Parents and school authorities are currently concerned about the messages children receive from scenes of violence, often directed against women, in television and music videos. Children, whom parents feel are very impressionable, are unable to distinguish fantasy from reality. Some parents want more restrictions on what is aired on television. Although there are ratings for motion pictures, tapes and CDs can contain graphic lyrics parents find objectionable.
These concerns are not new. In 1920 film censors in Ohio tried to ban Treasure Island because they feared it would encourage children to engage in piracy. That same year censors in Illinois ordered scenes from The Kid showing Jackie Coogan breaking windows be deleted because these images might have prompted vandalism.
Controversial books such as Lord of the Flies and Catcher in the Rye were banned by many schools. (9) Even a book like The Grapes of Wrath was put under scrutiny. But perhaps the strangest instance of parental protection occurred in Scandinavia. There school officials banned Donald Duck story books from the curriculum. Donald Duck, they insisted was a negative influence on children. For one, Donald did not wear pants. Secondly, the adults questioned the nature of his long-term relationship with Daisy because they were shown together with no mention of marriage. Third, and most damning of all, authorities questioned the paternity of Donald's nephews--Huey, Looey, and Dewey. They did not seem to have any parents. School authorities wondered. Were these "nephews" really Donald Duck's illegitimate ducklings?
Return to the English 24 website.