The Days of Thy Youth - Hook Response

A certain Bible scripture is etched into my mind on the constant. "Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment" (Eccl. 11:9). This phrase, "days of youth" is used in a diversity of Biblical subtexts, with a negative connotation and a positive spin. In this case, the days of youth are a period of self-discovery, but within other verses the days of the youth are referred to regretfully: "she multiplied her whoredoms, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt" (Ezek. 23:19). I've come to reconcile the contradiction in these two verses as stemming from the prophetic perspective, when the former represents the importance of finding self during one's younger years, while the former condemns untimely returning to life without authority or responsibility reserved for children.

Steven Spielberg's film Hook, I think offered me a unique spin on that idea. Nostalgia can be great source of inspiration but it can also cause crippling regret. Robin Williams' character Peter, who is ostensibly the titular Peter Pan, once returned to an all-consuming occupation, when he has no time to think for himself or his family. His plight seems to be the exact inverse of the harlot in Ezekiel's passage. Peter Pan is not a grown man seeking respite in the juvenile, he is a youth in arrested development, seeking escape with a structured lifestyle. Peter, who has grown to value foresight and security over passion and spontaneity, bans nostalgia away from his mind to such incredible destructive extremes, he has even forgot the type of person he was. Ultimately, through rescuing his family from the villainous Captain Hook, he learns how to properly retain his spontaneous, adventurous spirit as a fully-mature, responsible father.

The Lost Boys have become a symbol for disenfranchised youth: orphans, victims of abuse, misguided, rebellious, and free-spirited teenagers, and the light of Peter Pan's transformation, they too learn to grow up. Once stagnant and decaying for decades of mere reflection on the salad days of Peter's Pan's youthful prosperity, the Lost Boys are forced to adapt to present dangers. As Peter understands his purpose as an adult through reliving his youth, his old, young friends understand their place as kids through learning to prepare for the future. In this regard, Hook seems to play out more for adults than it does for children, the bulk of its heavy existential themes going undetected in a theme park-like fantasy world.

As I reflect on my own days of youth, I can't help but feel that they were squandered worrying about my place in the future. Now, I am experience the complete flip-side of that as a near the edge of my academic pursuits, longing for a simpler time when I could take more dramatic risks. Nostalgia may be a safe method of escape, even a tool to gain perspective on the present. Habitual nostalgism may leave one debilitated, with arms outstretched backward or forward to brighter days.