Caution: This blog contains movie spoilers. But it’s all for a very good cause.
Friday night, my husband and I went to see the film “Kung Fu Panda.” I couldn’t help but identify with the loveable and yet large star of the show, an oversized panda named Po. As we came away from the film, I thought about the messages imbedded in the plot, and realized just how much they related to weight and self-image.
1. Po has a dream, that of becoming a kung fu master. Each night when he goes to bed, he sees himself as being sharp and deadly, conquering all foes effortlessly. But when he gets up and begins to interact with the world, he realizes his dream is useless. The lesson: each of us has dreams we want to fulfill. But if we listen to the naysayers around us, we never will achieve them.
2. When Po is chosen to be the Dragon Warrior, he doesn’t think he can do it. He’s willing to try, but his size is a definite factor against him. As he learns to exercise and to focus, his dream becomes a reality, even though he’s not any smaller. The lesson: we let our size hold us back. In reality, it’s not that much of an issue. If we focus and stay oriented to our goals, we can achieve them, and often it doesn’t take the accomplishment of our entire weight goal to reach our dreams. We may get what we want while we still have a little ways to go.
3. Po can’t seem to get the kung fu moves down. His teacher notices how Po likes to eat when he’s upset, and how he’ll do anything to obtain the food, including climbing and doing the splits. With this knowledge, the teacher then makes food the incentive, and Po learns everything he needs. In the end, Po refuses the proffered dumpling, realizing that he’s not hungry. The lesson: as we stay focused on our goals, keep busy and concentrate on the things that make us feel good about ourselves, our desire to emotionally eat diminishes. It’s when there’s an absence of activity that we fall into the trap of overeating.
4. At the end of the film, Po is able to withstand the attack of the enemy because his extra layers of body fat make him immune to some of the tactics the enemy tries. Then Po uses his own strengths to win the battle. The lesson: we tend to label ourselves as “fat” and think of our fat as negative. While being overweight isn’t a desirable condition from a health perspective, we need to recognize that it doesn’t make us “bad.” Po’s weight actually was a saving grace for him, a positive. I’m not suggesting that we all remain unhealthy in case an insane kung fu master shows up and wants to inflict nerve damage on us, but I’m suggesting that we stop labeling ourselves negatively because of our shape.
The battle to lose weight is one that is fought emotionally and physically. But if we can learn to honor ourselves and recognize the value each of us has, regardless of our size, we’ll find joy along the way instead of constant self-recrimination. We want to lose weight because we know we’ll feel better when we do, but let’s not withhold love and approval from ourselves until that day, or that day may never arrive. Yeah, that panda was pretty smart. . .
Tristi Pinkston blogs full-time in LDS, Movies and Media Reviews. Click here to read more of her blogs.
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