When the villain isn't the villain

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Goldilocks and the Three Bears is a story I read when I was a child. 

Goldilocks was a girl. While passing through the woods, Goldilocks came across a house. She entered because the door was unlocked and began exploring. 

She found three bowls of porridge on the table, one for Papa Bear, one for Mama Bear, and one for Wee Bear. She tried each and ate all of Wee Bear’s porridge. 

Then she wanted to sit down, so she tried the three bears’ chairs. She found Wee Bear’s chair the most comfortable, but it broke when she sat on it.

Next, she went upstairs and found three beds. After trying each one, she settled into Wee Bear’s bed and fell asleep. 

When the three bears returned home, they discovered that someone had eaten their porridge and broken a chair. Eventually, they found Goldilocks sleeping in Wee Bear’s bed. 

Startled to see the three bears staring at her, Goldilocks jumped up and ran out the window.

This story was never one of my favorites because something about it always bothered me. I didn’t like what Goldilocks did in the bears’ house. I wanted her to apologize to them. After all, I had always felt that entering someone’s home without permission was disrespectful in the first place.

I remember feeling uneasy whenever I finished reading this story. I didn’t want to read it again, and I wondered why it was so popular. 

Honey Business

Recently, I attended an event at a local college. They were celebrating the centennial of a college dedicated to music and art. Student performances and artwork were showcased at the grand opening of the new building.

My daughter and I went to watch Honey Business, an animated short film created by a student. It was a silent film about a bear and an old lady.

The old lady owned a beehive. While she was away selling her honey, the bear trespassed into her garden to steal honey from the beehive. His big paw got stuck, and he couldn’t pull it out. 

When the old lady returned home, she discovered that her gate had been broken. She found the bear trying to steal her honey and attempted to stop him. She even used her scissors to scare him away. 

The bear tried to escape. As he climbed trees and fell from branches, he smashed the flowers in her garden. The more the old lady chased him, the more damage he caused to her property. And the more damage he caused, the angrier she became. 

The audience laughed at the chase between the bear and the old lady. The whole scene was portrayed as comical and entertaining. 

I laughed too. But then I realized something — the old lady had become the villain.

Her facial expression made her look evil, even though she had been trying to protect her property.  

In the end, the old lady fell from a tree, crashed onto the rooftop, and ended up stuck to her front door, with honey all over her body.

Meanwhile, the bear collected bottles of honey in a box, as if he had done nothing wrong. He kept one bottle for himself and walked away. 

Okay, what had I just watched? 

Wasn’t the old lady simply trying to protect her property — her honey, her garden, and her home?

Why had she become the villain?  

What kind of moral standard was this?

I was confused. Should I have simply laughed and enjoyed the film?

I had laughed and had even said that I enjoyed it. But afterward, I felt uneasy about my reaction. I wondered if I should accept something as funny just because everyone else did. Was I overlooking something that went against my own values?

This experience made me think about the ethical standards I want to live by and how I can choose to do what is morally right, even when others see things differently. 

Russell M. Nelson once said, “In the coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.” 

Stories do more than show us what happens. The way a storyteller presents events can shape how we perceive the characters and judge their actions. 

As a writer, I want to be mindful of that responsibility.