tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post8326470180458813664..comments2024-03-27T03:19:11.216-04:00Comments on Assistant Village Idiot: YA Novel & Twilight PopularityAssistant Village Idiothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-83017001058268038242008-12-07T12:09:00.000-05:002008-12-07T12:09:00.000-05:00Re: Erin's commentWe can go back to Disney's much ...Re: Erin's comment<BR/><BR/>We can go back to Disney's much earlier movies, such as Bambi, where the title character is orphaned, not by divorce but by a deer hunter. The father deer doesn't appear either.<BR/><BR/>Disney movies seem to have a common Child-Against-the-Tough-World theme. Maybe something in Walt's past led to that.John J. Coupalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14251189003749371248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-86827151455801628132008-12-06T02:24:00.000-05:002008-12-06T02:24:00.000-05:00It's not only true for YA books. I was pitching a...It's not only true for YA books. I was pitching a short film at a church meeting once, and I was maintaining that the main character should have arrived alone to the art gallery the film was taking place in. One of the pastor's argued against it, saying "no one goes to an art gallery alone," to which my response was "film finds people in a place of solitude." I stick by this. <BR/><BR/>The characters in films are almost always alone in some sense when we first meet them. Luke Skywalker, Dorothy Gale, Oskar Schindler, Sister Maria, Rick Blaine, and certainly Citizen Kane were all completely alone at the beginning of their movies - and, depending on the movie, either safely nestled with a new family or completely alone at the end. Even movies about groups or families - <I>The Godfather</I>, for instance - the main character is still separate and alone.Ben Wymanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12491745981357751416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-74788161212235177722008-12-05T23:18:00.000-05:002008-12-05T23:18:00.000-05:00You are correct lelia, that Bettelheim was one of ...You are correct lelia, that Bettelheim was one of the leaders of the school of thought which blamed autism on cold rejecting parenting (especially mothers). I offer no defense of them for that. It was the arrogance of the times and the profession. Psychiatrists and psychologists were convinced that they saw things accurately, and those who resisted their ideas just couldn't face reality.<BR/><BR/>I have been present over the last 30 years as these experts have had their ideas shredded, and watched their contortions attempting to save scraps of their theories. They have fared far worse facing reality than those they mocked.Assistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-16512067884542247022008-12-05T12:11:00.000-05:002008-12-05T12:11:00.000-05:00I think the reason why YA books have characters wh...I think the reason why YA books have characters who are always orphaned or from a divorced family is because a complete family provides protection and security. These books play on the greatest emotional fears for youngsters and that is: not having anyone to take care of them or even care. Let's face it, coming from a secure, mom and dad, home does not play on any human fears. That is precisely why we should scream the benefits of such a home from the roof tops. That kind of life is boring and boring is good.Boethiushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00755968985821460943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-88400331466290760582008-12-05T06:41:00.000-05:002008-12-05T06:41:00.000-05:00It isn't just YA novels that are divorce-ridden. ...It isn't just YA novels that are divorce-ridden. Think of Disney movies: Lion King, Aladdin, Little Mermaid, Finding Nemo, etc. Do any of them have main characters whose father and mother are alive and together?Erinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12803753870981743904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-63874979127413500082008-12-04T21:13:00.000-05:002008-12-04T21:13:00.000-05:00It's been so long and with so much read after that...It's been so long and with so much read after that I can't recall The Uses of Enchantment with clarity, but I can tell you with great emphasis that those of us with autistic children despise Brutal Bettleheim. He called us Nazis who destroyed our children's egos. After his death, former students told of his abusive behaviour.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com