Posted on March 5, 2008 by Kathy McManus in All, Films Comments (3)
Dinner for Two
Dinner for Two serves up good food for thought.
When two chameleons literally get stuck in conflict, there’s a ripple effect throughout their previously peaceful rainforest home. Opportunities are lost. Relationships severed. Innocent bystanders suffer. And violence threatens. Sound familiar?
As in many tales, it is a wise and goodly frog that turns the tide and saves the day. No prince-morphing here, however. What these chameleon combatants need most is mediation. Reconciliation. A path to return to peace. Don’t we all.
Dinner for Two, directed by Janet Perlman, was originally produced by the National Film Board of Canada as part of a series called ShowPeace. It’s animation with illumination. And no age limit—everyone from children to CEOs can use a whimsical reminder of how to deal with conflict and anger, whether at home, at school, or in the executive suite.
It’s a good lesson in responsibility.
For a discussion guide with questions, please click here
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Why Compromise?
Compromise compromise compromise! The hardest thing to do is compromise, especially when you know you are right. Why should you “give up” being right when you know the other guy is wrong? Compromise can be a difficult thing to accept.
I am not sure the video is correctly titled. What starts out as, “it is my dinner not yours” progresses to “I will share my dinner with both of you.”
I also agree that the issue of whose meal it is raised lots of concerns in the “local community.”
The video moves from a compromising opportunity to a lost opportunity to a sharing break.
The frog does not play the roll of neutral party here. The frog is not offering a compromise because in the end he gets a third of the results. The frog now owns the meal and is choosing on his own free will to share.
Relating this video to events of today, would you like to start with the war or the Democratic Party?
BEING RESPONSIBLE
This was just a short story about two lizards going after the same food. No matter how you slice, dice, puree it, this is still about two lizards. That said. Should two normal people be found in similar fix, ideally, one would say “ lets catch and share.” That’s in a ideal world, these days you’re lucky if someone doesn’t bring a possee. Maybe S.W.A.T. could have resolved this.
I know, I know, let us call Dr. Phil, Oprah, or someone like them. It no doubt started when their parent; you pick; traumatized them as a youth. “Dinner for Two”, would I have shared, probably, but would you?
Part of life
Conflict is a part of life. If you’re not willing to let go from time to time, and stand for what you believe in without wavering other times, then you’re going to have a really rough life. Compromise is good at times and has it’s place — but it’s really about neither person getting what they want.