The Sound of Music: Lost Innocence

Back before everything had to be "adult" and dark and dreary!

An old friend (in his mid-50s, mind you) had never seen the Sound of Music, so we watched it together via streaming recently. This may be the first time I saw the movie in its entirety, no commercials or edited for television. Wow!

I mean, I grew up with this film, and even I had the RECORD that I used to sing along with as a kid. I know all the songs by heart. And yet, when I just saw Sound of Music again for the zillionth time, I was mesmerized. I was obsessed for a few days afterwards. Like I just wanted to live in the Sound of Music and forget this nasty world we live in.

Yet, the Sound of Music was really about lost innocence in a way. SPOILER ALERT, in case you haven’t seen this amazing musical yet… The Nazis, of course, come and ruin everything with their Anschluss into Austria. But we have hope in the end as the family escapes in the hills, led by the gorgeous Captain von Trapp (Christopher Plummer). Sigh.

In some respects, I feel we are experiencing a slow Anschluss of our own right now…a creeping darkness that wants to engulf the innocence we used to have…and in many ways, it’s already won. Even around the time Sound of Music was made…the idiots in Hollywood didn’t get a clue after the movie’s spectacular success. Did they make more good, heart-filled movies like Sound of Music? They went in the opposite direction.

Julie Andrews is best loved for her kid-friendly, classic musicals, Mary Poppins and Sound of Music. But after Sound of Music, she tried to be a tad more “sexy.” The more “adult” musicals she did after Sound of Music are pretty much forgotten. (Not to knock Julie Andrews, but everyone in Hollywood is at fault for not seeing her real value.)

Now, everything is too adult these days. There’s no such thing as good family fare. When we do have kids’ shows or movies, they are either way too dumbed down or they are too snarky. The cartoon characters are bouncing off the walls making cheap jokes. Look, I’m all for Minions in moderation. But we’ve lost that sense of wholesome grace that infused Sound of Music.

The Sound of Music was also a religious movie. It wasn’t religious in an ironic way, or in a “look we have a shocking reveal for you” kind of Conclave sort of way. Here we have nuns, who are likeable, sincere, and wise. When the Reverend Mother powers out “Climb Every Mountain,” we all want to get up and cheer.

Maria isn’t forsaking God by leaving the convent, by the way. The Reverend Mother explains to her kindly that maybe God has other plans for her. We learn in Sound of Music, “When the Lord closes a door, somewhere He opens a window."

The world is greatly lacking in this sort of inspiring goodness. No, instead we need to relish in the “Wicked.” Now, Wicked (the musical) may be fun and all that (I have yet to see it). But the Sound of Music? It hits me hard, in my heart.

PS You may not know this, but Julie Andrews wrote some books, specifically one of my favorite books from my childhood, “The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles,” originally under her married name Julie Edwards. One of the best kids’ books ever. Check it out.