This weekend I watched the movie "Enchanted" while babysitting two little girls. For those who havent seen the movie, Enchanted is a Disney fairytale movie about a princess named Giselle who lives in a perfect animated world. Just as she is about to marry her prince, the evil witch throws her into a black hole and she is transported to New York city (and is no longer animated). She meets Robert, a very pragmatic man with a cynical outlook on life. After meeting Robert, Giselle begins to change her overly idealistic views on life and love. Robert learns from Giselle that while being practical may be the safest, it is good to step outside your comfort zone and take risks. My favorite line of the movie is when Giselle says "nobody has been very nice to me." Robert sarcastically replies with "yeah, well welcome to New York." Giselle answers with "thank you!" As an idealist, she tries to see the best in everyone, acts nicely towards people, and is shocked when anyone is angry or mean. She is such an optimist that she does not even realize that Robert's comment is sarcastic.
Throughout the movie, Robert and Giselle are constantly teaching each other about their love lives. Giselle is about to marry a prince that she has known for only a day, and Robert convinces her to go on a date with him so they can get to know each other before making a commitment. Robert has been dating a woman for five years and still has not married her. It is clear that the woman is not entirely convinced that Robert loves her, so Giselle convinces Robert to send her an exsquisite bouquet of flowers carried by two doves, something an idealist in a relationship would do. In watching Robert and Giselle teach each other things, I realized that in life, love, and history we need to find a balance between idealism and pragmatism. While it may be fun to be completely idealistic like Giselle, she needs some practicality in her life to prevent her from getting hurt. On the other end of the spectrum, Robert's life is very safe, but also boring, which is why he needs idealism to make him take chances and dream big. This lesson can extend beyond the movies into real life-- idealistic and pragmatic people should team up, because they balance each other out.
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