Bleatings from the Sheep

"When Life Departs"

So here I was at my computer, when suddenly I thought that I should blog on the remaining two animated films we saw in class last Thursday. I really do think it’s important that I throw my two cents in here…and I am not just using this as an excuse to further procrastinate on my paper for Computer Concepts class. Nope. Not me.

Okay now, let’s see. The next animation to blog about would be “When Life Departs.” I liked this one a lot, and I thought the way the subject matter was handled was very appropriate. What better way to “explain” death to children then by sharing the ideas of other children with them? Granted, I use the term “explain” loosely here, because there was no definite answer or resolution given to anything. There was, however, a sense of peacefulness to it. It could’ve just been me, but it did seem almost comforting as a result of how it was talked about matter-of-factly and honestly. Death is a difficult thing to deal with at any age. Sometimes people close up and choose not to talk about it when they lose someone dear to them. But children are usually more open and honest with what they think and feel, and so I think that this film would be good for most children simply because it presents some ideas and emotions about death in a very innocent and honest light that most children could probably understand.



Granted, I know that not all of the ideas presented were Christian. There was just a lot of stuff thrown out there, and perhaps that does hold the potential to confuse kids. Then again, there was no set answer given, nobody came in and said that any set idea or belief was the one truth or not. It just puts it all out there. This might actually be a good thing, because it gives kids a chance to think about and reason with themselves about it some, and it presents some basic groundwork that the parents can later come in and build upon.

Overall, I thought it was a heartfelt piece, sad at many points simply because of the subject, yet very well done.

posted by Caitlynn @ 3:01 PM