Fairies, Goblins, Glitter & Sunbeams

Reciprocal Nature Prompt: Shining Sunlight

I grew up in a deliberately weird family: my parents were independent thinkers who avoided the mainstream, rooted for the underdog, and placed high value on creativity and imagination.

We watched a lot of movies. Movies are both art and story, and many are wildly and vividly imaginative. I was raised on films like Willow, Labyrinth, Neverending Story, and one that comes to mind when I try to summarize the significance of sunlight — 1985’s Legend.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen this movie. It’s a story of dualities — good and evil, dark and light, fantasy and reality — featuring outstanding costuming, make-up, and sets. The title song includes the following lyrics:

Legends can be now and forever Teaching us to love for goodness sake Legends can be now and forever Loved by the sun, loved by the sun

“Loved by the sun.” A pivotal moment in the film occurs when a group of heroes manage to beam a powerful sliver of sunlight into the deepest depths of the darkness. I won’t say more than that.

Dualities, by nature, are not nuanced. The uncomplicated idea of light triumphing over darkness, good over evil, is easily alluring. To that end, the story raises subtler questions about the role of darkness in balancing light, and about the complexities of human nature, curiosity, and foibles.

Nonetheless, it is essentially a tale of sunlight saving the day (complete with unicorns, swamp monsters, fairies, woodland cottages, treasure caves, and beasts of all kinds). Yet I think it is less about light triumphing over darkness, and more about finding ways to let light stream into all places, to hope even in the most desperate times, to glimpse bright flickers in the night.

Just thinking about it makes me happy.

A little more about the sun from Adil Iqbal:

“The sun is the ultimate source of energy for life on Earth, but have you ever wondered how it produces energy?”

One of my favorite ways to notice and appreciate light is through photography. Black and white photos particularly hinge on the balance of light and shadow, as shown by ted_ozawa on his daily walks:

“Hope is like the sun. If you only believe it when you see it you’ll never make it through the night.” — General Leia Organa