Two Good Stories

             Today was a day for stories. Mom bought Beauty and the Beast tickets a while ago, so we went to see the Broadway musical at the Buel Theatre. The musical was amazing, and I loved the artistic accents they used for the castle, tavern and the village.  Beauty and the Beast is clearly my favorite fairy tale, and Disney movie. The musical expands on the story and focuses on a few themes for Belle and Beast. For Belle, the theme is home, as she feels she doesn't belong anywhere. Belle finds a way to live in the castle, and goes through a lesson of self discovery. She decides to stay with the Beast, but that doesn't mean she won't care for her father anymore. As her signature song "Home" states: "Home is where the heart is" and Belle learns what that means when she has to save her father from the villagers and the Beast from Gaston. For the Beast, the theme is acceptance. He must learn to accept the side of himself that he doesn't want to show. This acceptance can only be achieved through his own opinion of who he is, and how he wants to live. Once he lets Belle go, he learns that you can't make someone care for you by force, and it is you that must decide who you will be.

            After the musical, my family and I saw John Carter. I've been reading the book, but I haven't finished it yet. The movie is a little different from what I've read so far, because Edgar Rice Burroughs is actually a character in the story. This movie had everything I love about a good story. A flawed character, epic plot and a good message. John Carter carries a burden from the beginning of the film. He his not able to let go of his past. His grief drives his decisions to avoid war, battles and getting close to anyone. Once he lands on Mars, he is forced to face his fear, with a war raging and the whole planet, except one city, under the influence of a brutal war lord. But even this nemesis is a pawn in a much more dangerous game of fate, secrecy and deception. Carter's choice is whether or not to live life again, after experiencing so much pain in the past. He finally makes his decision and even passes on the advice to Edgar Rice Burroughs. The message is to live life and make a difference, because sitting by and doing nothing is also a decision. 

             No matter what type of story we read, watch or write, the purpose of these tales is a disguised journey into what life is all about. Stories define who we are, whether we are heroes, outcasts or wanderers. Stories give us courage to face our fear, follow our dreams and live life in the best way we can. They inspire us to discover who we are, why we're here and what we are able to do. From greek myths and fairy tales to modern day novels and TV shows, stories teach us what it means to be human, and how to discover and achieve who we truly want to be.