100 Days of Wonder – #32
Every story needs a villain. Does it though? Couldn’t we write our stories without someone having to be the villain? Is it just easier to write yourself as the good guy if there is a bad guy to contrast with? I’ve been thinking about this because recently I have had lots of conversations about the the state of Higher Education in England and the impact it is having on academics. Inevitably conversations turn to toxic workplaces and the villains of our stories. And of course I like to think I am one of the good guys, I like to think that I have used the privilege and power I have as a force for good, to champion and lift others, to help change the world and make it just a little bit brighter. I also like to think that I, like the Disney heroes have fought my battles and come through. But I also know that I am the villain in the stories others might tell. A shift of perspective and suddenly I am all the things that have been said about me. I have been thinking about this since I first mentioned this in a post 10 days ago or so. The Hero/Villain dichotomy just doesn’t work. Our lives and who we are are far too complex for that but we like to simplify things and the thing is, if we can point to a villain in our story then we must be the hero. If there is a bad guy then we must be a good guy and if there is evil then we are the good that triumphs. But I’m not any of those things. I’m not a hero or a good guy and I am not some abstract good that defeats some abstract evil. I am, like all of us, deeply flawed and complex. I do think we struggle to write our stories without a villain because defining who we are is so much easier with reference to something else. The Scarlet Witch in Marvel says ‘I don’t need you to tell me who I am’ but actually we do need to other characters in our stories to be able to define who we are or are not. Binaries, dichotomies, black and white… it’s all easy and it’s a way of telling ourselves that we’re ok. I do still struggle to see how some of the people in my story are anything other than villains. I find it hard to see how to rewrite those stories in a way that doesn’t position me on one side and them on the other and then conceptualises one side as good and the other as evil. But that’s never going to be helpful because while it may be true that there were sides, the rest is less clear and depends on whether you ask them or me. And maybe my overly reflective nature doesn’t help here. I tend to look back and overthink and dwell on the past and that lends itself to rewriting our stories. But, as one of Disney/Marvel’s heroes and villains said ‘Don’t Look Back. The Past Is Exactly Where It Belongs‘ (The Scarlet Witch). That might be the key. Look forward in your story and treat every new character with kindness. If we all do that maybe none of the rest really matters. But while we figure out how to do that, there is always a Disney Villains parade where you can see the line up of all the bad guys we love to hate.
100 Days of Wonder – #31
Ooh getting closer to Halloween itself! Here’s a picture that isn’t from Disney at all and there isn’t even anything Disney related in it. It’s the Window Decorations from my Birmingham flat from October 2022. Our windows at home now look similar! So how does this picture fit in to the 100 Days of Wonder series. Well, in two ways. Disney absolutely inspired the decorations in the flat and what you can’t see in the picture is the Mickey Mouse pumpkin ornament, a little Zero ornament that lights up and a Disney Halloween Wreath on the door. Secondly, the whole flat was very Disney. Basically all my kitchen utensils and plates etc were Disney, my bedding was Disney, my towels, tea towels, soap dispenser… most things really. The flat was a way of capturing the magic and creating a little oasis in an otherwise work dominated space. The point of the flat was so that I could work in Birmingham but it needed to be and mostly was a space where I could also escape work, set my inner child free and feel safe and in my bubble. It worked, it was perfect. And I have been thinking about that a lot as we are getting ready to sell it. It’s been making me think about our attachment to places and the strong emotions they evoke. My head knows that selling the flat is the only sensible play here but it still pulls at my heart strings. It’s hard to articulate why. It’s just a flat after all but in that flat amidst a whole load of craziness I always felt like me and like my world made sense even if nothing else did. That’s worth a lot and that’s what this tiny flat that looked as though the Disney store had exploded in it did for me. I hope it can do it for someone else now, too.
100 Days of Wonder – #30
It’s been another busy Monday and I managed to go for a run so here’s just a short post. Disney has provided lots of inspiration and nudges to be more creative. So over the last few years we have carved pumpkins for Halloween and most have had some sort of Disney theme. I’m not that good at it but Kath is. Here’s a Dopey one she did a few years ago. How brilliant is that!?!
We haven’t carved ours yet this year but we really need to make time. We so often push fun things to ‘later’ or ‘when we have more time’ and that needs to stop. We have time and being creative and having fun is a priority so let’s all pause, step away from work and email and do something fun!
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