This past weekend, I stood in line with 2 great friends...well, plus another 501 people I didn't know...to see the much-anticipated Alice in Wonderland. To be honest, it wasn't much-anticipated by ME...but, I'm sure it was by the other 499 people standing in the line. I was just anticipating a fun night with 2 friends I don't get to see nearly enough (as well as the $10 Coke and popcorn!) Because my friends were in that "much anticipating" group--I was very happy to tag along, and see what all the fuss was about.
I will happily admit that the movie is visually amazing. The scenery and characters are mini puzzles and symbols just waiting to be discovered, to be plucked from the screen. If you're in the right mood, a movie like that is such a fun mental treasure hunt. If you want to be passively entertained, there are enough funny quotes and silly characters to do the trick. ("I like a warm pig belly for my aching feet." "Where are my fat boys? (Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum) Speak. Entertain us!")
I understand I am quite late coming to the Alice in Wonderland appreciation party. I remember only bits and pieces from the original Disney movie. And who could forget the "Jabberwocky" poem from high school? I just grinned with recognition in the dark theatre when I heard lines quoted from it, "Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimbel in the wabe..." Those words trilled off the screen as earthy and dramatic as they did in Mrs. Post's Lit class.
I know there are tons of reviews of this movie, and of Tim Burton's adaptation of it. I'll leave the more intelligent and specific discussions of it to those sites. I just wanted to say here in my little bitty world, that I enjoyed it. I don't have a lot to compare it to, in the realm of Alice in Wonderland lore--you know, since I am so new to that party. For me, I think the movie gave me a peek inside a rich piece of imaginative literature I have for the most part missed.
There were lots of silly, thought-provoking quotes throughout the movie, but one rang out so loudly to me, that I really wanted to pull out my little notebook and jot it down. Because I had that jumbo bag of popcorn propped on my lap, and you know--those huge 3D glasses, in a dark jam-packed theatre...I didn't get to jot it down. But, the moment I heard it, I thought, "Ooh! That's good. That's really good!"
The Mad Hatter tells Alice that she has lost her muchness (in comparing her seemingly timid 19-year-old self to her bolder, younger self, who visited Underland as a child.)
He tells her, "You were much more muchier (then)...You've lost your muchness." Of course, Alice protests with a silly "muchier muchness" -type retort... But, it made me think...What is that "muchness" for me? And have I lost my muchier muchness?
Could my "muchness" = simplicity? Have I lost sight of the beauty of The Simple Life, in exchange for lots and lots of busy-ness--a schedule so crammed with good stuff, that the good isn't really that good anymore? (I sound like the Mad Hatter...)
Or could my "muchness" = a life that counts? In church last Sunday, there was 1 sentence that just zinged straight to my heart. And actually, I can't remember the exact sentence (Sorry, Brutha Neil)...I just remember the ZING, and the question to myself, "Am I living intentionally? Am I pouring out to others, so they see Christ in me? Or, will they HEAR about Christ from me?" Zing. Ouch.
And what can I DO to be much muchier again? Or, is it just a matter of BEING, and not doing? These are thoughts I shall continue to ponder this week, to wonder upon... .
What is YOUR muchness? Did you used to be much more muchier? I would love to hear your thoughts...
As Alice, do we all need a good tumble down a rabbit hole to get that important wondering ignited?
