Where exactly has the year gone? It seems like just yesterday I was writing a post for New Years day last year. Well, if you want something mystical and profound today from me, you’re not going to get it. If you have inner cravings for something on resolutions, you should go and look up my post from last year :). I have, however, been contemplating changes in culture reflected in children’s films over time. This may seem a tad strange topic for a post so let me explain a bit. Over the holidays, we have been entertaining my husband’s 11 year old sister and their 9 year old cousin – it’s a novelty to have sleepovers at our house at the moment, which means we’ve had quite a few of them. I observed their crazed conversations about high school musical and its MULTIPLE sequels, Hannah Montana and read their girlie magazines. Seriously, most of it is capricious, frivolous rubbish. So over the last couple of weeks I have attempted to educate them with movies from the 80s and 90s. Does anyone remember Willow, the Never Ending Story, and my personal favourite “The Labyrinth?”. As I re-watched these movies with the girls I discovered that these films had virtue. It wasn’t about boys, cloths and the importance of acquiring copious amounts of material goods. These fantasy films were about the triumph of good over evil, there is a clear distinction between virtue and vice, and in many cases the characters grow in virtues such as courage, hope and learn to forgo their own selfishness for the sake of others. And the girls loved them! Now, each time they come over, they ask me to get out a movie that I watched when I was little in preference to the movies of their own cultural milieu. I think this hits on something innately wonderful about the human person – that virtue is naturally attractive and uplifting! If you have the time this holiday season go and get one or two of them out from the video store and tell me what you think.