The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T Response - Childsploitation

The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T is fascinating because it appears to condemn paternalism in theme, but relies on the fine-tuned performance of children doing the bidding of adults to convey it. Notable for being the only full-length screenplay written by beloved children's poet Dr. Seuss, it is about a boy named Bart who is forced to take piano lessons from an unpleasant and overly-entrepreneurial piano teacher, Dr. Terwilliker. The boy seems to express no genuine interest for playing the piano, but because of Terwilliker's predatory and fascistic personality, his mother would never be able to detect it. I personally loved this movie because I saw it as a post-modern allegory for parental consignment and wage slavery.

Perhaps I connected with this movie as many middle class children did because my parents felt that learning piano was in my best interest. Though, I never asked to try it, and my intrigue towards the instrument was merely percussive ennui. The consequent listlessness also inhibited me from accurately expressing my true interests, and I was taken away to equally boring piano lessons. So, I understand Bart's plight. But Bart's plight is a universal one, for even in his fantasies and nightmares, Dr. Terwilliker, who can be likened to monolithic enterprises who offer basic living amenities for their cooperation. He torments Bart with industry and authoritarianism, for his own personal gain and ego; Bart is learning about wage slavery.

Youthinks me overdramatic, and perhaps I am, but either way, this story is also about growing up, and figuring out your own interests. Without my mother coercing me into learning piano, I likely would have never discovered the fun in composing music. Piano certainly wasn't my instrument, but it paved the way for me to learn other instruments, and gave a pathway for me to pursue my favorite hobby as a child, poetry (since we all know that no one ever makes a living as a poet). Imagination begins by planting ideas, and it's parents that plant those seeds because children do not know how. Issues arise however, when parents will nurture those talents and hobbies for the child. The child will even connect with these pursuits in their subconscious, vociferating in their sleep, acting on awakened impulses, as does Nemo in his adventures in Slumberland.

The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T is a finely crafted movie about the pursuit of adolescent. It is unkind to authority, but encourages a mutual discussion between passionate children and compassionate parents. Happy children are busy children, especially those who use their youth for self-discovering hobbies.