Welcome to #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales! Let's watch "The Ballad of Little Joe" (2003) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFTRuFG4EVI …—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
veggietales themeeeeee songggggg #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
We open up w Bob & Larry on the countr #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
They got a letter from Pete who says "I'm depressed" bc all his friends are in a different class #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Larry says "i thought we were gonna do a western this time" #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Bob says they need to tell a bible story. Larry says he was promised a western.—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Bob: "Larry & I have decided what you really need is a western bible story." #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales
The Ballad of Little Joe #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
cowboys are the French peas—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Larry explains "it was a French western" #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales
oh my godddddddddddddd—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Jude (one of the cowboys) shows up & everybody is like "HEY JUDE" #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales
Larry plays Little Joe. God gave him great organizational abilities. #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
WAIT WAIT WAIT YOU GUYS you need to see these sheep "in groups of 10" #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales pic.twitter.com/YMXdqT96ow—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Pa Grape calls them all in for dinner #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Today is Little Joe's birthday. They sing him a birthday song. The brothers all seem jealous because Pa likes Joe the best. #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Pa gave him a fancy vest #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
The brothers said they all got mittens for their birthdays- it means their dad thinks they are not special #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Joe tells them all abt his dream. 11 cacti (the brothers) bowed down to 1 cactus (Joe) #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Joe: "why are we at this old abandoned mine shaft?" #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
oh no, the brothers pushed him in #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
oh no, the brothers sold him to some desperados #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
.... one year later .....—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
#PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales
Little Joe is working at a pizza place, owned by Scooter Carrot. He sings a song how much his business is going because of Joe. #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Madame Blueberry is a performer at this pizza place. She sings a sad song about how her life sucks. #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
"even my dog is a melancholy" lololol #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
She is annoyed by how Joe keeps yelling "get your hot roasted peanuts" during her song #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
omgggg Scooter's character is named Mr. McPotiphor #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Madame Blueberry is jealous of Joe.—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
She tells him "take this money & get out of here"
Joe says stealing is wrong #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales
Blueberry suddenly accuses Joe of stealing- oh no, all the money fell out of his cow costume! This looks bad. Joe goes to jail. #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
instead of "Silly Songs With Larry", we have, uh... a boy band? #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales pic.twitter.com/p4luNNwpEr—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
It's the "Belly Button" song. By "Boyz in the Sink" oh my goddddd #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
oh goodness this is the best thing ever #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
"There's something missing in my middle & it's hard to ignore—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
There's this thing abt himself he's never told you before"
#PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales
wut suddenly Khalil (from the "Jonah" movie) shows up and does a rap #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales pic.twitter.com/Gb6kMBT9Oi—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
THIS MUSIC VIDEO IS SO GOOD—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
this is 100% a 90s boy band song #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales
Back to the story of Little Joe. He's in jail. #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
The prisoners & sheriff are singing abt how Joe made the jail so much better in the past year #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
"But my belief that god is good helps overcome frustration—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
so i'll keep doing what is right despite incarceration"
#PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales
Joe says God is good. Sheriff (Bob) says if God is good, why does this bad stuff happen to Joe. Joe says he doesn't know now but he will someday. #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
The 2 prisoners have dreams- Joe tells them the meaning #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
The baker got his old job back. The blacksmith got sent UP THE RIVERRRRRR #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Joe explains "I've always had this thing for dreams. Just another way God made me special." #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Joe prays to ask God why his dream (abt 11 cacti bowing to him) hasn't come true #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
The mayor (Nezzar) had a bad dream. The baker says Joe can help interpret it! #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Mayor goes & asks Joe if it's true he can interpret dreams. Joe says no, does the dramatic pause, & then says ACTUALLY IT'S GOD #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Joe says the dream means there will be 7 good years & then 7 years of famine #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
They need someone with great organizational skills to save up food during the good years. Joe gets the job! #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Joe (Larry the Cucumber) has a giant hat now #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales pic.twitter.com/ejYCz7VtMy—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
