A Reflection on Disney's Tarzan
Now, you may be wondering what does Tarzan have to do with peace. I was able to watch Disney's Tarzan (1999) accidentally and as I was watching the film, one of the lines stood out to me. The scene was right after Tarzan almost had his gorilla family killed, when he accidentally appeared in front of few elephants, who thought he was a piranha. Tarzan, to some gorillas, was an outcast, because he was not one of them. And in order to prove himself, he took on the challenge that almost killed the others. The line belongs to Tarzan's mother.
C "Tarzan, what are you doing?"
T "Why am I so different?"
C "Because you are covered with mud, that's why."
T "No, Kerchak said I didn't belong in the..."
C "Close your mouth."
T "Kerchak said I didn't belong in the family."
C "Never mind what Kerchak said. Now, hold still."
T "Look at me."
C "I am, Tarzan. And do you know what I see? I see two eyes. Like mine. And a nose. Somewhere, ah! Here! Two ears. And let's see, what else?"
T "Two hands?"
C "That's right. Close your eyes. And now forget what you see. What do you feel?"
T "My heart."
C "Come here. Your heart. See, they are exactly the same."
The animation film, Tarzan is about a boy who grew up with gorillas and has difficulty fitting in, because of his appearance. Now how does this fit in with peace? We fight and argue because of how different we are. We have conflicts from the different flag colors we have or different religion we have. However, in the end, we are all the same. We are same humans, who live in the same planet provided by one Creator. Instead of noticing how different we are, just as Tarzan and his mother did, we need to start looking for the common things that we share. In the end, we are more similar to each other than different. We are able to see that through our love and hope for peace. The WARP Summit testifies that love and hope.
Another importance of this scene is the role of Tarzan's mother. She was able to guide Tarzan to think positively and to show him a different way to fit him. Through this scene, she changed him. And after the conversation, Tarzan begins to change himself. This is the role of mothers. And that is why HWPL has a sub-organization called IWPG, for all women in the world to gather under one banner to represent their role as mothers. Their duty is to protect and educate their children into a correct decision. Although I am not diminishing the paternal role, mothers have their own unique role and influence in their children. Tarzan's mother was able to convince Tarzan to see things in a different way. And we believe that along with the power of the youth, power of all mothers in the world will change the world into a world of peace.
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ReplyDeleteYour ideas about peace are great and amazing!
ReplyDeleteThis story of Tarzan's mother has a ready wit.
HWPL , too.
Very thoughful article. Peace does not means an absence of conflicts. Difference always be there. Peace means solving these difference through peaceful means, through dialogue, education, knowledge, and of course human ways. We have difference yet we are all created by one Creator.
ReplyDeletei love peace
ReplyDelete