I saw the new movie, Babies, which is a documentary that follows the lives of four babies for their first year. There are two boys, from Mongolia and Namibia and two girls, from Tokyo and San Francisco. It being Sunday night at the Spectrum, the only other people in the theater (apart from Sarah, Beckie and myself) were two grandmothers and two girls in their twenties. The exclusively female audience didn’t surprise us, but the difference in reactions did. While childbirth made us audibly queasy, the older women sighed reminiscently at the acquired definition of beauty. It was obvious that experience and maturity played a part in emotional investment. Everyone winced when the babies looked as if they were in danger of being hurt but we also laughed, our maternal instincts on the backburner.
After seeing this movie, I can admit that babies are adorable and it’s so interesting to see how cultures that are completely different in every way can nurture children to grow and develop at astonishingly similar rates. I don’t want a baby any time soon, but I wouldn’t mind having some around the family. Life is brilliant to watch.
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