Attention, Attention Students! Class is now in session.
The necessary Context: This is My Own personal – Conner Romesco’s – unique perspective of the 1989 movie “The Little Mermaid.” It’s not that I think it’s the best version ever, of that Halle doesn’t deserve kudos for Her more recent interpretation of this TLM Story… but in My SB? The Jodi Benson one was the one that PASSION Connected with, at a very formative period of My Own Life. Let’s begin.
I am Ariel.
Okay okay. Sure, as a Guy You’d be a little put off, DR, that I insist I am Ariel, but hear Me out: As a powerless Child trapped in a toxic Family Home for the entire first 18 years of My Life, I mostly dreamed about breaking free of this prison… and Why I identify with Ariel so strongly. [N: in full disclosure, I was 17 years old when it came out] She wanted legs? I wanted a Family to Love, and that loved Me back. So not being able to manifest this Reality for Myself, I dreamed of the day when I could be free to go create a new one. On My own. And having a serious thing for redheads, Erik is a total pu$$y to Me, personally.
And – imagining Myself as Ariel in Ariel’s Own Story – Ariel is also every Baby Girl IMO. Literally, a Baby. Lying there in her crib, connecting those huge eyeballs with Yours, Dad. Ariel’s voice is Your Own Daughter’s voice, DR. She’s Everybody’s Own Daughter.
Which makes You? King Titan. The Guy trying to protect Ariel & Her Sisters. The Guy trying to manage an entire kingdom. Titan is juggling a lot of balls!?!
And – because Little Girls watch Everyone & Everything [N: all Children do] – Ariel Connects/attaches to the OOHA [Object Of Her Affection] in the form of Prince Erik. *mental grenade explodes* And that begins Little Ariel’s Conceptual imagined interpersonal relationship with Erik. [N: Ariel totally guzzles the Happily Ever After kool-aid]
So now? Ariel – because She’s growing & changing every minute of every day of Her Life – has a newly manifested unMet Need: Get some legs, walk over to Erik’s house, ask Him out, get married, live Happily Ever After. [N: IRL, this probably happens around the time She gets Her first period – now there’s a nasty surprise! Decades of BS, ruined clothes & blood-stained underwear, and begging Guys like Me to wear a f#cking condom! smh] So She’s a raging little ball of hormones, to boot. Uhh, fin.
Easy peasy, right?? Uhh, not so fast.
Ariel, upon discovering this unMet Need for Herself – and not seeing any other way to fill it [N: Titan is distracted with His job] – goes in search of Someone who can help Her. And Who does She find to help Her?
Ursula. Someone with the power to fill Ariel’s unMet Need. For a price, of course.
[N: Let Me pause for a minute & say something, here, for the record: Not all Adults Who step in to fill a Child’s unMet Needs are Bad. Some legitimately have the Kid’s best interests in mind – but if You don’t have any internal Equilibrium, TECH might get stuck in a Rabbit Hole viewing any Other Adult with suspicion – which is bad for the Adult in the RH as well as the Child who Needs are being neglected right now FYI]
Ursula is a TABI. [N: Trusted Adult with Bad Intent] Now, having the benefit of drawing cartoonish Characters for this movie, Ursula is presented as this Scary Fat Lady. [N: and no, I’m not maligning the incidence of being fat, I’m just pointing out that the film makes use of the IRL Viewing Audience’s internal prejudices by “pressing these Folks’ buttons” AKA intentionally triggering Their SBs- Don’t Ignore the Context here!]
So Ariel gets her legs, hooks up with Erik, who then hooks up with that other Princess Chick [N: does She even get a name in this flick? Or is She just “Erik’s Side Piece” in the script? Inquiring Minds Wanna Know] which now Ariel, completely broken-hearted, is basically f#cked.
TBH? I can’t recall how The Little Mermaid ends loll. I’m guessing it does have a Happy Ending, otherwise TV would not be as enduring as it is. [N: crap endings happen IRL willy nilly, so TV provides a bit of relief from this Reality]
I guess that’s a sign from the Universe to sit down and watch Miss Bailey’s version. Which, can only be done with an open mind.
I totally get it.
. . .
Conner’s Comments: Prince Erik hooking up with that next Princess after Connecting with Ariel is what happens when One’s Own Conceptual data collides with IRL mutual Experience data with the Other Person. That saying “It Takes Two to Tango” applies here. It’s never a good idea to ignore the IRL Experience data; My Conceptual understanding of the Other Person is constantly growing & changing each time We (Me & Them) Connect, and “hang out.” There is no other place where My Own Equilibrium is more important, than in an Intimate Relationship with another Human Being. So many different ways to get f#cked TBH, if I’m not paying attention. And not in a ‘Good’ way.