If you want to view paradise
Simply look around and view it
Anything you want to, do it
Want to change the world?
There's nothing to it
Gene Wilder, as Willy Wonka. "Pure Imagination." Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Paramount, 1972.
Pure Imagination is a song about the power of creativity. Kids and adults alike need to dream, pretend, play, be silly, think abstractly, make art, and imagine possibilities that do not yet exist. The world is constantly changing, and humans need to adapt. Imagination is the antithesis of stagnation; it causes us to question the status quo and figure out how to do things in a different, better way. Great ideas that can change the world start in the mind.
Reading a book, watching a film, listening to music, and looking out the window are some ways we find beauty in life. But Gene Wilder, as Willy Wonka, suggests that the mind--on its own--is our greatest source of creative inspiration. The mind can transport us to wonderful places--a tropical island, a mountain retreat, a cafe in Paris, the moon, even paradise. We can travel back in time, or teleport to the future. Anything is possible.
There’s something freeing about Wonka’s message. We don’t need anything fancy--a smartphone, tablet, or social media--to use our imagination. We also don’t need anything fancy to simply appreciate the beauty in our surroundings. As Wonka suggests, paradise can be all around us.
I think Willy Wonka would be a proponent of a movement in psychology known as Mindfulness. Mindfulness is a practice that encourages people to slow down and express gratitude for what they already have. To sit and reflect on what it means to be alive; the ability to breathe, see, smell, eat, laugh, and play are all awesome human qualities that need to be appreciated, not taken for granted. Mindfulness can be achieved through practices like meditation, journaling, or simply spending some time each day noticing what you are thinking, feeling, seeing, or hearing.
There seems to be a trend in 21st century American parenting towards trying to ensure that kids are “productive” and not “wasting time.” What this often looks like is filling a kids’ schedule with various activities, like baseball, soccer, dance, ballet, Boy Scouts, Model UN, SAT prep, scuba diving, etc. These activities will, parents believe, give kids useful knowledge and skills to gain an edge in an increasingly competitive world.
Structured activities do help kids learn, grow, and develop meaningful relationships. However, I believe if adults impose too many expectations and rules on kids, something can be lost. What’s lost, potentially, is the child’s ability to cultivate Pure Imagination. What’s lost, potentially, is space for kids to be still, to think, feel, generate their own ideas, and experience spontaneity. Occasional stillness and unstructured free play, especially using art, building materials, or the natural environment, allow children to become attuned to their senses, so they can figure out who they are, what they want, and where they’re going. Kids need messiness so they can learn to find beauty in life’s imperfections. Kids need to fall down on their own so they can learn to pick themselves up.
So, is Pure Imagination the solution for 21st century American parenting? Imagine kids roaming free, laughing, dreaming, and playing on their own all the time without a care in the world. They don’t need adults, right? No rules, structure, or guidance necessary. Anything you want to do, do it. Changing the world is easy. Life is paradise, right?
As Willy Wonka sings about the power of imagination, we are shown the luscious colorful splendor of his chocolate factory. Giant lollipops, giant candy mushrooms, edible tea cups, gummy bears, and gumdrops all around. The kids and parents invited to the factory display a spirit of joy and amazement as they prance around eating candy while Wonka sings about life’s endless possibilities.
But, as the characters in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory find out later in the film, paradise has its limits. First, Augustus Gloop drinks a little too much chocolate from the Chocolate River and falls in. Then, in the Inventing Room, Violet Beauregarde chews a prototype piece of gum without asking and turns into a giant blueberry. Next Veruca Salt climbs into the goose egg machine and is sent down a garbage chute. And later Mike Teavee plays with a new technology in the factory without asking permission and is shrunk to a miniature size.
I think the moral of the story is that Pure Imagination, if left unchecked, can lead to impulsivity, greed, grandiosity, narcissism, and a lack of gratitude. In Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, the parents of Augustus, Violet, Veruca, and Mike, all failed to set reasonable limits on their children. They did not properly instill a sense of morality, empathy, right and wrong, or consideration for rules and structure. This parental failure led the kids to believe they could show up at someone else’s chocolate factory and act like they owned the place. As if a golden ticket gave them permission to steal, make unreasonable demands, and not follow the rules.
Charlie Bucket, an unassuming kid from a working class background, seemed to be the only character who harnessed the power of Pure Imagination while also respecting Wonka’s rules and limits. He and Grandpa Joe genuinely seemed grateful just to be in the chocolate factory. They laughed, ate their candy, and even had a little fun with the Fizzy Lifting Drink. At the end of the film, Charlie returns the Everlasting Gobstopper, thereby passing Wonka’s test of morality. Wonka then grants Charlie to the keys to the chocolate factory.
Charlie wins the prize because, though he had fun and used his imagination, he also demonstrated patience, humility, honesty, and gratitude. In 2021, 50 years after Willy Wonka’s release, it might be more difficult to find the Charlie Buckets in a world full of Mike Teeveas. But, we can continue to teach our kids the importance of dreaming big while also staying grounded in reality. We can, in the spirit of Charlie, focus on using our imagination to change the world in positive ways.
-Ethan Siegel