Gwyneth Paltrow is my homegirl

I was shocked to discover yesterday that Gwyneth Paltrow, the woman who named her child Apple for pete's sake, and I have something in common.  We both love and were inspired by the same show, Free to Be...You and Me.

Aw c'mon..if you are a child of the 70's as I (ahem) am, then surely you know this little gem.  It's been described as "a sorely needed counterbalance to the casual sexism of American life...it was fired with high ambitions and aggressive optimism. "Free to Be You and Me" was the gentler side of feminism, a funny and sly discussion of sexism, racism, gay rights and other issues disguised as a sort of cabaret show for children.

I must confess, I never got into the whole politics of the thing.  I just loved the songs and the stories, and the feeling that everyone - no matter what you looked like, or how you acted - was normal and accepted.  As I got older, it also fueled my passion for children's theatre. 

I was hooked on theatre for some time before I took a children's theatre performance class in high school.  We took Free to Be to schools around town, performing on small stages of already small gyms.  Although the performing part was great, what really made an impression on me was the look on the kids' faces.  It's like we had discovered life on another planet or something.  They were amazed that we would "pretend" anything.  In fact, in the question and answer period afterwards, they would ask things like "Why did you pretend to ride a train?".  It was at that moment that I knew what was lacking in our education system, and I wanted to fix it.  Because they were enraptured. It was better than giving a present to a child on Christmas morning, because I knew that this kind of gift was better than anything that could come in a box.

And it was all from the magic of this little show from the 70's which, in theory, should be outdated and largely irrelavant in the world of kids today.  It's a testament to the endurance of themes and issues that matter to kids the world over:  tolerance, acceptance, love.  There's so many, many good songs and vignettes in this show, but the one that sticks out in my mind - probably because I now have a son of my own - is William's Doll.  It's about a boy who is being coerced into playing with "boy's toys" when all he really wants to do is play with a doll.  The last verse always, and now especially, brings me to tears:

So William's grandma, as I've been told,
Bought him a doll to hug and hold,
And William's father began to frown,
But grandma smiled, and calmed him down.
Explaining "William wants a doll,
So when he has a baby some day,
He'll know how to dress it,
Put diapers on double,
And gently caress it,
To bring up a bubble,
And care for his baby as every good father should learn to do.
William has a doll! William has a doll!
'Cause someday he is gonna be a father too!

So, if you don't already know of Free to Be...You and Me, I urge you to check it out.  And if you remember it from your youth, bring it back out, dust it off and share it with your kids.  I guarantee you won't regret it.

Comments

[painted maypole]

I LOVE Free to Be... I still have the old tape my mother recorded off of the record, and I play it! :) I didn't even know it was a movie until I was in college. Now we own it. :) I toured with a show (now a book) that is very much the new Free to Be... called Cootie Shots (in fact, you can get a gander at me on the cover of the book!). You can check it out at www.cootieshots.com

[ilovemywife]

Cool, Sesame Street x2!

[Naomi (Urban Mummy)]

Love, love LOVE Free to be, You & Me!! Alan Alda, Marlo Thomas...

I have the soundtrack on my computer, with my other kids music. it's even on my iPod.

[mamatulip]

Wow. I'd forgotten about this gem!!

[christine]

we just bought this tape from a garage sale! i loved it as a kid and can't wait to share it with my kids, too.

[NotSoSage]

No. Idea.

Honestly. I think I was as TV-deprived as a child as my poor little one is going to be.

But Gwyneth's not a bad homegirl to have.

Joe, by the way, LOVED the name Apple...

[kittenpie]

I am a huge FTBYAM fan. I have the book, a tape, and the CD... ahem.

And Williams' Doll? Is from a Charlotte Zolotow book. Just so's y'all know.

[Mamalooper]

Love it too! And get a little verklempt listening to it - how idealistic and groundbreaking at the time. Too cool.