For Kids of all Ages

In view of public outrage, I had hoped this event would resolve itself. But, like a lighted pumpkin head at Halloween, it remains looming from the darkness of a derelict House of Parliament. An appropriate metaphor since, on this island, all imagination of our leadership, all compassion, understanding and hope for the future seem to have been consigned to a darker, colder space, more deadly and terminal than any actual cellar or basement ever could be. Friend, since when is a Mickey Mouse cartoon (or Winnie the Pooh character, or Elsa from Frozen) not (I quote Robert Jenrick) “age-appropriate for teens”. Did not the late, great Walt Disney create his cartoons and theme parks “for children of all ages”? As a person long past the teen years, I treasure my collection of Disney DVDs, and I see Mickey, Donald, Pluto, etc., as old friends, my companions through life. Here, I quote Bruno Bettelheim from his book, The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales (London: Penguin Books, 1991) : “The fairy tale clearly does not belong to the outer world, although it may begin realistically enough and have everyday features woven into it. The unrealistic nature of these tales (which narrow-minded rationalists object to) is an important device, because it makes obvious that the fairy tale’s concern is not useful information about the external world, but inner processes taking place in the individual.” If we substitute “fairy tale” with “cartoon”, we can see how the words of the author might apply to the current situation. The painted-over murals may have played a role in lifting the traumatised young or older person out of his immediate environment and into an imagined world where he or she can mentally process whatever event reduced them to status of asylum-seeker, thus preventing “trauma” becoming “damage”. For example, a person encountering Elsa might deduce that keeping on in the face of a challenge is a good thing. But I digress. If only a Banksy-type talent could paint a bare-bottomed Homer Simpson episode on a wall opposite the Jenrick household….now, that might be age-appropriate!