Talking Food and Talking People

A couple of weeks ago I went to see "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2." I didn't see the first one so my 9 and 12 year old nieces for which they were the reason I saw the film explained the whole premise and what I should expect. What was fun is that they completely didn't expect the food to become real as in being able to move, talk and have feelings. Even the marshmallows had cute faces, and cute sounds coming from their marshmallow mouths.

But this isn't about meatballs, marshmallows or the taco that became a monster. No, this is about how the audience became discernibly uncomfortable (or rather it was the parents and perhaps it was just me) when a middle-aged man began to laugh very loud and was noisy in a way that made it clear to us that he had "special needs." His elderly mom did her best to keep him quiet but...

As I began to reflect in that moment how I felt, I realized how uncomfortable I was and how very much I was privileged as an able-bodied and able-minded person. As much as I know better, I failed in my ability to be at ease and accepting. In truth the kids that surrounded didn't care at all. In fact his and their laughter mingled together in a way that made the film even more amusing and more fun.

And "a little child shall lead them..."

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