Finding Nemo
Those that know me well would likely agree that I’m a great one for theories.
Having had a fairly scant degree of higher education and a prolonged history of smoking way too much pot (a long time ago, admittedly) I think I do a lot of what Rastafarians describe as ‘musing’.
I have a wide range of personal theories, encompassing topics as diverse as the origins of the species (and our symbiotic relationship with horses), gateaux, why women whom smoke cigars are untrustworthy and why Dolphins are politically liberal.
One of my theories, that was greeted with an inordinate amount of scorn by successive peers on me initially revealing it, was regarding the Pixar animated motion picture ‘Finding Nemo’
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finding_Nemo).
My theory is thus:
I think that ‘Finding Nemo’ is potentially one of the most important pieces of cinema sociologically since ‘Cathy Come Home’
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathy_Come_Home).
I feel that ‘Finding Nemo’ is in fact a very, very challenging work.
The film, which to all intents and purposes is about the relationship between a Clown Fish and his son, covers death, post traumatic stress, living with disabilities, multi-culturalism, peer pressure, mental illness, addiction, blended families and globalisation thematically but (and herein lies the rub) is aimed at the under fives.
I repeat: I think that it is some pretty bold film-making.
Recently, I read a very interesting article on the BBC website, discussing the increasing use of adult themes in animated/childrens cinema, which makes me think that I may not be alone: (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8415003.stm).
I was particularly moved by the following reader response (perhaps motivated by a similar experience):
” As an adult, the most touching moment I recall was in Finding Nemo. The scene at the beginning, where Marlin is excited by becoming a father, then has to come to terms with losing his wife and all but one of their eggs to a barracuda was so like my own sense of loss at a miscarriage that I had to leave the cinema to compose myself. It was the first - and only - time I have cried in public as an adult.
Anonymous Man, UK ”
I was also heartened to see that in their ‘Noughties’ awards, it was also given honourable mention by MSN alongside some fairly heavyweight “serious” cinema.
http://movies.uk.msn.com/photos/photos.aspx?cp-documentid=151399657&page=4
I warmly invite you to watch it again with my reading in mind. I think you’ll agree that (based on it’s preschoolers target audience) it confronts some fairly contentious issues.