They saved up food in a silo. Suddenly a big dust storm comes in. #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Nezzar congratulates Joe for saving the town. But Joe is worried his family will be affected by the famine. #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
The brothers are approaching Joe to buy food. Music & special effects like a showdown #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
"one of our brothers got eaten in a wild gopher accident" #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Joe instructs sheriff to give the brothers whatever they ask for, but don't let them leave yet #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
"Them ain't pepperonis, pardner" #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales pic.twitter.com/bOfxHGTy9m—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Baby Ben is caught stealing (but actually it's a test #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Jude says take him instead & let Ben go. The peas all jump through the jail bars into the cell #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Joe reveals his identity—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
They all bow down
Joe says "what you intended for harm, god used for good, to save everyone" #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales
OH MY GODDDDDD Pa Grape suddenly pops in & says "YOU BOYS FORGOT YOUR MITTENS" #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales pic.twitter.com/QzG0Y1g0jK—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Pa Grape is so happy to see Joe alive <3 #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
The end. Now we are with Bob, Larry, & Qwerty to talk abt what we learned #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
good things & bad things happen to everyone #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
but god can use the good stuff & the bad stuff #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
So, to Pete who wrote the letter at the beginning of the show, even though you're not in the class w your friends, God will still use it for good #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
That's the end of VeggieTales "The Ballad of Little Joe." Let's discuss. #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
All right, the story of Joseph (uh, Little Joe) is very complex & can't really be simplified to one lesson. Each part has a whole bunch of interpretations. So where do i start... #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
First of all, their dad shows obvious favoritism to Joe. in the bible story, it's because Joseph & Benjamin were the children of his favorite wife (of 4). Veggietales didn't get into that though. #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
It's not good that their dad so obviously loved Joe more than all the other kids. #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Next, Joe announces he had a dream where all the brothers bowed to him. Yeah that was a bad move. #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
But when I was a kid i totally did stuff like that, just directly & honestly said how i felt abt something without realizing it would come across as insensitive to other ppl #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
like i don't think that's the kid's fault, i think someone should explain to them why it might come across badly #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
but maybe in the actual story of Joseph and/or Little Joe, he wasn't just oblivious, maybe he was openly bragging abt how he is the most special #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Well, the VeggieTales story definitely didn't go that way- they portray Joe as never ever doing anything wrong. #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Then the brothers- led by Jude (or Judah, in the bible story) sell Joe as a slave. The morality of a society which condones slavery wasn't commented on in the VeggieTales version (or in the bible version) #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Then Joe works at Potiphar's pizza salon. Miss Kitty (Madame Blueberry) is jealous of him, so she frames him for stealing. #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
This is *interesting* because in the bible story, she first tries to have sex w him, then when he refuses, she accuses him of rape #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Note, however, that if Potiphar's wife coerced Joseph into having sex, she would be raping him. Because of the power imbalance- he is a slave & doesn't really have the option of saying no. #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Christians frame this story as "she was trying to seduce him" but no. He was not able to give consent freely. It would have been coerced, & that's sexual assault. #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Like look what happened when Joseph said no. She had him put in jail. That's not a situation where real consent is possible. #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
And like, in that kind of society, people did sexually assault their slaves. & it's not as simple as "they should just say no like Joseph" #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Anyway in the VeggieTales story, she accuses him of stealing, & Joe goes to jail. #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
I feel very bothered by how happy Joe was while working as a slave, & while in jail. #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Like sure, some people have an optimistic personality & would cope with that kind of injustice by just doing their best & being content with that, that's fine, but... #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
...i feel like it's a problem that he's presented as a role model. As if to say that if you respond in other ways to unfair things in your life, you are being bad #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Like it's saying if you're a victim, you should still do your best & have a positive outlook on life, or else you're being a victim THE WRONG WAY & you are being bad. #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
& maybe the VeggieTales story wasn't directly saying that, but it exists in the context of a Christian culture which does explicitly condemn ppl who respond to suffering in their lives the "wrong" way #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
see also: "bitter" #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Like if it's just 1 isolated story of 1 person who felt good & happy even though he was thrown in jail unjustly, that's fine, but the problem is that he's presented as THE role model #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
