Millstones On The Road I: The Be Yourself Message

This will be the first one of a series of articles relating the dangers of the modern media for your Catholic Children. I hope this articles will help you to take care of the spiritual health of your children. 

To state that the world is in a bad state of affairs is to state the obvious. Children are very easy to influence and a Catholic must take care of their souls. Remember and meditate on what Queen Blanche told to King St. Louis!  "My son, I would rather see you dead in my arms than in the state of sin". Your child's soul and even your own depend on how you raise them. 

One of the ways in which we can loose our virtues and morals, is through TV. Everyone knows the low morals of movies like Pulp Fiction and Cannibal Holocaust, stuff that no decent Christian would like to watch - specially NOT in front of their children. We are reasonable enough not to show such garbage to the little ones; however, what if the poison comes in disguise? I want you to read the content I will present you very carefully.

Be Yourself, Love Yourself, Worship Yourself:

I have noticed that the principal message of many children movies consists in an old, and over cooked pop culture message: “be yourself”. However, there are many reasons why this slogan is useless for us in terms of a moral life. Consider:

1) Why you can be yourself but Bill Gates can't? It’s stupid to be a Christian and say “be yourself” when you believe sodomites should not do it. It's pharisiacal. If "being ourselves" is a value, Christians do not have the right to attack the LGBT+ lobby and pro-abortionists, etc. because they defend their concept, e.g.., How can sodomy be wrong if i am just "being myself"?

2) How can it be possible that "being ourselves" is a virtue? Who else are we going to be? We need to fight against our defects, but, how can we do it if the only thing that matters is "being ourselves"?. We should like the good things we can do, but feel bad about the evil things we do. "Being yourself" means not leaving your evil tendencies.

4) It is said that the virtue is "live and let live - be yourself but let others be themselves too". What happens if, by letting others be, I stop being myself? This is a contradiction! What if the “true self” of our children is not precisely “nice to others”? Again, it’s stupid to say “be yourself” when you believe you need to correct others when they deviate.

6) The principal maxim of occultist Aleister Crowley is "do what you wilt", a concept pretty similar to that of "be yourself". Not all who defend the "be yourself" concept are occultists, but we can´t just "do what we want".

7) It seems that the “be yourself” idea is transcendentalist in origin. Transcendentalism is rooted on the belief that humans were good, until society corrupted them and prevented them from being their “true selves”. They believe in the need to reject social life, religion, politics, and everything else in order to “transcend” and find their true identity, one uncorrupted by civilization. Be yourself is also anarchistic, because the anarchist rejects obedience that would oppose his will, and relativistic, because "being yourself" can vary according to the individual. 

Another message common in "be-yourself" movies is one of "acceptance". It's not only about being yourself, but also about accepting others. Acceptance is crucial for the "be yourself" message, because if you don`t accept others as they are, they cannot be themselves.  Being charitable with others, not matter how sinful or different they may be, is fine, but it should not be the only moral you have. The logic of acceptance movies is obsessively applied to everything wrong, from Muslim mass immigration, to sodomy, perversion, and satanism. My generation (2002) was not taught with drag queens in kinder, it was taught with movies with "be-yourself-acceptance" message. And here we are. 

Some of these movies portray it blatantly, while in others such message is open to discussion. I don’t want you to think I am saying your kids are necesarily going to Hell for watching these films. However, if they took this message seriously, it could affect their Salvation negatively. Imagine growing up thinking you are supposed to be yourself and then learning about mortification, obedience, and self-denial. What are you going to do? You will probably despair, or lose your faith, or worse.

This is my analysis:

- Shrek the ogre, although he has some virtues (loves his family, fights against selfish tyrants) this are merely natural virtues everyone can practice. He does whatever he wants even if it is rude: he burps, and sometimes is nasty (eg., the second movie, with the king). The only reason he is "good" is because he is the principal character and he does not care about anything outside of his mud pool, his donkey and his wife. When the truth is that lacking manners and being mean are minor defects, that they should be repressed. One never knows when mere meanness can become something graver, like misanthropy. Shreck 2 is also about acceptance, since Shreck needs to be accepted by the king.

- Kung Fu Panda. In the first movie, Po the panda discovers that the message of the "dragon scroll” (which gives power to those who possess it) is... nothing! He asks his adoptive father, a goose, what he thinks the message on the dragon scroll is, and the goose tells him that it does not matter if the scroll contains nothing, if he believes there is something special about him, he will thrive. At the end of the movie, Po shows that the dragon scroll is his reflection. You have your powers by yourself. You are cool just the way you are. How profound.

It is interesting to notice that, although his companions have trained hard all their life, Po is the one chosen as the “dragon warrior” - in my opinion, this is in part because he has more personality and is more unique than the others, (he is truly himself). He trusts in his own "inner strenght" unlike the Five, who feel the need to prove their strength all the time. 

