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Pinocchio

ADVISORY: Lewd.

Ironically, I really like the GEICO Pinocchio commercials.

Disney released the cinematic masterpiece of the same name in 1940, and re-released it in 1961.  That’s when I saw it.  I was five years old.

For many years, it was my favorite movie.  In college, I wanted my senior thesis to examine this film, Matthew 19:14, and the role of child-likeness in healthy adulthood.  That last may pertain to accepting one’s feelings.

As a child, I was fascinated by the scene where Gepetto gets swallowed by a whale.  I was fascinated, too, by the notion of wishing on a star.  I asked my mother about it in the car as we rode home.  She said, “It’s a superstition.”  That was the first time I ever heard that word.

The corresponding song may count as a musical masterpiece itself.  Today, the bridge troubles me:

Fate is kind.  She brings To those who love The sweet fulfillment of Their secret longing.

That does not correspond to anything I’ve ever seen in life.

As to the title character’s Problem:

At age 5, it was beyond my ken.  At almost age 65, I’m jealous.

Pinocchio “gets wood” when he lies, and then he gets embarrassed.  Except for the lies, this reflects a common experience for males, especially teenagers and the bashful: one “gets wood” in inconvenient moments, and then gets embarrassed about it.  The person to whom one’s body is attracted may be inappropriate, or unavailable, or otherwise someone one is unwilling to approach.

That “getting wood” results from having done a bad thing, invites the interpretation that “getting wood” is, itself, a bad thing; in other words, a dis-acceptance of one’s sexuality.  Where this notion came from, for this author or for me, I do not know, but many religions teach it.  I do not understand why some exalt celibacy over marriage.

Every time he lies, he denies his true feelings.  I have the task of accepting my true feelings.

If he can get wood by lying, maybe I can get wood by being honest.

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