song

MGMT: Time to Pretend

This is our decision, to live fast and die young.
We've got the vision, now let's have some fun.
Yeah, it's overwhelming, but what else can we do.
Get jobs in offices, and wake up for the morning commute.
Forget about our mothers and our friends
We're fated to pretend
To pretend
We're fated to pretend
To pretend
I'll miss the playgrounds and the animals and digging up worms
I'll miss the comfort of my mother and the weight of the world
I'll miss my sister, miss my father, miss my dog and my home
Yeah, I'll miss the boredom and the freedom and the time spent alone

            Time to Pretend by MGMT reminds me of Mazies friend Ginella and her fantasy world she created to escape her reality. Ginella created and entire fantasy world in which she was rich and had traveled but in actuality was just poor like the Holbrookes. “We’ve got the vision, now let’s have some fun” relates to her creating this vision of a fantasy world and all the children playing along so they too could escape their lives for a bit. “It’s overwhelming, but else can we do. Get jobs in offices, and wake up for the morning commute” shows there’s not much they could do as young children to help out. “Forget about our mothers and our friends, we’re fated to pretend” goes along with the individualism seen throughout the book. Most characters in this book felt like they could accomplish their goals on their own and didn’t need any help. “we’re fated to pretend” is pretty significant because Mazie often wonders what will become of her and at one point actually lived in a fantasy world for a bit. She pretended she was still on the farm and happy long after they had left the farm. When she awoke from her fantasy she was severely disappointed with reality. The loss of innocence took Maize from being wide –eyed and curious to jaded and bored. The idea that these kids found an escape in such horrible times is great. Pretending was a way for them to escape their awful circumstances even if it was just for a little while.