Potlatcher Candyman

Gluttony, avarice, vanity, sadism - whether construed as behavioral deviations from society or transgressions against a divine order, most people agree these are "sins" - with or without the quotes. And in Roald Dahl's famous story about a candyman they are brought to life in the form of four beastly brats who fail win the Willy Wonka fortune due to these innate flaws.

I don't see any reason to choose between the Depp and the Wilder movie interpretations. I enjoy them both. But the comparison between the two has unleashed a fountain of pop criticism about whether each Wonka appears sadistic, indifferent, or merely a little manipulative as he dispatches the naughty children one by one, until only the dewy-eyed (and possibly pre-selected) heir apparent remains.

I think Dahl would be amused. I think for him it was a foregone conclusion that adults can be rotten - and most of them are.

We want to believe, of course, that the natural state of childhood is sweetness and compassion - and it's the result of beastly parenting that creates these little monsters. But the truth is always between nature and nurture - and whether it's the result of a secular desire to "be good" by being compliant - or the result of a more spiritual longing for grace - we like to think hearts can change. It's really never too late for children or adults.