Hey y’all. Ethan Hawke here. Yes, Mr. Before Sunrise himself.
I guess I’ve been thinking a lot about resilience lately. What with everything going on in society, and our myriad yet-unresolved problems, it’s become more important than ever to face resistance with resilience. And you know who’s more resilient than anyone?
The orphans in Annie! Oh, how wise they were about their pitiful situation!
First of all, these poor girls had no parents of their own. And whether they were given up from birth, faced the horrific loss of their caregivers at a young age, or whatever third thing gets you in an orphanage, all options surely come with their own set of difficulties and traumas. And then, as if that weren’t bad enough, the poor girls were stuck with the cruel Miss Hannigan—a foul, evil woman who is basically the exact opposite of the type of person who should be running an orphanage!
Yet, these girls didn’t spend the whole musical whining like sad sacks. Do you know what they did instead?
They SANG! And DANCED!
Can you even imagine having that kind of third-eye wisdom? At what, just 7, 8 years old? Somehow, the orphans understood that to give in to the tragedy of their circumstances would be to let the darkness win. So, when they were ordered to scrub the orphanage until it shined like the Chrysler Building, not only did they mop the hell out of the place, but they did it with a choreographed song and dance!
After 25 years of therapy, I’m not even sure that I’m capable of responding to challenges with such emotional intelligence.
Take, for instance, “It’s The Hard-Knock Life,” their most rousing orphan number. In the song, the girls take charge of their situation. They recognize that “Once a day, don’t you wanna throw the towel in,” adding that, “It’s easier than puttin’ up a fight.” Yet, by the very nature of the song itself, they are putting up a fight. In fact, this is their satirical fight song! By mocking the dreaded Miss Hannigan and her “whiskers,” the orphans show that by making light of their situation through the unifying power of song and dance, a better life feels possible. Today, it may be a “no tomorrow life,” but, as the titular orphan also sings, “the sun will come out tomorrow.”
Ah! What an incredible message of hope! I have CHILLS!
TO ALL MY READERS: Let the plight of these dancing orphans remind us all that tragic circumstances need not immobilize. Politics may divide us, but a toe-tapping number can bring us back together!
Ethan Hawke out!
