Have you ever noticed how the film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (the original one from the 70s, not the new one) can be interpreted as an allegory for the entire Plan of Salvation? I'm serious. I lay said allegory before you now. Feel free to use my scholarly observations in your next Relief Society lesson, and delight as the sisters nearly jump out of their chairs when you start talking about Oompa Loompas! No need to thank me. Just doing my job.
Willy Wonka represents the Lord. His fabulous chocolate factory of wonder is, of course, the Church. How do you get into the Church? By finding and accepting the true and everlasting gospel, represented by the five golden tickets scattered throughout the world. "For there are many yet on the earth...who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it (D&C section something, verse something)." So many people, desperate for truth, turn to the creeds of men, represented by that fake ticket that guy in Paraguay made. Boo. So the five tickets wind up being found by five kids, or investigators, who, knowing the goodness in store, accept Mr. Wonka's invitation without hesitation. All five are also tempted by Slugworth, or Satan, into betraying Wonka's trust by divulging the formula for the Everlasting Gobstopper. "But wait!" you say, you doubting Thomases. "Slugworth turned out to be working for Wonka all along!" Patience, my pets. All will be revealed.
One of the stipulations of the golden tickets states that the children who enter the factory must be accompanied by a family member, which could represent celestial marriage in some bizarre way. Don't think too hard on that one. Seriously. Don't.
So then we come to the big day. The children enter the gates of Wonka's factory at last. It shouldn't be too big of a stretch to see this as baptism. And now they're members of the Church, and now the craziness begins in earnest. Hoo baby. Right from the get-go, the naughty children begin succumbing to the many newfound temptations confronting them (like many converts who join the Church for the wrong reason) and getting "offed" (representative of falling away from the Church). The first to go is Augustus Gloop, the portly German kid. Remember the "river of filthy water" in Lehi's dream? Remember how those saps try to cross and end up getting swept away? Well, Augustus actually drinks from it. Au wiedersehen, Augustus.
Now we meet the Oompa Loompas, who, as prophets and apostles, share with the survivors their age-old wisdom through songs, or the scriptures. By paying heed to their counsel, the children will learn all they need to know to make it to the end of their fantabulous adventure. Okay, maybe not everything. It's interesting that they don't share their wisdom until after someone gets offed for disobedience, which somehow seems counterproductive. But how many converts know everything at the time they get baptized?
Now we start losing rapscallions at a faster rate. First to go is Violet Beauregard, who gets turned into a giant blueberry after committing the heinous sin of...umm...gum chewing. Then Charlie Bucket and Grampa Joe steal Fizzy Lifting Drinks (alcoholism?), although, like many members, they are embarrassed for what they've done and try to keep it a secret. But WONKA KNOWS ALL, as we'll see. The next convert to fall away is the rich money-grubbing little brat Verruca Salt, who gets burned in a garbage chute (or not--the movie NEVER SAYS), along with her equally nasty dad. Isn't it interesting how when we fall, we drag others down with us? Finally, we lose Mike Tevee, whose spiritual weakness is, of course, sitting around on his keeshter and watching TV instead of serving others and making the world a better place.
Now Charlie has come to the end of his wacky and wondrous journey. Time to reap the rewards that are rightfully his! But no, Wonka calls him onto the carpet for stealing Fizzy Lifting Drinks. And that's it. Or is it? Nay! By returning the Everlasting Gobstopper (his sins?) to Wonka, instead of smuggling it to Slugworth, Charlie repents and shows his true mettle. Now it is revealed that Slugworth has been working for Wonka all along. True, Satan doesn't work for God, but when we overcome his temptations, we become stronger, like Charlie. So, in a way, Satan is inadvertently doing God's will. What a nimrod, huh?
Finally Charlie and Grampa fly away with Wonka in the great glass elevator, which symbolizes our ascension to the Celestial Kingdom. And that's pretty much it. Yeah, I left out some elements, like the drug-induced boat trip (I would prefer not to go there), the Wonka Bars, the fruity wallpaper, and the bubble car. If anyone has any bright ideas there, I would love to hear them. Seriously! Go nuts.
2 Comments:
At first, I agree the boat ride, seemed totally out of place, but the more I thought about it, in my opinion, the boat could represent the world. Many times I feel like I'm on an out of control merry-go-round, spinning out of control. Bad things happen all the time, the news is so bad, and the things that happen can be so ugly, but those are all distractions, we need to focus on God (although Wonka's face was definitely creepy in this sequence, I totally agree, that sometimes I feel like I don't know which way is up, but it also portrays a real sense of urgency, because we don't know the future, but the grim reaper can come running at any time and we must be aware and be ready, and when we finally ask for help, God will give peace. (They finally asked Wonka to stop the boat after trying to deal with it for a while, but realized they couldn't and they asked him to stop and he did immediately). It also reminds me of Jesus calming the storm. The disciples on the boat were absolutely freaking out when this storm came up, and they woke Jesus up begging them to save them. Bad things happen, but what matters is what we focus on and who we ask for help.
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