Coming of age as a state of being
Culture Companion Vol. 7
Welcome to the Culture Companion Vol. 7. The Culture Companion is a monthly-ish curation building bridges between the ideas we encounter in film, literature, and the arts. Subscribe to get new posts straight to your inbox.
“Coming of age” is defined as the journey from childhood or adolescence to adulthood.
The coming-of-age mood has become an aspirational aesthetic of sorts. It’s frequent to find playlists, mood boards, and reading lists across the internet invoking the essence of coming-of-age movies and fiction, which cast a soft glow on those tumultuous years of growth. Recently, however, I’ve become more convinced that coming of age is not exclusive to the youthful years.
Maybe it’s simply a symptom of being a twenty-something year old who’s perhaps not quite lived out my own coming-of-age era, but I’d like to believe that no matter our age there can be room to reconnect with the coming-of-age spirit.
The Wild Robot
No year has seen me weep in the cinema more than this year has.
Based on the book by Peter Brown, The Wild Robot follows an intelligent robot nicknamed Roz who’s stranded on an island surrounded only by its animal inhabitants. When Roz undertakes the task of raising an orphaned baby goose, her computer programming is challenged by the joys and pains of parenthood, especially having to confront the inevitable empty nest.
The internet’s conversations about this movie had prepared me for its emotional impact yet I was still caught off guard by how deeply these characters and their relationships crept into my heart. The Wild Robot is a triumphant film not only about navigating the discomforts of growing into independence but also about what it means to be the ones left behind.
For Kids or Anyone Who’s Ever Been a Kid
Trevor Noah’s What Now? podcast is my weekly dose of intellectual enrichment sprinkled with belly laughs. So, I’ll never give up an opportunity to share my love for it.
In the episode “For Kids or Anyone Who’s Ever Been a Kid”, Trevor and his co-hosts discuss what it’s like being a child, being an adult, and the chasm between those existences. Trevor even brings in a panel of kids to get their perspectives on questions like, “Why don’t grown-ups seem to understand kids?” and “If you could change anything about the world, what would you change?”.
The greatest value I found in this episode was its emphasis on the fact that every one of us has had the experience of being a child. We should never forget that we are all “former kids”.
Changing Winds
To conclude, I leave you with a piano piece by my favourite composer, Alexandra Streliski.
Coming of age is, at its core, about change. So even as adults, why not embrace the possibility of dipping our toes into that energy to foster a coming of age whenever we might need it?
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If you missed the previous volumes of the Culture Companion, you can read them here:
Kristen Harding
Kristen Harding
