The Dark Side of Peter Pan

As many people did, I grew up watching Peter Pan as a kid and wanting to be part of never land myself. As I got older, I realized that there is was always a deeper meaning behind the innocence of these Disney movies filled with adult lessons and sexual humor that I didn’t understand back then. A child is simply drawn to the animations of the story and the desire to be part of it, the last thing any of them would expect is that they are watching real life lessons unfold before them as they go into adulthood and realize it themselves. While I knew Peter Pan was fictional and that never land didn’t exist in reality, it was disturbing to see Peter Pan as well as many other childhood Disney movies I grew up watching in a whole new light, and in a disturbing way strong enough to ruin some childhood memories.

As Jacqueline Rose pointed  out in in the class reading of “ The Case of Peter Pan”  the twist is that the author of Peter Pan is actually just a man who had a desire and interest in little boys himself. This is what I meant by disturbing memories strong enough to ruin a childhood memory, because the whole image of Peter Pan is now seen as something different and not in a good way. Especially in today’s society, where problems like that happen daily, it doesn’t paint a good image for the author or the fans who grew up wanting to be part of Pan’s fictional life. Now I see that this story wasn’t meant for children at all but rather for adults to know, the worst part is knowing that this story probably would of never existed if it wasn’t for possibly the authors interest to possess these little boys. I’m sure everyone who is familiar with the story of Peter Pan has the same question in mind, and I’m not sure exactly myself either.