Idiocracy (2006) . . .

I'm an idiot, he's an idiot,
she's an idiot, we're an idiot,
wouldn't you like to be an idiot too?

So, Ander has a new favorite word. And he likes to use it . . . A LOT. I'm getting really tired of explaining the distinction that we do not call people idiots, while allowing him to call inanimate objects idiot. Somewhere in here Kristy convinced me that the word in itself is not inherently bad so we shouldn't try to extinguish its use in Ander. We have to teach him that it is inappropriate to call people an idiot. Grrrrr, easier said than done.

And to what bastion of depravity can we thank for my son's recent word acquisition? Why none other than the Walt Disney Company, that is who. I grew up a big fan of Disney films and always intended to nurture a healthy respect of the films in any of my offspring. I just never realized how much bad behavior is exhibited in these films marketed to children. The older ones are really bad, including smoking, incessant name-calling, degrading and other vices. But the newer ones aren't really that much better if you actually sit down and view them from the eyes of a 2 1/2 year old.

Anyway, the culprit in this particular instance is Disney's 101 Dalmations. Cruella DeVille calls practically everybody in the movie idiot at one point or another, and I don't think the film goes 5 minutes without her addressing someone in this manner. She calls the dog's owner Roger an idiot. She calls the bumbling buffoons Horace and Jasper idiot, idiot, idiot every time she speaks to them.

I wonder if it is the prevelance of the word (in terms of number of times used) or the feelings of happiness it produces which causes Ander to have latched onto the word? Bleh, and 101 Dalmations has become his favorite movie. He wants to watch it all the time. He was totally disinterested in Halloween and picking a costume until we came across the dalmation one.

And thus goes life.

Remember Sammy Jankis