell are they thinking? That reviewer is obviously not a mother.

I have always loved this quote by Elizabeth Stone. I think it sums up well the vulnerability to pain and suffering I feel as a mother and why I choose to mostly shield myself from movies like this and the news in general.

Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.

What is one little mama, caring for 3 of her own, to do about the plight of the world's children?? I wrestle with this question after each movie like this I watch. And when no answer comes to me I push down the outrage, pain and INJUSTICE (ah I want to scream and cry all at the same time) I feel for these children and move on with the rest of my life. What else can I do? Really? I'd like to know.