& to be honest, i think the biblical story of Joseph is complicated enough that nobody is clearly a "role model" #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Anyway, while in jail, Joe is so confident that "god is good" & there must be a reason these bad things happened to him #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Joe is confident he should just keep following the rules of a society that has treated him unjustly & then "god" will make things better #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Like why DOESN'T he take the money & run when Miss Kitty offers it? He's being kept as a SLAVE. A slaveowner's rules aren't worthy of his obedience. #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
I mean, it's more complicated than that, Joe respects Potiphar & cares abt him, maybe fears how ppl would gossip if he ran away, maybe afraid of being caught (could be a trap set by Miss Kitty), etc #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
So maybe it wouldn't be a good idea to try to escape. But at least it's something worth considering- not just dismissing immediately bc "god says stealing is wrong" #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
My point is, Joe has total faith that it's right for him to keep following the rules set up by ppl who have shown complete disregard for justice. ...you really think that's going to work? #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Seems like the lesson is that if ppl treat you wrong, you should just keep passively "doing the right thing" rather than actively trying to change your situation #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
& maybe in the bible story, joseph WAS actively trying to change his situation. Maybe he was working as The Best Slave Ever so he could gain more power & maybe get his freedom. ie "for selfish reasons" #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
that's not how it was portrayed in the veggietales version though.—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Joe is being good bc "it's the right thing to do", he's just following the rules & not thinking abt how to get HIMSELF out of a bad situation #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales
All right then we get the thing abt interpreting dreams.—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Show of hands: How many of you ROLLED YOUR EYES SO HARD when Joe was like "no i can't" & waited for everyone to react & then was like "God can" #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales
pretty sure "Joseph: King of Dreams" pulled that exact same Jesus Juke (or whatever the BCE equivalent would be) #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Anybody else think it's WEIRD that the Mayor has a bad dream & that's a good enough reason to do this whole 7-year-long food storage thing? #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
like it makes sense that it would happen in a culture where—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
1. ppl believe dreams have messages abt the future
2. the king is seen as a super important figure, like a representative from god #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales
I suppose they had the evidence of the baker & cupbearer's dream interpretation being correct, so maybe it's reasonable #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Note: In the bible story of Joseph, the Egyptians end up giving joseph all their money to buy back the food during the years of famine. & their land. & themselves. #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Pretty shady for Joseph to take advantage of them like that #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Anyway, then Joe's brothers come to buy food. He gets very emotional. Wants to "test" if they have changed their ways. #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Again, the morality of Joseph's "test" is something we can debate endlessly. It's not like he is clearly a role model we should follow. #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
But i think it's good in that it demonstrates it's reasonable to not just immediately forgive & be ready to be emotionally vulnerable w someone who hurt you- you have to make sure you can trust them again #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
The point is, the brothers say they are willing to take Ben's place. They have changed. (Even though there still is the issue of the dad very obviously favoring 1 kid) #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Anyway in the end it's 1 big happy family reunion. Umm, i think in real life Joseph would need a lot of therapy & not really be ready to be with his brothers right away #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
In the end, Bob & Larry wrapped up the story by saying it teaches us that good & bad things happen but god will use the bad things for good #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
I think this lesson is a problem- it implies that we should just stay in a bad situation, believing that it's not actually bad #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
& therefore Bob's advice to the child who said he was "depressed" bc his friends are all in another class is: you will be fine, bc God uses bad things (or things that *seem* bad) for good #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
That's quite weird. Doesn't it make more sense to encourage that kid by saying he can make new friends? And he can still play with his old friends after school? #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Seems quite bizarre to take 1 specific situation, about being in a different class than your friends (which feels like THE END OF THE WORLD if you're 8 years old, but really it's not a big deal) ...—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
#PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales
... & generalize it into "it's okay bc when bad things happen to us, we can trust that God will use them for good" #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Like, yeah this kid will be fine, it's not THE END OF THE WORLD to be in a different class. But it is very much NOT TRUE that IN GENERAL bad things have good results. #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
i seem to remember reading somewhere that a bad tree cannot bear good fruit #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
Not really a fan of Joe's naïve faith that even when he's in jail, God has a reason & it will turn out good #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
All right that's all i have to say about VeggieTales "The Ballad of Little Joe" ^_^ #PerfectNumberWatchesVeggieTales—Perfect Number (@pnumber628) 2018-03-31
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Follow-up post: Don't ever tell me it was a good thing. Don't ever tell me it was God's plan.
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To see all my VeggieTales reviews: Perfect Number Watches VeggieTales (Master Post)
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