Update and brief review of the movie Belle

I hope everyone is enjoying Happy Holidays. As we are entering 2015, my Movie, Fashion & Music Reviews United blog has stayed dormant for so long. It is my hope to become more consistent with postings in this New Year. So much has happened. I have not one but two wonderful children now! They are sweet and loving two & four year old boys. While very busy with them, I have occasionally tried to post at the other writing platform I use. My profile link is journey.hubpages.com. There, you'll especially find a lot of recipes for food that I cook for my husband and children.

While I still pay attention to the current trends in men and women's fashion and occasionally purchase some nice items for my husband and me, I have become enthusiastic about the adorable fashion finds that are out there for my little boys. I also love a great bargain!

Please follow my blog to learn more as I share information about some of the best sales I have encountered to stretch the clothing budget farther. It feels good to provide the clothing your children need, while finding cutest fashions and saving money.

I've also been watching more movies geared especially toward children as I watch them with my little ones. So, I can only write what I know. It has been a really long time since I've watched any of the current mainstream Hollywood movies so I can't really comment in movie reviews.

Occasionally, I will rent a movie that is not specifically geared to children from the Red Box & watch it after they have gone to bed but there is not much time for that. The common advice given to mothers of infants and toddlers is "sleep when they sleep" and that is so true. I try to get my rest. It is not always easy when we have a lot of important things to get done but in my opinion, it is better to go to sleep instead of staying up to watch the movies or television. Finding extra leisure & entertainment time is not worth sacrificing sleep when you have to wake up early the next morning. I was not always necessarily onboard with such an ideology but I sure am now.

Nevertheless, I will always like the movies, especially the most meaningful ones. The last one that I was actually able to see from the Red Box was based on true history and films like these are of course important to provoke thought,discussion and remembrance more so than the feeling of being entertained. There is merit to the educational element as some viewers of the film surely learn much about historical information that may have once been obscure to them.:

Belle, rated PG, not visually illustrating the violence of slavery but narrating the tragedy of it...

The movie does not have disturbing scenes of violence. It speaks of the blossoming love story between a young Lawyer and a woman who was the niece of the chief Judge of the Supreme Court of the land (Britain in the late 1700s), The niece, Dido Belle, was a biracial woman left in her Uncle's care by her father after her mother died. Her father and uncle were White. Her mother had been a Black slave.

Upon reaching her Uncle's estate, Belle in many ways lived a very privileged & entitled life but it was still made clear to her that the color of her skin would cause her obstacles. The trauma of this made her very disturbed and self deprecating, at times wanting to rub off the color of her skin! She battled between trying to keep her confidence and despising the sight of herself in the mirror.

The penetrating race dynamics were highlighted for example in Belle's relationship with the Caucasian cousin raised alongside her like her sister, who was also left to be raised by her Uncle. Additionally, Belle was not able to eat meals with the family when they had company. She was not encouraged to eat dinner with the hired help such as the cooks OR with her family so for her, this was a time of feeling very alone.

Belle's bond with the young Lawyer began as he was under the tutelage of her Uncle. His passion for true justice caused him to be at odds with her Uncle namely as a verdict was being sought in the case of the Zong massacre. Belle's life of privilege had caused her to be naïve to many of the realities of slavery beyond the walls she lived in but she was deeply affected as she began to learn more. Her love for her mother and her heritage caused her to naturally become passionate about the horrific issue. In the past, before watching this film, I have written some about the Zong here: http://journey.hubpages.com/hub/Slavery-The-Zong-Massacre

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....Additionally....and what do you know, I am admittedly not the huge music fan I once was either. More than mainstream/popular/secular music, I now listen mainly to soothing tunes, gospel music & of course lullabies and nursery rhymes to share with my kids.

As I have settled into motherhood, I feel truly blessed. God is first for me & family is truly second. Spending that time with them & sharing experiences with them is priceless. Naturally therefore, I will be shifting the content of the blog to focus more on things geared toward children because now that is what I know most about in the latest trends.

So, I did not start writing this post intending to announce that my blog will change to a child focused and family oriented blog but inevitably it will. Take good care. Talk to you soon.