Po admires his obese countenance. This is the scene where Po explains to the viewer that he has discovered the truth of the dragon scroll. Notice it is a mirror - this implies that by being himself, he can be stronger.  

- Hotel Transylvania. The monsters take refuge in a hotel because humans don't accept them as they are", while Dracula does not accept as he is the human guy who enters the resort and falls in love with Dracula's daughter. In the end, everybody "accepts each other as they are" and we are happy ever after. At the end of the sequel, little Dracula´s grandchild asks great grandad if he "is cool", and the old vampire responds that he is perfect just the way he is.

Shark`s Tale: Lennie the shark is misunderstood because he is vegetarian. At the end, Oscar the fish defends him from his family by arguing that he should just "be himself". 

- Frozen. Elsa is unhappy because of the fear of losing control of her freezing powers, and she never uses them 100%. But when she is free of using them as she pleases, she sings "Let it be", whose lyrics I reproduce here:

The snow glows white on the mountain tonight

Not a footprint to be seen

A kingdom of isolation

And it looks like I'm the queen

The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside

Couldn't keep it in, heaven knows I've tried (this suggests if you restrain yourself, your inner personality will break violently. That's why you need to be yourself.)

Don't let them in, don't let them see

Be the good girl you always have to be (complaint)

Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know

Well, now they know

Let it go, let it go

Can't hold it back anymore

Let it go, let it go

Turn away and slam the door

I don't care what they're going to say

Let the storm rage on

The cold never bothered me anyway

Let it go, let it go

Can't hold it back anymore

Let it go, let it go

Turn away and slam the door

Let it go (go, go, go go, go go, go go, go, go, go go)

Let it go

Let it go

Let it go

It's funny how some distance makes everything seem small

And the fears that once controlled me can't get to me at all

It's time to see what I can do

To test the limits and break through

No right, no wrong, no rules for me

I'm free

It was so subversive that sodomite advocates thought it was a song about “coming out” and made a campaign to get a girlfriend for Elsa. It is supposed to be a "villain song", but Elsa is a friendly princess, so your kids never notice it. Of course, Elsa can use her powers for good, but the "be yourself" message is crucial for the movie. 

Let it Be is one of the most popular princess songs ever. It is like “The Lion King’s” infamous song, Hakuna Matata; in which Timon and Pumba talk about “living without worries”: a stark contrast with the main message of the movie which is about following your responsibilities. The acceptable messages of the movies are burnt by one of their songs.

- Brave. Merida is bitterly nasty with her mother because she "does not let her be". The good thing is that they reconcile, of course, after Merida consults a crone that turns her mother into a bear. The mother, Queen Elinor, surrenders and lets her be; allowing the wild princess to “run wild in the forest with her bow and horse”. In other words, she allows her to be herself. The same happens with Jazmin in the Aladdin 2019 remake. 

- The Little Mermaid. Ariel is forbidden to visit the human world - humans eat fish - yet she visits the human world and is herself. She even sells her soul in order to get her wish. Just like in Brave, the problem is not only that she ignores her father's reasonable instructions, but that she uses the wrong means (going to the witch) to get what she wants. The same message is found in "Luca", whose storyline is almost identical. Rebellion is always justified in this movies. There is never a "Mommy-told-you" moment on the movies. Are you surprised children don't trust in their parents anymore?

- Avengers Endgame. The hero Thor (who by the way is inspired by a pagan idol) becomes a nihilist loser and a drunkard who plays video games all day. He lets his throne to his mother because "she´s a leader", while he retires into his cave to "be himself". Pathetic. Instead of locating the Infinity Stones where they ought to be, Captain America changes his past to live with his girl, instead of being the hero he ought to be. Because, “themselvness”!. 

Megamind. It tells the story of a villain, who complains he was not allowed to be good thanks to society - he was an alien from a malignant race, who was raised in jail after his planet was swallowed by a black hole - Yet does nothing to change it, until the middle of the movie. The be yourself message is found even more clearly on his nemesis, the hero Metro man, who feels he does not have the time to be himself since he has to protect the city, and thus fakes his death and becomes an Elvis impersonator. This implies that Megamind, who is full of personality and is not afraid of what others may think of him, is better than Metroman since he is "truly himself". 

Spirit. It is the story about a captured horse trying to get back with his herd. Although this would mean the movie teaches the importance of responsibility, the rest of the message of this movie can be resumed: “freedom, freedom, freedom!” An excessive desire for freedom is crucial to the “be yourself” movement.

Minions. They always look to serve the worst villain; however they are seen as "cute" and "funny". Because "themselveness!"

