F as Frightening (English Version)
A frightening film - Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey
I love Winnie-the-Pooh. Not only because he is a good friend who grew up with me, but more importantly because Pooh is sincere, kind, innocent, and compassionate. If more people had the same qualities as Pooh, there would be more light and warmth in this world, and the world would not be so turbulent.
The 95-year copyright term for the first Winnie-the-Pooh storybook (A.A. Milne), published in 1926, expired on December 31, 2021. That is, from January 1, 2022, this work entered the public domain.
In just a few months, a British director, Rhys Frake-Waterfield, adapted the classic children's book, teamed up with Jagged Edge Productions & ITN Studios, and made a horror film “Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey.” The film opened in the United States in February 2023.
The word "blood" in the movie title alone runs counter to the essence of the original Winnie-the-Pooh book. Furthermore, the story of Pooh and his good friends is completely at odds with the word "horror".
The storyline of the film is full of selfishness, hatred, betrayal, imprisonment, beating, murder, brutality, cruelty and other violent acts from beginning to end. How much mind and soul must be lost to be able to rewrite a classic children's book full of love and gratitude into a horror movie full of hate and revenge?
Sadly, such tragedies actually happened in our lives. Not so long ago, virtues like kindness and sincerity became optional. People no longer think that these are good virtues that people should have. What's worse, there are too many people like Rhys Frake-Waterfield, who regard 揚惡棄善 (promoting evil and abandoning good) as the foundation of success in life. As a result, kindness and sincerity have become the targets of ridicule and punishment by the public. The more sincere, kind, innocent, and compassionate people are like Pooh, the easier it is to be bullied and suppressed in life or work.
In today's society, whatever the mainstream thinks is true becomes the Decree of the King, and they insist that the whole community must agree with them. If kindness and sincerity were the mainstream's virtues, would a frenzied film like Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey be released? Would it be?
The answer to that is the most frightening fact.
May all my readers maintain the sincerity, kindness, innocence, and compassion of Pooh.
Here is one of my favorite quotes from the original Winnie-the-Pooh novel. This line is also used at the end of the Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher movie. Click, play, and enjoy!
