Twitterpated

So I watched Bambi again for the first time in my adult life. I remembered thinking that movie was boring as a child,but I was not prepared for the horrors waiting for me!

The movie is completely dependent on two factors:
1.You must find fluffy woodland creatures so adorable that anything they do is automatically entertaining
2.You must find it cute and/or hilarious when Bambi falls down.


And did anyone notice that the Lion King did essentially the same plot line, only they did it better? I mean, granted, Lion King is missing the whole “Humans are evil” subplot, but the main points are the same.

A. Both movies start with the birth of a prince. They even both start with the proud father on a large, prominent rock.

B. Both Simba and Bambi eventually fall in love and court their childhood playmate.

C. Both Simba and Bambi are traumatized by the loss of a parent.

D. Both movies end with the birth of the next generation of royalty.

But, unlike Bambi, the humor in the Lion King is not totally dependent on quadruped slapstick.

The only redeeming thing in the whole movie was Friend Owl. He had that Midwestern sarcasm that actually made him a character and not just a cutesy drawing.

Anyway, speaking of being Twitterpated, we've had some exciting developments of late. Hamida, Mus's sister, is in the process of getting engaged. It's been fascinating to see how this process works, here.

The first step, really, is that she and her boyfriend talked about it and decided it was time to get married. Then her boyfriend, Baba, went to his family and told them about her. Apparently, he had not really mentioned her before and they'd never met her (I'm told this isn't always the case, it depends on the family). Hamida's family, on the other hand, know Baba very well, as Hamida and Baba's “dating” involves sitting in Hamida's yard, eating and talking (I'm not sure if that was intentional, though. I think they didn't go out mostly because of Hamida's hectic work schedule. I'm not really sure what the “courting” rules or whatever are).

Anyhow, Baba went to his family and told them about Hamida and that he wanted to marry her. So Baba's family came to see Hamida's family. Now neither Baba nor Hamida could be present for this, so Baba showed his family the house and then waited outside in the street. Hamida was at work, so her parents met Baba's family before she did. This meeting between the families is called “knocking.” Baba's family brought Hamida's family crates of soda and some money as a gift. Out of tradition, Hamida's family has to say, “We'll think about it and let you know” as a response to the proposal. I guess that back in the day, the girls' parents had to say that so they could ask their daughter's opinion. Nowadays, it's the daughter who initiates the whole process, so obviously we all knew that Hamida wanted to marry him. But for tradition's sake, they told Baba's family that they would send a response in a couple of weeks.

Once they send word that they accept, then Hamida and Baba are considered engaged. Hamida's family will also send over a list of things for Baba's family to buy- “the bride price.” Now it's considered customary for the bride's family to give all of the bride price to the couple when they're married- it's kind of a way of making the groom and his family prove that they can take care of the daughter. I guess some families, especially when there are step-parents or foster parents involved, will keep the bride price for themselves, but a lot of people look down on that. And too, many of the items in the bride price, like cloth and jewelry, are good gifts and the bride may decide to give some to her mother or sisters.

So then Baba's family will send word with the date for the wedding- they get to set the date, because they have to look at the bride price and decide how long it will take for them to gather all the items listed.

Anyway, Hamida and Baba are talking about getting married next fall/winter. Hopefully I'll be around then and I can tell you what it's like!