Zootopia. It is about a city populated by anthropomorphic animals, in which society believes that animal species cannot get over their stereotypes. You can see the producers intended a "social critique". 

Judy Hopps, the main character, is a rabbit who wants to be a police officer, even though this is a dangerous job, unfitting for her race and sex. The other protagonist is a fox, sad because he is not allowed to “be himself” and follow his dreams by the society, who believes all foxes are sly. True, stereotypes can be lame, after all everybody is different, and you should strive for holiness even if your past tries to keep you from it, but this doesn't take the be-yourself-acceptance message of the movie. It only makes it less irrational.

On the first versions of the story, Nick (the fox) owns an illegal amusement park in which the oppressed predators are allowed to “be themselves”. Although the park does not have a role in the movie, producers plan to use it in the future. (5)

In Coco, we have a Mexican boy who wishes to play music, but his family will not allow it. It is a stupid law, but that does not mean Coco does not have the be yourself message, as he plays music in secret, and travels to the world of the dead to meet one of his ancestors, a musical legend.

Inside Out is about how feelings affect the choices of Riley, a young girl. There are 5 characters that represent rage, fear, disgust, sadness, and happiness, but there is no character that represents Riley´s will; this implies mechanism, the belief that we do not possess a soul or free will, but live controlled by base instincts and brain chemistry.

One of the messages of the movie is that our feelings have a function to our lives, therefore we should accept them. While feelings are not evil on their own nature, it is important to control them, and rejecting them when they can lead us to sin. 

Mechanism is frequently used to defend the "be yourself" theory, specially concerning homosexuals, since it is believed that they can´t overcome their homosexuality - since they are programmed to be gay-, and restraining it could damage them. 

Monsters VS Aliens: Susan is struck by a meteorite and becomes a giant, and then is abducted by a government organization who keeps monsters in control. At the beginning she struggles with her new body, but later she accepts all the wonders she can do with it, and her new monstruous friends as they are. 

How To Train Your Dragon: Set on a world were Vikings fight with dragons, Hiccup, the protagonist, learns to train a dragon which he names Toothless. He eventually teaches his friends that dragons are tame animals that only hunt because they are oppressed by a giant dragon, so the Vikings finally accept dragons. 

Ratatouille: Remi is not accepted as he is, a rat willing to cook, by both rats and men. At the end, everybody recognizes his cooking talents and they just let him be. 

Disney Movies from the 1900`s: Both Belle and the Beast are misunderstood, Belle because she likes reading and the Beast because he is ugly. They need to be accepted by everyone else. Mulan is different than everyone else, she needs to be accepted by everyone else. Hercules is different from everyone else because he is a demigod, he needs to be accepted by everyone else.

Turbo: Turbo is a snail who wishes to be a fast car. His wish is accomplished. He wasn`t accepted by his brother, who did not accept his desire for fastness. It is true that movies about the "wanna-be underdog with great aspirations" aren't necessarily bad, but they have the be yourself message if the protagonist is somehow misunderstood, his parents forbid him from his dream, or the message is that society somehow has an obligation to accept him as he is. 

Madagascar 2. Marty the zebra feels sad because he feels he is not different from the other zebras, who imitate each other. Alex the lioni, his friend, tells him “he is perfect just the way he is". Alex himself is rejected by his father; raised in New York, he is an entertainer and not a fighter. However, he is accepted as he is when he saves his father by dancing in front of the Americans who hold them prisioner. 

CONCLUSION

I cannot say how impressed I am with the be yourself message found everywhere. Every. Single. Time.  I can`t believe how an entire generation spent its childhood being fed the same message all the time. Instead of being taught to save their souls, they are taught to follow their base instincts and “accept” everything you put in front of them. Are we really surprised at the state of my generation? it is true that this is not the only message that this movies have, but "be youself" is repeated so much that you can bet your bottom dollar it is the mesage they stay with more. 

You really need to teach your children against this message and keep them protected from this stuff. Warn them against this message, especially if they have already seen them. Tell them that in the movies the stories are made so the characters are somehow justified in being themselves, but it cannot be applied to real life. Pray, fast, and make sure they learn their faith. And remember, when you are called to judgement, you will not be asked whether you were yourself or not. 

Footnotes: 

IMDB Links to the Movies

Shrek 

Shrek 2

Kung Fu Panda 

Hotel Transilvania 

Hotel Transilvania 2 

Frozen 

Frozen 2 

Brave

Aladdin (2019) 

The Little Mermaid 

Avengers Endgame  and Infinity Wars

Megamind 

Spirit

Minions 

Zootopia 

Coco

Inside Out 

Monsters VS Aliens

How To TrainYour Dragon

Ratatouile

Belle and The Beast (1991)

Mulan (1998)

Hercules

Turbo

Madagascar 2