Childhood, not Mini-Adulthood

           It’s interesting to me how childhood works. It’s so short and so different from adulthood. Some people remember their childhood constantly; it sticks so firmly to some and not to others. Is growing from childhood into adulthood like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly? I’m not saying that being an adult is so much greater or more beautiful, but I wonder if the transformation is just as extensive as it is with a caterpillar. Does the butterfly remember what it was like to be a caterpillar; better yet, can the butterfly remember or is it incapable in its new form? It’s like there is a wall between childhood and adulthood that grows steadily as a child grows up; for some it becomes thick and impenetrable, but for others it is almost see through. Some people work really well with kids and others don’t, and yet they were all kids at one point.

             This brings me to the film: “Son of Rambow.” I really enjoyed watching the relationship between the adults and the children, and how the adults treated the children in that film.  The biggest thing I noticed was that in this conservative religion, portrayed in the film, children were treated like mini-adults (similar to what we talked about while looking at the old portraits.)  I also got the impression that the film was saying that this was a bad thing. On the one hand you had a family where the children had no parents around and had to take care of themselves like adults, which really didn’t happen because they’re not adults. Instead the big brother just took advantage of the little brother because that’s what big brothers do. On the other hand you have a family with mini-adults who are expected to raise themselves to an extremely high standard, and put away every childish thing.  Many adults in this film, Joshua, the teachers, and Mrs. Proudfoot for most of the film, don’t understand children. They are like butterflies looking down at caterpillars and wondering why they don’t fly, they are just mini-butterflies right?  I’m not sure I agree with how the film treated religion in this film, but that is a topic for another day. Regardless, I really enjoyed the increased understanding and love that the mother gained for the son. She came to realize that she had to think of him and treat him as a boy and not as a "man of the Brotherhood." I think that butterflies can understand caterpillars, and it is their job to do so. The wall between adulthood and childhood isn’t as thick as we think. We may never be able to go back, but we can remember and earn a better understanding if we try.