On Needing a Villain

I had an epiphany this morning, let's see if I can play it out in words well. We bent the rules for Hunter and allowed a little movie watching so I could make my grocery list and Jason could make a trip to the guitar store. He watched some weird cars knock-off episode and then I allowed him to choose one more video. He chose the movie version of the story "The Little Engine that Could." We started awkwardly in the middle of it because he had tried to watch it before. Hunter didn't seem to mind. The animated movie shows the character that is obviously the little engine that could and the toys that want to be delivered to the boys and girls over the mountain. Then comes a big old iron engine. I'm thinking- ok- this is the old engine that is too tired to help the engine (later I realized this interaction must have already happened since the engine that Could is already on board). The big iron engine is not the old man. It is a giant, creepy, red-eyed villain with iron grates for a scary mouth. He is bullying the little engine and stealing the boy (added character) and toys and running away- not without first violently pushing the little engine off the tracks.

I'm thinking... WTF? This is the weirdest rendition of this story that I have seen! (A little akin to the Polar Express movie- a LOT of random, creepy images that are added to make a movie out of a 12 page book with mostly pictures.) I continue to watch over my shoulder, forgetting my grocery list. The scenery, characters and story line all are dark and dreary and getting more dramatic and desperate as time goes on. So I am wondering if I should choose some other video for Hunter to watch. Keep in mind that Hunter is 3 years old, and while I am not a developmental or psychological expert- I do know the simple fact that this age sees an increase in real or imagined fears. Many are irrational and 3 year olds are not quite at the point where you can explain something to them with reason for them to change their mind. Waking up a 3am with a nightmare is not uncommon for this age group. Hunter does not seem to be too phased by the scary villain, so I let it go. But I think about it.

I casually post on Facebook about it, writing: "What is up with making nice, normal stories into scary, creepy, dramatic movies? Hunter is watching an extended rendition of the little engine that could- complete with a big, scary, villainous train." I expected responses from parents in agreement. I did not get that. The responses were appropriate and thoughtful, saying essentially that having a villain was in fact probably more realistic to life and could be a positive venue for our children to learn about how to deal with evil and "villains" in the real world. Here is the direct quote from Kate Meacham: "OK - I have a theory on this. I think that we like to forget the villains and pretend that everything can be all kumbayah. BUT - the thieves in the bushes are an important part of so many stories - and as adults, I know that I am continually disappointed when I discover mal-intentions. BUT if we'd just remembered and realized that the villains are part of our world, and we need to anticipate their presence - we wouldn't be so disappointed. . . all this is to say - maybe it plays a role in real life awareness?" To some extent I agreed with my two friends, but something in me was still concerned. It challenged me to think deeper into what was really bothering me about the responses and even more so- the movie. The two responses I received were from two friends who I would say are at opposite ends of the theological spectrum. I think this is helpful to keep in mind because this is not a polarized thought from one theological paradigm. I started verbalizing my thoughts to Jason when it hit me... The idea that we need a villain to understand evil is, to me, misdirection.

I think most people who understand the realities of the world would probably agree to some extent with my friends, as I did. However, and I hope to bring a new idea to the table, I have misgivings about this approach.

I may be reading too much into what my friends said, but I think more generally the idea is that villains in stories are appropriate tools for communicating the presence of evil in the world. I agree that they are convenient tools. However, if we unpack this a little bit, I think we might be making a mistake to emphasize the villain as the obvious and true choice to recognize and fight evil. I think personifying evil in the real world is often what gets us in trouble, in hatred, and in powerlessness. We demonize a people-group, a person, or even an idea or moral standard (and the one who believes it believes in evil). We label the evil and then it becomes bigger and scarier than we know how to handle, so the Evil wins at our timidity. Sometimes we need a villain so we can be the victim. We need a villain so that someone or something is to blame.

