Horton Hears a....Heart Beat?

The real title of this popular kids book turned movie is, of course, Horton Hears a Who. But I am bringing to the table a not so subtle theme I have seen in the movie. The central quote throughout this book/movie is: "a person's a person no matter how small". The book by Dr. Seuss was written in 1954, exactly 20 years before Roe vs. Wade, so Seuss most likely didn't write the book in an attempt to counter abortion. And in 2008 Horton made it to the theaters; and this is the Horton that I want to focus on. 

Abortion is a significant issue in American culture, many say they are pro-choice and they believe a fetus is not a living baby until sometimes three months, two months, four months after conception. Pro-lifers (myself included) believe life begins the moment of conception. I believe both of the views are clearly shown in Horton Hears a Who; Sour Kangaroo is clearly depicted as a Feminist that doesn't believe there is life on the spec (or no life at conception) and Horton, who can hear the Who's with his huge elephant ears, he believes that there are live beings living on the spec (life at conception). Kangaroo is adamant at getting everyone else in the jungle to believe, along with her, that Horton is a menace for thinking such things and even goes after him and the clover, that's holding the spec of life.

In the end Horton has been beaten up and caged by the other jungle folks, until finally the spec is heard by Kangaroos son. And everyone finally believes Horton and all of the Who's in Whoville are saved. Even the hard and proud Kangaroo in the end believes. 

Obviously in our world today, there are plenty, if not most, who still believe that abortion is an okay option and that there is no life in a fetus before this or that age, but the rest of the movie shows a fairly accurate picture of what it can be like for a pro-life individual living in America today. You can disagree with me about the meaning of this movie, or even some of the claims I've made, but what does "a person's a person, no matter how small" mean to you?

My First Cultural Artifact Post...

So, I'm not exactly sure what our syllabus means by "cultural artifact", but I'm assuming it has to be from a time before me, and has to have had some kind of significant influence on culture. Unfortunately, for me, I'm not very cultured when it comes to music and movies. So, I'm finding it very hard to come up with anything to write about.
Since I can't think of slash don't have a movie or song or TV show at the moment, I'm going to talk a little bit about a controversial book, at least it is in the Christian culture; The Shack. I won't try and make anyone guess, so I'm just going to say it, I absolutely love this book. I just finished reading it tonight and it was the fourth or fifth time doing so.
I've heard many Christians' arguments against this book, I have debated with a couple different people about the book, who hadn't even ever read it; they had just heard about different aspects and illustrations in it from other people and heard their opinions of it. All that to say, this book has helped me see God in a truthful and somewhat better light, and no, I don't think that makes me a heathen.

Some quotes I have highlighted in my book and have made me understand better are:
(God the Father is speaking in this quotation)"It is true that relationships are a whole lot messier than rules, but rules will never give you answers to the deep questions of the heart and they will never love you" pg. 198
(Jesus speaking) "Remember, I am not about performance and fitting into man-made structures; I am about being. As you grow in relationship with me, what you do will simply reflect who you really are" pg. 148
And the last one, (God the Father is speaking) "The real underlying flaw in your life, Mackenzie, is that you don't think that I am good. If you knew I was good and that everything--the means, the ends, and all the processes of individual lives--is all covered by my goodness, then while you might not always understand what I am doing, you would trust me. But you don't" pg. 126

Those are just a few quotes that, especially when I first read the book, really made me realize what the Bible was saying. It brought even more depth of understanding of the Truth in God's Word. I understand all of the arguments of against The Shack; why it's "bad" and "wrong" and "heresy", and I can see the point that most are making, but I also see truth, and God's love and grace and character. And those things I had first known from the Bible.

So, Dr. Kersey, I don't know if this is what you were looking for, but that's what I've got!