Mom, What's Opium? Questions the New 'Alice' Movie Could Inspire

Lewis Carroll was also thought to have been Jack the Ripper at one time.

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I don't understand why modern American parents are so afraid of being honest with their children. Is it because you're afraid to face truths in your own life? I am as honest as I can possibly be with my 10 year old. She knows what cocaine is. She knows what a pedophile is. I have explained to her the reasons I believe taking illegal drugs is a bad idea.

I can still remember how betrayed I felt when I learned my parents had lied to be about different issues. Don't do that to your child.

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Well if this site did a little bit more research they would find that Carroll never did drugs. He had the mind of a child, he never had friends his age. Every one he knew was much younger then him. He was telling the stories to Alice and her sister, who I'm betting had a hand is how the story played out. Again no drugs. Some people just have a great imagination.

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All lets not forget that that was a different era, different laws, different mores with regard to the human body. Taking pictures does not necessarily mean sexual touching. Parent permission may have been given, does that mean all those parents were also pedophiles.
Back in England when Carroll lived many drugs were not considered illegal and in some cases were used medicinally. I think it's more of an opportunity to teach our children tolerance, teach them what may have been legal once is no longer legal (doesn't make it right or wrong) pictures of young girls at that time might be thought of as beautiful art (remember it was still very much a chauvenistic world). But use all of this as a teaching and communication facility. How often do they not ask the questions when they should. It's your chance parents to open these hard to talk about dicussions. While you may not approve of Lewis Carroll's personal life, you have to admit he was a great writer for his time.

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Dodgson did in fact get permission from the children's mother's for his art, not that that makes it "okay," but at least he fully respected the child and the parents and the wishes of both parties.

Also, "Alice in Wonderland" was a story inspired by a young daughter of a family friend whom he was fond of named Alice Liddle. He created and told her the story to amuse her and her sisters while they (Dodgson, Alice, Lorina, and Edith) were on a boat ride. Both of the sisters, plus her two other sisters, Rhoda and Violet, are in the book - you just have to know where to look. "Alice" is an extremely creative story, yes, but it wasn't about drugs. Almost every detail in both books has a reason or purpose. People who say the story is complete nonsense (or drug-inspired) simply do not understand it, the context it was written in, or the history behind it.

Anyone interested in the books, or getting a closer look, should read "The Annotated Alice" by Martin Gardner. It's a great read for those like myself who love "Alice" and "Through the Looking Glass." It explains a lot and also gives a lot of interesting facts. Plus, it has sidenotes from Dodgson's actual diary, and letters he wrote or received.

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To be honest, what I'm most concerned by is the fact that the daughter was told to write about the works of an author she admired, and she thought that going to the movies and googling was sufficient. I'm not going to say that the 1995 Little Women movie wasn't impetus for my report on Louisa May Alcott, but I at least was required to read the books, too!

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Lewis Carroll was probably not on drugs when he wrote the "Alice" books. The books include many puns and satires on the culture of his time, which today seem like silly, random things (the mock turtle, for example) but if you lived in his time and culture, you would understand what he was getting at. He parodys popular poems, such as Father William and As I Passed By His Garden, popular culture, refrences real places in England (such as the Treacle Well), uses characters from nursery rhymes from his day (Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the lion and the unicorn), and Through the Looking Glass is actually set up as a "chess problem" that can actually be played with pieces representing different characters (Alice as the white pawn, etc, etc). His nonsene words such as frumious are really two words put together (fuming and furious). The books have real depth. When you are young, it's just the thrill of the new and adventurous and absurd. As you get older, you can see the satire and laugh at the puns and even see the messages about deception and real life that are hidden in the stories.
I don't think someone who was high as a kite half the time could really craft such deep and clever works.

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I'm tired of Tim Burton's darkness crap. He bastardizes narratives associated with childhood and then reinvents them into decadent post-modern adulthood.

I'm tired of Johnny Depp as well. Time for him to take a loooooong break for the sake of fatherhood.

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If you can't explain drugs to your kid, what the heck do you do when you're watching tv, a commercial for Cialis or Viagra comes on, and your kid asks you what erectile dysfunction is!

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It was the victorian era nude children photos were common it symbolized innocents (not defending it, but it was common and even in other early art works you'll see it) . Also he got the story from a child he was having an affair with the girls mother or older sister. The Child asked him to write it down and he did. Guess the child's name... Alice. No drugs. Also he his diaries say nothing of drug use. Do your homework before writing this crap. If there is no proof and proof that suggest different look at it. I do agree don't believe everything you read and teach your kids to do the same.

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what are you all smoking to think that an early doesn't know what drugs are called and what they do. And a pedophile do you think that your kids don't know. are you living under a rock? The schools have been preaching drugs since Reagan was in office. as far as sex and drugs go your kids could teach you a few things. I saw the movie with my granddaughter and she liked it. i didn't see too much to fuss about. it was always suspected that the author was on drugs when writing it. and if the can walk they can google nowadays. So maybe mommy's and daddy's need to talk straight with your kids when they ask they want to know so tell them, of course be age appropriate what a 3 yr old asks shouldn't be given the same answer as a 14 yr old. and for note most 12 yr olds have had sex and have been exposed to drugs. so wake up and if you listen, without judging they will talk.

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Please! All genuises have their warts. Show me an artist that has not suffered, either by circumstance or by choice, and I'll show you a mirror with a very boring person looking right at you.

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The kids these days know more then the parents even though they were probably born in the 60's. They learn everything in the "Dare" program in 4th grade. I thought this article was just as good as any other article but found it interesting that someone might actually want to do research on the story. I think most kids are too busy on face book and My space and busy in chat rooms to actually do research. I found it intersting that he liked to take pictures of only girls, verses the innocence of boys and girls. I have read the story of Alice in Wonderland as a child and never thought of him being on drugs, I guess I was naive. I would find it intersting to know just how many kids actually talk to their parents about drugs or anything they actually do in school. Today the pervert that is on your kids pages of networks have already taught your kids everything they need to know and then some.

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I first read Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass in 3rd grade. My grandma let me borrow it. If it was really about drugs, my mom never would have let me read it at such a young age!

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