Little brick in the foundation of my personality Few people know this movie, but no one else scared me so much as a kid. I came across it when I was 10 when I was waiting for the morning block of cartoons before school. A sad story completely captured my attention, leaving many questions behind. For a long 20 years, the cartoon firmly settled in the further corner of my subconscious, where it was scary even to look. But the path to which it is impossible to forget.
Thanks to this picture, I have long been afraid of darkness, abandoned spaces, objects and their projections, vaguely or clearly resembling death in white robes, other cartoons with a similar atmosphere. The viewing coincided with the first childhood experiences that people are essentially mortal. I've just come to terms with the fact that death is inevitable for all of us. At the age of 10, I was suddenly afraid to live. It is frightening that I will see or feel that someone close to me is on the verge of death, that my premonitions will be accompanied by hallucinations that I cannot bear. The image of death in my head lived like a suppressed panic attack.
It's been 20 years. I became more rational and skeptical. However, the subject of childhood fears has always interested me. After my favorite online media released an interview with readers about the scariest cartoons of childhood, I decided to revisit the picture to finally treat my fear and not be afraid anymore. I am very proud of you for doing that.
Like 20 years, my mind is subdued. But now rather in a positive context. The images were not as frightening as I remembered them, even cute and sentimental. I have to admit that death still resembles a bit the logo of the TV company "VID" in a white cloak and appears under a similar drum shot from the screensaver, but it appears still in a contxte, which personally pumps an even larger suspense on me. But why not try to deconstruct a frightening image and find something funny in it? I even thought it would be exciting to see and hold the props of the cartoon, especially death. Accept, take, and symbolically gain control over your fear and your life. I don't think I'm gonna be scared of VD anymore. After all, it seemed suspicious to me then, but now I still find it funny, a symbol of a generation after all.
Cartoon for children raises far from childish problems, leading to a heavy awareness of the injustice of the world. The fairy tale on the plot is remotely reminiscent of Brecht’s play The Good Man from Sichuan, in which Georina is rewarded by the gods for the kindness that destroyed her. The doctor is like a fairytale messenger entering a not fairytale world where there is evil, pain, violence. Where all your torments and attempts to bargain for something bright and better from death do not have to be justified. And the world will remain a cruel place, no matter how good you do.
But the fairy tale reminds young viewers how important it is not to lose dignity and compassion, even if you say goodbye to illusions about the world in which you live. Yes, for me, this fairy tale, and especially its ending, symbolizes the loss of illusions, which is why perhaps it impressed me so much as a child.
To live and listen to your heart, to do what fills you with happiness, and to open the path to small happiness to others, to light a light amid a raging storm. Accept yourself and be grateful for the bright life you have lived. You have lived a life that, in spite of your troubles, brought you so much excitement, inspiration, passion for your own business, love, and dying is not so scary now.
If I have children one day, I will tell them this story and try to make their existential cognition comfortable.