You are Who You Choose to Be
Did you catch “The Iron Giant”? Me neither! This 1999 film was released without any marketing budget at all, but it’s become an animated classic that’s recognized by thousands for its quality animation, compelling storyline, and moving theme. So what makes it great? The core idea: What if a gun didn’t want to be a gun? I won’t give you any spoilers, but the story follows a giant robot who has crash landed on earth and seems equipped to cause lots of destruction. But he’s discovered and hidden by a young boy who teaches him about souls and comics, and that in life, we get to choose who we want to be.
You see, Brad Bird, the film’s principal creator, lost his sister when her estranged husband shot her. He wanted to tell a story that carried a strong, anti-violence, anti-war message because he believes, “When you shoot somebody, you’re not just killing that person. You’re killing a part of all the people that love that person” (VT, 2018).
If you’ve ever had someone tell you that you aren’t good enough, smart enough, attractive enough, etc., then you’ll understand why this message hits so close to home. It can be hard to remember that we are the deciders of our own fate when we have people in our life who say the exact opposite. It can feel impossible to own our power when we live in a world that keeps trying to take it away, so we’ll fall in line, buy the next shiny thing, or just do what we’re told. We can’t control the circumstances of our life, but The Iron Giant reminds us that we can control ourselves.
In another memorable moment, the Iron Giant rushes to try to fix something he’s broken. Unlike most films where the hero would fix everything just in the knick of time, he doesn’t, and a pretty big mess ensues. It’s a perfect example of how even choices we make without knowing the consequences can sometimes backfire… and that it’s okay to fail. We do the best we can with the knowledge we have at the time, and tomorrow, we can do better. Throughout his journey, the Iron Giant learns that he isn’t just a mindless slave to his programming. He doesn’t have to destroy things if he doesn’t want to, even though it’s HARD for him to overcome that programming.
And the main reason he learns that lesson? Friendship. He never would have discovered his own ability to choose had he not befriended the young boy. Likewise, we can’t be the best version of ourselves alone. We are made to walk this journey with others, with friends and family, and we need them to point to the best in ourselves and remind us of who we can be. Like the Iron Giant, let’s aim to live each day not as a slave to our circumstances but as someone who chooses who we want to be. Who we choose to be today is always going to be more important than who we might have been in the past. What we choose now beats what we chose yesterday, and it paves the path for what we will choose tomorrow.
Reference: This is the real life family tragedy that inspired the iron giant. (2018). VT. Retrieved from https://vt.co/entertainment/film-tv/this-is-the-real-life-family-tragedy-that-inspired-the-iron-giant.
Challenges/Points:
“The Iron Giant” is an inspiring film created after the director lost his sister to violence.
The theme of the film, you are who you choose to be, applies to each of us.
Sometimes doing the right thing means doing the hard thing but we each have the potential to be the hero of our own story.
Questions:
Is there anyone in your life who sees the best in you and calls that out?
Do you tend to believe positive things about yourself or negative things?
Who do you want to be? What does that mean for you personally?
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