Warning: Contains spoilers for Toy Story 3.Toy Story 3 is still playing around town; 3-D available.
Is getting rid of your toys a sign of maturity? Must all our childhood toys be thrown out? According to David Hajdu, “The time comes for each of us to grow up and pack up our toys.”
In his New York Times Op-Ed article, “The Toys Are Us,” the professor scrutinizes the significance of growing out of our toys, drawing from childhood stories: The Velveteen Rabbit, and the recent Toy Story 3. Instead of a debate on when or why we throw out our toys, he reminisces and analyzes how popular stories have handled this topic. “These well-loved tales tell us at least as much about the times in which they were created as they do about the time of life when children abandon their dolls and action figures,” he remarks.
His children preferred the story of Christopher Robin, who “throw[s][Pooh bear] a big goodbye party under a tree.” Hajdu philosophizes while watching Toy Story 3 (the most recent reference in the bunch), “realiz[ing]that Woody and Buzz stand for an idealized conception of moms and dads as selfless, wholly subservient providers of unconditional love.” Apparently, toys and parents share this love for children in common.
Read more on The New York Times article here.
