Disney’s Pinocchio is simultaneously considered an adaptational travesty and a cinematic masterpiece. It was not well-received in Italy, particularly by the surviving members of the Collodi family who felt that the film misused the strong social satire of the original book. Changes were made also to reflect new conceptions of childhood, and the violence, such as the burning of Pinocchio’s feet and the killing of the cricket, was reduced. These changes were received positively by children’s book author Maurice Sendak. Reflecting on the original stories, he commented, “Children, Collodi appears to be saying, are inherently bad, and the world itself is a ruthless, joyless place, filled with hypocrites, liars, and cheats. Poor Pinocchio is born bad.” Expressed this way, Collodi’s world sounds, surprisingly, gnostic.Well, that's a new one.
I've noted any number of other Gnostic interpretations of modern films, including The Truman Show, The Matrix and Inception, Knight of Cups, and Mother. And there was recently a Gnostic Film Festival at Rice University.
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