Peter Pan has always been creepy, to an extent, spine chilling. It is not just his mischievous 1953 animated face that seems somewhat eerie for a supposed child, his entire demeanour counts.
The 1953 Disney peter pan animation puts a face to the never-growing adult of a child but also tames down the story̶ very on theme for Disney. Most of us who grew up watching animations know how the story goes; Peter finds himself in the Darling household, loses his shadow, goes back for it and through that develop a friendship with the older sister Wendy and invites them to Neverland.
Through Tinkerbell and her magic, they fly, get there, meet the Lost Boys, have an encounter with the mermaids, “redskins” and later, a showdown with Captain Hook, his pirates, and the infamous ticking crocodile. Wendy and Peter reunite later when she’s an adult and a mother, introducing her daughter to him.
This is the sweetheart version from Disney̶ well, a summary. The original by the author, J.M. Barrie does not stray too far but is much more sinister than the fairytale we are all so familiar with. In this version, a Peter Pan that is more of a psychopath is introduced.
Here, he kidnaps the Lost Boys from their parents by luring them from a public park in London, Kensington gardens, already sounding a little predatory to any rational mind. Brace yourself because it gets darker.
Pan’s obsession with evergreen boyhood leads him to murder any of the Lost Boys who dared age and altered their body in questionable ways when they got too big to fit holes of their hideouts. This has led some conspiracy theorists on the internet to believe that Captain Hook might not have been the villain but a victim̶ a Lost Boy who aged, got his hand chopped off as a result (alteration), made it alive and is back for revenge.
Quite an unfortunate revenge for captain hook as it all went down the drain. Paying close attention, the underlying themes of Peter Pan screams illegal.
Kidnapping, grooming, murder, torture, all of that, but the focus will be on the paedophilic and grooming undertones Peter Pan is drenched in. J.M. Barrie himself might be the original creep- the blueprint for Peter Pan himself, stemming from his fixation on boyhood and childhood innocence, following the death of his brother at a young age, as well as his controversial relationship with his godson Michael Llewelyn Davies.
Peter Pan is a written fantasy, spelling out the thrill child predators gain from controlling children and deriving pleasure from the innocence, which also finds excuses for their appalling, stomach churning behaviour. Mind you, Peter Pan is a grown adult who is somewhat trapped with the physical, mental and emotional comprehension of a child, that he actually did to himself, either from his strange will not to grow or to be relatable and appealing to children, helping him lure them easily.
For emotional and mental stability’s sake, let’s stick to the former. In as much as we try turning a blind eye to it, there are a lot of Pan’s in our Ghanaian society we have the displeasure of calling “uncle”.
Grown, adult men who prey on children. Not just girls as most try to assume, but boys too, with some of them specifically targeting boys to cover their tracks̶ absolutely revolting.
Paedophilia is almost normal in Ghana due to the shamelessness the perpetrators exercise. It is in our homes, our religious environments, schools and it is even celebrated in our music!
The audacity to call these musicians “legends” rather than criminals that should be investigated is jarring and this is exactly why the comparison with Pan is being made. They hide behind certain antics to hide their criminal behaviour.
Let’s not forget, Pan is a great imitator̶ the same as these men who pretend to be pious members of society. The sad truth is, if the Lost Boys were Ghanaian kids, they would be blamed for seducing Pan and would be convinced to settle with family, rather than taking legal action.
The ending of Peter Pan sheds light on the repetitive nature of paedophilia. Peter being free at the end and being allowed access to Wendy’s children, continued the cycle for years.
Captain Hook’s inability to blow up Peter’s hideout means he’d continue to go to Kensington gardens to lure boys. Children in this case, get scared for life and in situation when their trauma is recorded, hunts them for the rest of their life since the internet never forgets.
The simple and short of all this is that we find ways and means to stop these predators once and for all. But my question is, are our justice systems, religious systems and traditional systems ready to save children before they become Lost Boys?
Or are we going to keep normalising and forgiving it with Bible and Quran verses, and filial piety? Are we going to blame it on the “dominant” characteristics of boys and men, or are we going to call a spade, a spade?
Are we finally going to let Captain Hook get his revenge, or are we going to romanticise and infantalise our uncle, Peter Pan?