A Wrinkle in Time...some thoughts on "Wonder."

Let's be clear, I started writing this on Friday evening when I got home from seeing the movie, but decided to sleep on it because, the movie still had me in my feelings. I typed a sentence or two yesterday (my 33rd birthday) and then decided to let it breathe a bit. Then I started back up again today and got interrupted by work. Once work was stabilized, I went back to it, one hour later, after multiple saves, I pressed publish, and it disappeared. So excuse my tone, but I gotta attitude! However, Oprah's Mrs. Which in A Wrinkle in Time told me to "Be a Warrior." So here I am, attempting to articulate two days worth of thoughts and conversations about a movie that clearly wasn't even made for my adult self. Or was it?

When I first discovered Ava Duvernay, I was inspired. Her body of work basically screams at you to "dream bigger"and to make those dreams a reality. A Wrinkle in Time was a TALL order. I think that's why I love Ava so much. Because in every interview, she very simplistically describes Wrinkle as the story of "a little Black girl with glasses who travels through planets to save her father." Us adults know that there's nothing simplistic about any of those words. But I think that's the key right there, "as adults." Our adulthood chips away at our wide-eyed, childhood imaginations and wonder to the point that a lot of us have a hard time tapping back into that world. When we meet Meg, our little hero, she's fighting what's chipping away at her too. Wrinkle doesn't allow you much time to sift through your pesky adult problems either. It intros its characters and main premise and then deep dives into WONDER. Magic, tesseracts, planets and a giant sized Oprah. Y'all, but for real, Oprah literally is the size of a house when her Mrs. Which enters our screen!

I immediately feared that adulthood wouldn't allow this film to be great. Our heartbreaks and disappointments and mature sized responsibilities wouldn't allow us to fasten our seat belts and take this ride with Meg, her brilliant and scene stealing little brother Charles Wallace, her friend (who clearly has a crush on her) Calvin and the three Mrs. (Mrs. Who, Mrs, Whatsit and Mrs. Which). I've always had a big imagination. The book that this movie is based on is one that I read twice in fourth and fifth grade. So Wrinkle fed my wonder as a child before it's movie counterpart got here. On the eve of my 33rd birthday though, armed with all my adult problems, responsibilities and cynicism, Ava was asking me to suspend my baggage and take a ride with these characters. Maybe it was the colors, or the love Meg had for her father and her little brother that got me. Or maybe it was the fact that little Black girl with glasses and low self confidence was on my screen fighting to find her worth in a world that chips away at it at every turn. I laughed, I cringed, I cried (twice), I marveled. I remembered what it was like to wonder if time travel and tessering really could be a thing. I remembered how I felt while performing concerts in front of all 23 of my stuffed animals in my room. Or how any space could be a space ship ready for adventures to other planets. Or how throwing on a pair of my Mom's earrings and scarf could turn me into a Princess.

I heard someone say that A Wrinkle in Time is a love letter to child-like wonder and I completely agree. In saying this though, I realize that a whole lot of us didn't have the privilege of wonder as a child. I think Ava made this movie for you too. Those of us that had child-like wonder, fight daily as adults to remember what it's like to have that level of fearlessness. Just like the darkness continuously chips away at Meg's light in this movie, it does the same to us. We just convinced ourselves that it's normal and a part of "growing up." I think this movie, although for kids, can remind us adults that we need a little wonder...maybe more than a little...to make some of these "larger than life" dreams come true. Folks like Ava and Ryan Coogler literally make fairy tales for a living. I'd venture to guess that logic and "being realistic" is the leading dream killer. Wrinkle's love letter to wonder speaks to the kid in you that believes fairy tales can come true. I'd even argue that it tells adult you that you can even define what that means to you and go get it! To those who didn't have the privilege of wonder as kids, I think this movie attempts to fit you with a pair of 'wonder glasses.' The pair that were stolen from you without you even realizing or knowing it. Everyone deserves a little wonder and even as adults, a liberal injection of wonder from time to time can help keep us sane. EVERY kid deserves to have wonder, imagination and escape in their world. As adults, we should be feeding that to our kids just as much as we feed them life lessons. We should also be careful that our adulthood baggage and cynicism isn't taken out on our babies. So, yea...take a moment and allow Wrinkle to bring you some wonder in your present. I'm curious to know what we would all do if we sprinkled a little magic into our lives. To my adults, it's okay to do it in your time. It will be here when you're ready.

#BeAWarrior