Avatar: The Last Airbender
Ok, before you make a b-line for the unsubscribe button, you’ll be happy to know this show is among my favourites. It truly is a work of art – but I didn’t get to experience the beauty of this show without some convincing.
Like many people, I was dissuaded by its cartoonish style and, no shade to Nickeloden, but I figured it was a kid’s show. How could this be relevant to me? I hadn’t grown up watching Avatar: The Last Airbender (ATLA) and it was a show I wasn’t all that interested in watching. When people desperately begged me to watch it, I was never that keen, no matter how amazing they said it was.
I thought it was just a cartoon.
Eventually, I did give it the chance it deserved and my perceptions were sorely wrong. Each season became richer and the stakes kept getting higher and higher. I was hooked and it blew my expectations of a kid’s show out of the water.
Why? In a war-torn world, these tweens and teens are pushed into the roles of adults, not unlike many youth who stepped up in World War I and II. Our protagonists sacrifice their childhood to be warriors, leaders, and, in Aang’s case, to be the saviour of the world. This bildungsroman, or ‘coming of age’ story, shows us how each character navigates their way in an unforgiving world. Indeed, the themes of war, genocide, oppression, politics and power shape the narrative. It breaks the mould for what can be included in a kid’s show and, for this reason and boldness, ATLA has been praised and received countless awards.
It’s so much more than just a cartoon, and I highly recommend you watch it.
Being an early bird
I’ve never been a morning person. I never thought it could be for me. There was zero appeal in seeing the sun rise, leaping out of bed and pursuing a life that started before 10:00am. It baffled me that people could have so much vim and vigour that early in the day.
I admit, I am a bit of a bear. I enjoy my sleep and love a good lie in. If it was an olympic sport, I’d have many a gold medal. I thrive in the evening, where most would start to dip in energy. But the world isn’t designed for sleepy bears like me and, eventually, I had to swap my sleepy ways and join the hordes who wake up early.
And wouldn’t you know, I actually don’t mind it.
The peace of the morning is unmatched. You get more out of your day. Sure, the inertia after waking up feels terrible, but give it five minutes and boom, it’s actually bearable. Yup, even a sleepy bear like me can change their sleep schedule – with the help of the snooze button and a bunch of alarms.
If you want to wake up earlier, but think it’s not for you, I’d honestly say don’t knock it til you try it.
Wonka
I didn’t even want to see this movie, I had my mind so fiercely made up. I didn’t see the point of adding yet another Charlie & The Chocolate Factory movie to the world. It’s a cash grab, I would say. I stood so strongly with Johnny Depp’s portrayal of Willy Wonka that nobody could move me.
When I was forced along to the movie, I sat with my arms folded, enduring the 1 hour 56 minutes. But I didn’t endure it. I actually left the movies in a state of shell-shock. While my mum and my sister spoke excitedly about how much they’d loved it, I was speechless. I couldn’t believe how horribly wrong I’d been about this movie.
The storyline was original and heart warming. The songs were catchy and we proceeded to blast them as soon as we got home.
I went back to see it again and the tone was completely different. I actually let myself enjoy it – I had the movie experience I should’ve had the first time. I laughed, I bobbed my feet and saw Wonka in a whole new light.
It’s easy to get protective over our favourite movies and the constant reboots and poorly written sequels (Mufasa, for example). I’m glad I went, because I would’ve missed out on such a sweet gem of a film.
Have you had any similar experiences? Let me know below in the comments!!
rebekah writes stuff. 