I heard on NPR this afternoon that the lady who started Banned Book Week passed away at age 69. She was a crusader for free speech, and a major figure in the library profession. I feel bad that I can't remember her name. Her first name was Judy, I remember that much. Anyway, a friend spoke to Michelle Norris about her. Michelle asked where her passion for intellectual freedom came from, and the friend told a story that Judy told as part of a speech.
When she was 12 or 13, she was in bed at night, reading a sex ed book under the covers with a flashlight. Her mother came in the room, pulled back the covers, saw what she was reading, and said "for God's sake, turn the light on! You'll ruin your eyes!"
I would hope that if (more likely when), I find myself in a similar situation, that I would be that cool. I do tend to avoid a lot of subjects in school, but it's mostly because I don't want the kids to go home and repeat something that offends their parents. There's a video of animated Maurice Sendak stories that we're not supposed to watch (or watch all of), because there's an animated, naked boy in "In the Night Kitchen." I think it's ridiculous, personally. What's wrong with a little animated nudity? There is absolutely nothing sexual about it, the kid just happens to be naked. Honestly, I don't think the children even notice. Even if they did, so what? He's naked, big deal. I do plan to obtain a copy of this on dvd at some point, if for no other reason than Carole King made songs out of "Alligators All Around," "Pierre," and, my favorite, "Chicken Soup With Rice."
I feel the same way about "Song of the South." I know that some folks may find the portrayal of Uncle Remus and the Tar Baby offensive, but seriously... it's a good bunch of stories that reflect a section of our cultural history.
ReplyDeleteOh, "The Tar Baby" was and is one of my favorite stories of all time. My great-grandmother read that story to me all the time. At my grandparents' house, we have the Disney book of Uncle Remus stories from "Song of the South." The Brer Rabbit stories are African trickster tales, and it's a real shame that people won't look past the dialect. There's nothing offensive about the stories themselves at all.
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