The Wildly Inconsistent Principles of Oompa-Loompan Morality.
So we've all hopefully seen the movie- six or seven kids tour a magical/fun-filled/lethal chocolate/death factory owned by an eccentric, passive-aggressive candy magnate who, unbeknownst to all, is running a competition to see who among them will inherit the factory/House of Sade, the theory behind this being that only the heart of a child could keep the magic of candy-making alive, and only the brain of a child would lack the basic judgment and empathy skills usually barring one from luring half-a-dozen perfect strangers into elaborate, mechanized gingerbread houses designed to entice, then immediately destroy, all who enter.
One of the most memorable portions of the film was, of course, the enslaved tribe of singing, dancing, little people; all suffering from bad dye jobs and advanced cases of psoriasis, the Oompa Loompas. Because of his exploitation of immigrant workers and propensity towards masochism, Wonka is unsuitable as the factory's moral arbiter, so the Oompa Loompas take to the role, giving ethical sermons in the form of catchy pop-dirges as each member of the tour is subjected to some form of pain and humiliation. But what they sermonize about exposes a disturbing irregularity in the Oompa-Loompan code of ethics. Let's explore:
One child, after diving into the forbidden delicious chocolate waterfall, is lectured on the dangers of gluttony. Another, overcome by his exuberance for television, is told that moderation is key to a healthy mind. Yet another is taught the important lesson of not always getting what one wants, by way of some crap about eggs or garbage chutes or something. The important thing to note here is that these are all fairly standard, precedented lessons, with an almost Old Testament flavor of "inhibition of excess". But what's the other lesson they impart, the next "great sin" that is premise for eviction? Well, after they leave out experimental substances clearly not approved by the FDA, and after watching a member of the tour consume and immediately grow ill from these substances, and after rolling this person off to a room in the factory that presumably contains some sort of medieval vice, they start singing another little ditty. About gum-chewing.
Yes. Gum-chewing. Apparently, to these tiny puritans of oral etiquette, having a stick of Wrigley's is like parking in a handicapped space, or hitting a kid in public. Someone else's kid. Why is it acceptable, that in Oompa Loompan society, the most pious and generous of people can be likened to the gluttonous, the greedy, and the wrathful, when their only trespass was simply wanting to double their pleasure and/or double their fun?
I think it's about time we address this issue. These Oompa Loompas need to stop with their sparse choreography and wavy fonts and start getting off their high horse. Well...that's a bit offensive, high horse. Let's go... Shetland pony. They need to get off their Shetland pony and start treating everyone with dignity, regardless of whether they prefer their reds big, their fruits juicy, or their winters a flavor-crystalline green. Unless of course that person is later revealed to have an unattractive character flaw, in which case they forfeit all pretenses of dignity and the Oompa Loompas can have their way with them.
One of the most memorable portions of the film was, of course, the enslaved tribe of singing, dancing, little people; all suffering from bad dye jobs and advanced cases of psoriasis, the Oompa Loompas. Because of his exploitation of immigrant workers and propensity towards masochism, Wonka is unsuitable as the factory's moral arbiter, so the Oompa Loompas take to the role, giving ethical sermons in the form of catchy pop-dirges as each member of the tour is subjected to some form of pain and humiliation. But what they sermonize about exposes a disturbing irregularity in the Oompa-Loompan code of ethics. Let's explore:
One child, after diving into the forbidden delicious chocolate waterfall, is lectured on the dangers of gluttony. Another, overcome by his exuberance for television, is told that moderation is key to a healthy mind. Yet another is taught the important lesson of not always getting what one wants, by way of some crap about eggs or garbage chutes or something. The important thing to note here is that these are all fairly standard, precedented lessons, with an almost Old Testament flavor of "inhibition of excess". But what's the other lesson they impart, the next "great sin" that is premise for eviction? Well, after they leave out experimental substances clearly not approved by the FDA, and after watching a member of the tour consume and immediately grow ill from these substances, and after rolling this person off to a room in the factory that presumably contains some sort of medieval vice, they start singing another little ditty. About gum-chewing.
Yes. Gum-chewing. Apparently, to these tiny puritans of oral etiquette, having a stick of Wrigley's is like parking in a handicapped space, or hitting a kid in public. Someone else's kid. Why is it acceptable, that in Oompa Loompan society, the most pious and generous of people can be likened to the gluttonous, the greedy, and the wrathful, when their only trespass was simply wanting to double their pleasure and/or double their fun?
I think it's about time we address this issue. These Oompa Loompas need to stop with their sparse choreography and wavy fonts and start getting off their high horse. Well...that's a bit offensive, high horse. Let's go... Shetland pony. They need to get off their Shetland pony and start treating everyone with dignity, regardless of whether they prefer their reds big, their fruits juicy, or their winters a flavor-crystalline green. Unless of course that person is later revealed to have an unattractive character flaw, in which case they forfeit all pretenses of dignity and the Oompa Loompas can have their way with them.