To me, it’s always seemed like the story of Cinderella has a pretty obvious theme – it is better to be kind than cruel. Sure Ever After stretched this into more of a be intelligent and inclusive idea and the Disney cartoon is pretty heavily focused on wishing yourself out of tough situations, but in general the main point remains, be kind and you’ll get your happily ever after.
So while watching the new live action Cinderella a few days ago I was happy to see that the repeated mantra of the film was, have courage and be kind. To me it perfectly sums up what the Cinderella story is all about, and is exactly how we should go about our daily lives.
But, to my complete and utter surprise, the friend I was watching with didn’t receive this message of hope and kindness from the film at all. She said that it just goes to show being too nice doesn’t get you anywhere. It hurt my soul a little to hear her say that, and though I get where she is coming from it scares me a little that people can receive such different messages from the same information.
I know I’m inclined towards being kind, whether it’s just my nature or I learned it from my parents, kindness is one of the things I strive for. So it makes sense that I latched on to this facet of the film, that I saw it as the major theme. And it also makes sense that my friend, who is more selective with her kindness, saw a theme that people who are nice to everyone just get taken advantage of.
So who is right? And what else did we miss? How many other things am I missing because I see what I want to see?
Well since things work out for Cinderella in the end, how can the message be that you get screwed over if you’re nice? Sure, it’s tough for her for awhile, but she perseveres and is rewarded for her general goodness. I think you’ve got the right idea, not your friends.
‘Have courage and be kind’– I loved that motto too! Although this is the point at which I would like to point out that in an animated version of Cinderalla I watched in Russia, the first thing she does when she arrives at the castle for the ball is to start cleaning everything. Obviously, this is the true example for success.