7 Lessons from Jingle Jangle

*** Disclaimer: Slight spoiler alert. This is not an official review, but just my personal opinion of how I experienced the movie and what I took from it.***

Hey everyone, I know 2020 has been a CRAZY year and the events personally, collectively and globally have been catastrophically challenging in various ways. I also empathise with those who may have had a very different Christmas this year, whether it be due to loss, separation from relatives, loneliness, toxic family members or it being a generally triggering time for other reasons. Having said that, one of the things that bring me joy is Christmas music (especially from Destiny’s Child, Pentatonix, Ledisi and Brian McKnight to name a few). Another thing that brings me joy during this time is good Christmas movies, which brings me onto the main subject of this blog post! So, I just finished watching Jingle Jangle for the first time (yes, I know I’m late) – and wow. What an amazing journey indeed! This was the family Christmas movie we all needed after such a long, extremely challenging year; a magical movie filled with soul, fantasy and hope in equal measures. In fact, it was the musical adventure that I know the Black community in particular enjoyed and loved! 

First of all, the fusion of African culture with the Victorian era was brilliant. We’ve never truly had a Christmas movie of it’s calibre before (as far as I can remember), created for all ages, with black leading and supporting roles, AFROBEATS music, ankara prints and dancing included. It was the Black genius, invention narrative (because we’ve invented a lot in real life that we rarely get credit for), powerful Black voices bursting into original songs and the Black Joy for me. Forest Whittaker, Phylicia Rashad and Anika Noni Rose and Madelen Mills – who played Journey were all great. Also, I was so happy when I saw Princess K featured in the Afrobeats dance scene. She truly deserved that feature! In fact, It’s also the directorship of David E. Talbert and the likes of John Legend, Mike Jackson and Lyn Sisson-Talbert as producers for me! Although, the movie started off a little slow for me, as it progressed I found myself having all the feels; literally as if I was on an emotional roller-coaster. There was humour, joy, sadness, fear and excitement all rolled into one movie. However, the most heart-warming scenes for me were when Mr Jangle began to smile and connect with his granddaughter through their unique gifts, the street snowball fight and the moment he began to believe again. So, after an even better ending, so many thoughts were coming to me upon reflection, so I thought I’d share my reflections with you. 

7 Lessons from Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
1) Being impatient can literally block your blessings. Making rash decisions out of jealousy, insecurity and selfishness can never truly end well. Too much pride always comes before a fall and if you can learn to wait (despite how things may seem), you give yourself a chance to experience the greater things that were in store for you.

2) Betrayal often comes from those closest to you. Protect your inner circle and also be careful of who you share your ideas and dreams with. Keep those around you who support, uplift and want to see you win in life.

3) Grief and loss can have a long-lasting impact on one’s ability to be creative, their self-belief and their overall zest for life. Sometimes all it takes it something small to help create the light at the end of the tunnel, In the words of Dr Martin Luther King Jr (paraphrasing here): only light can drive drive out darkness. 

4) Perseverance is key. Sometimes situations in life can cause you to feel like there’s no hope or way out, but if you just have faith and believe things can get better, they eventually will. You can smile again. God can restore and return to you what the enemy stole from you – and then some. What was meant for harm and destruction, God can work it all out for your good. 

5) Prolonged isolation can sometimes cause you to become comfortable in your loneliness. By continuously distancing yourself from the world, you eventually become cold; blocking love and light from entering your life. However, when you become open to love again, your heart becomes softer and you give yourself the opportunity to experience joy and connection. 

6) In this life, you can truly get by with a little help and encouragement from a small amount of true friends and family who love you. You don’t need 100 friends or relatives – quality over quantity. What matters most is knowing you have a select number of people who you can count on when things get tough and seemingly unbearable.

7) Good always triumphs over evil in the end – even if it is in the next life.

If you haven’t watched Jingle Jangle on Netflix yet, then I highly recommend you do. If it’s not your cup of tea, then hopefully these lessons can be of some encouragement to you.

Love, Light & Blessings!

🙏🏾💛✨