In these kids movies there is increasing drama, and seemingly insurmountable obstacles. There are creepy, evil villains that personally hound the "hero" of the story. That hero often (in kids movies) saves the day with help from friends. I do think that these can be very positive life lessons. However, in the real world- does this happen this way? Is evil in the form of one person or thing that makes it a personal goal to hound us? Are we traveling up the hill only to find that we are out of gas and then suddenly the sun is blacked out and it starts pouring down with snow? Maybe some days we FEEL like that (maybe because we interpret it that way). Honestly, most of the time evil in my world starts with me. It starts with my attitude. It starts with my unwillingness to do something, to stand up for something. I most often experience evil as the ABSENCE of good being done, rather than the ACT of evil being forged. And how do we fight inaction? We often don't- because we don't readily recognize it.

Don't misunderstand me. There ARE evil-acting people and ideas and forces in this world. Whether you believe in a personified devil or not, evil is actively happening everywhere in the world. We don't have to have a red critter with horns to believe that. We can blame it on the devil, we can blame it on God. Or we can start doing something. A person of faith has the reassurance and hope that God is with them. A person without faith can still fight- they just might grow weary. However- the power of evil lies not in the power of the evil one, but the powerlessness in those who choose not to fight it. Evil is a vacuum, Good is a force.

Take the original story of the little engine that could. It depicts a broken down train who is trying to make its way over the mountain to deliver food and toys to the village. The toys cry out for help. An old train stops to speak with the toys and apologizes for being too old and tired and unable to help. A shiny new train stops and snobbily turns its nose at the train and refuses to help as it is beneath him to pull such a train. Finally, a little engine comes and admits weakness, but offers to try. The engine tries and repeats positive, hopeful determination to itself...I think I can, I think I can. When the train succeeds, it provides its own affirmation...I thought I could, I thought I could! The food and toys are delivered and the children are happy. There is no specific villain- the snobby train could be one, but it doesn't get much mention. The ones who wouldn't or couldn't are not dwelled on. The true victory is that the little engine thought it could, tried, and succeeded. This is a much more useful lesson to my life. I could learn a lot more from not dwelling on what went wrong and what didn't happen my way. I could learn a lot from the lesson of trying with hopeful determination. These are not pollyanna lessons, they are hard. At least they are hard for me.

When I see stories of overwhelming triumphs over overwhelming evil- I often think- I would've given up 8 scenes ago. It is out of reach and inconceivable. I know that these stories have real parallels in the real world, but most of them are dramatized beyond reality. Adult movies and shows are not very different from kids' are they? Startling evil villains, mind-boggling obstacles, super-heroics are required to be victorious. Maybe that is why we are so obsessed with supers these days. We've made our villains too big- we can't handle them. We are frozen in apathy and need someone bigger to take care of it.

I think this is a part of why Occupy Wall Street is so compelling to me. Sure, many of those folks have some personified demons to point out- but as a whole- it's a large group of people who are tired of doing nothing. They don't have demands because they haven't agreed on a villain. I kind of hope they don't ever agree on one. I like that it is a rising of people who want to do something different and offer a different point of view, a different opinion.

So to take this more specifically to my faith... Jesus was a big story-teller. He had his way of making himself understood - although at times it seemed more confusing. His wisdom in sharing parables and stories rather than theological treatises and dogma becomes more and more apparent to me. I wonder (and I really am thinking about this- please offer your thoughts)- are there many villains in Jesus' stories? The ones that come to mind lack a true villain... instead are stories of action and inaction, perception of justice and descriptions of The Kingdom. This is interesting to me.

Do we really exist in a world of obvious villains who are after us in as many crafty ways as they can muster? Or are our true villains the voices inside that say "don't do anything," "wait," "it's more than you should do," "it's not your problem," "THEY are evil, you are right," "YOU deserve this, THEY don't." I believe that life offers us many more opportunities to be heroes than we can imagine. The "villains" we encounter on a daily basis are really at a basic level people who think only of themselves. The "super-villains" have been unchecked for far too long. We can be heroes simply by doing something for someone else.

I don't need a villain, I need a will to do good. I'm reminded of one of my favorite gospel songs:

I'm gonna live so
God can use me
Anywhere Lord, Anytime

I'm gonna pray so
God can use me
Anywhere Lord, Anytime

I'm gonna sing so
God can use me
Anywhere Lord, Anytime

I'm gonna work so
God can use me
Anywhere Lord, Anytime

Amen.