How hard to write about Little Prince, though such a small book!
When 12-year-old Henna started reading the book a few days ago and talk about it in glowing terms, I thought she gained an important equipment in being on the course of being more responsible, more questioning and a good person.
"The reason why I try to explain it to you is because I don't want to forget about it"
The book, which was published a year before Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's death in 1943 at the age of 43, is a masterpiece and considering "grown ups" as well embrace the books frequently, it can't be deemed a child book. We may partly owe the stance Exupéry maintains, who didn't let his losses in childhood steal his childness, didn't get numb towards his childness 'while growing and after grew up', didn't become like grown ups when he became one, to him watching the ones on Earth from the sky.
"If your favorite flower is on only one star among millions of others, looking at the stars is sufficient for our happiness"
Exupery's text directs you to his drawings, it almost feels like the writer is saying "If you are not careful with these drawings, reading these sentences will be in vain and I cannot restore another child to life. Don't forget to read, understand, and watch carefully the drawings and to say "I can draw too" in both books and the movie.
French people who managed to shine out in psychoanalysis manages to reflect their light on this movie too. In fact, from this perspective this movie is not a pioneer. Priorly, there is a production named "Inside Out" based on highly impressive psychoanalytical analyses and solutions. This movie materializing and brings into our living rooms the debates over subconscious, memory, personality development, behavior, affectivity, and explicitly invites children to discuss "human".
The movie Little Prince reads most of the book aloud and doesn't confine itself to the book, some parts of the book don't take part in the movie and it is inexcusable in my opinion. The little girl who lives according to her mother's wishes doesn't become hostile to her mother by the perspective obtained from the story she read and the old man, on the contrary tries to understand grown ups and starts to realize their peculiarities.
"It turns out people have no power to imagine. They merely repeat what you tell them."
The movie displays resistance against the power of the system that turn mother and daughter into different people. However this resistance doesn't mark only excluding the system entirely, but also a channel to breathe. If we have to give an example closer to us, high-school and university entrance exams such as TEOG or LYS don't let parents be democratic towards their children. You should have the required life style, perspective and affection to be successful. Questioning the system won't just cause you to lose time but also ensures a futureless life! So we are not alien to the theme of the movie, but just the opposite. In the movie, a system which rejects heavy, critical and creative thoughts is displayed. The best thing you can do when the system wants your soul is to not hand it that easily; even if you are left alone! Just like the old man in the movie.
Don't restrict yourself to make your kids read it only, please you also read the book and watch the movie, and do it for yourself, not for your kids.
Friendship is joyful with Exupéry saying "There are so many whom we couldn't wake from their sleeps" and "A person can see best by heart. Eyes cannot see what really has to be seen". (AY/HK/TK)
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