It is December 15th. The countdown to Christmas is in full swing and if you're like me you're binge watching at least one Christmas movie a day. I would like to take a quick tangent to explain why Christmas movies are the best movies.... 1- You're basically guaranteed a happy ending. Movies with a sad or depressing ending can leave me feeling morose for days. I love that quote "Everyone has a happy ending, if it's not happy then it's not the end". (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel). When I saw the Titanic I seriously sat there until the end of the credits thinking they were going to come back and say "Just kidding! Jack is perfectly fine and he's an old man too and here he is!" At this point you may be thinking I am a naive, rose-colored glasses type girl. I have experienced pain, loss and grief and maybe that's part of the reason I love a happy ending so much. When you feel like the world is crashing around you, when you feel so sad and so hurt that the pain radiates your body and it's impossible to stand. Even then, it's possible to somehow find the strength to stand up, put yourself back together and find a piece of happiness for yourself. I would like to reference another quote and I know I am rambling, hang in there!! "Everyday may not be good, but there is something good in every day". I love movies with happy endings because sometimes they can be my good thing on a crappy day. Ok, back to why Christmas Movies are the best!!! 2- The MUSIC. Ahhhh, the music is so happy and bouncy and fun. Today I was in the grocery store and I swear half the customers walking around we're singing along to the Christmas music they had playing. It is impossible to be anything other than joyful when people around you are so freely singing "Jingle Bells". 3- The moral of the story. Seriously, most Christmas movies have a great moral to the story and it's almost always to appreciate your family and friends, enjoy the little things in life, and not work so much. A Christmas Carol is one of my favorites and has the best lesson of them all. Ok, Those are my top three reasons why Christmas Movies are the best. Are you still with me? Moving on the Cindy Lou Who and why she is a Badass Role Model Cindy Lou Who- Did I mention she's a badass role model?Whenever anyone talks about role models for kids, particularly female role models, we think of characters like Mulan, Pocahontas, and Moana. Don't get me wrong, they're all awesome in their own way and Cindy Lou Who belongs with them!
First, I'm talking about the Cindy Lou Who in the Jim Carey version of the Grinch. Ok, now that we're all on the same page, let's get started. We're going to cover my favorite scenes that illustrate what a smart, brave, strong young person Cindy is and why she is an amazing role model. In the beginning of the movie we see Cindy voice her concerns about Christmas to her father. Her concerns that all the Christmas mania seemed "superfluous and a bit much". I love this scene because Cindy is bold enough to tell her dad he's acting nuts, and second because she's casually using words like superfluous. Vocab is important kids! After a run in with the Grinch she starts to doubt the rumors she's heard about him, thinking maybe he's not so bad after all. Cindy realizes that rumors aren't always true and the only way to find the truth is to investigate. So this bold girl goes out and full on investigates what happened and why the Grinch disappeared. Going door to door, asking questions, taking notes, interrogating the witnesses. We come next to another great scene with her dad, she gives him a heads up that "she may do something drastic". When was the last time you did something drastic and had the forethought to warn your loved ones about it? All my crazy ideas are on impulse only. This is my favorite part, she decides the Grinch is probably misunderstood and needs to be shown he's welcome in the town, so she yells out in front of the whole town and nominates him to be the Holiday Cheermaster! I would definitely not be brave enough to do that! However, the Mayor contests her nomination, but this girl stands toe to toe with not only an adult, but the most powerful adult in the city! She makes a coherent, well reasoned argument and manages to prove him wrong and outsmart him. Get him girl!! I was 18 years old before I was able to make a reasoned argument like that and that may have been a one time thing! So now she just has the small task of climbing a terrifying mountain and talking to someone the whole town has feared for what, 20-30 years to invite him to the Christmas Party. No big deal for Cindy though! Even when the Grinch is acting like a complete loon, trying to scare her away, yelling at her, she stands her ground. Finally recommending a time out for him as she maintains her composure. Bravery level 10. (I would like to take the moment to note, it may have been an impulsive decision to write all this about a children's Christmas movie, I'm mildly regretting it but I'm in too deep now so on we go) So we skip ahead, Grinch ruins the Christmas party, steals Christmas, and is on his mountain gloating... Cindy is taking all the blame from the mayor for ruining Christmas. Finally dad gets his head out of his bum and defends his daughter!! Wake up Lou!! Cindy, despite all this, even though the Grinch has probably disappointed her and committed a felony, she still doesn't want him to spend Christmas alone. She manages to put it all aside and climb that darn mountain again. This girl is crazy fearless. Throughout the whole movie, she never gave up on him. She stood up to everyone who dismissed her as "a little, not to be taken seriously, girl!" (quote, Mayor MayWho). She did so eloquently and with great bravery. She taught the whole town the true meaning of Christmas and basically rehabilitated a chronic agoraphobe with anger issues. She was strong enough to let her love and light bring everyone together. Cindy Lou Who, you are going down in my Bad Ass Role Model hall of fame!
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