In case you do not have Facebook, Ms Bilanová shared
this article on our department page. I find it really interesting because I must say that America won't stop surprising me. After you get over the initial reaction to the picture because you're kinda getting used to the American's skewed view of what is right and wrong, especially when we're talking about the safety of children, then you find out the reason why this fairytale - Little Red Riding Hood - was banned. Not because of the potential violence (both the grandma and the little girl are eaten by the wolf) but because “one of the refreshments for her grandmother that Little Red Riding Hood carried in her basket was wine.” It's the same thing with movies - children can see blood, gore, etc...but there are strict policies, and very specific ones, on what part of body can/cannot be seen in a PG13 movie (even if it is shown in an artistic way). Now this - children mustn't read about wine because it's alcohol? I think that maybe they need to sort out their priorities.
When I saw this picture, I was like what the heck is this? Then I read the "reason" behind this and was puzzled by the American logic...
ReplyDeleteMany Americans are also puzzled by the American logic. I have a theory about it, though, which perhaps I will present in class next week.
ReplyDeleteThat would be great, I'd like to hear about that. :) I think that sometimes it looks like USA is full of hypocrisy. I remember one actor saying that while doing a movie, they had some problems with making it PG13 because apparently the main couple showed to much emotion, so they had to tone it down. Or there are specific rules on how much of a butt crack you may see :D So you think: OK, this might be a remnant of Puritanism. You can't show too much love (even if it's done tastefully), you have to put your alcohol in a paper bag when you're walking down a street...but then there's this other side of the coin - children watching MTV music videos and singing songs by Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, Rhianna and others whose songs are full of sex (no love) and the videos are anything but tasteful (but hey! even though they leave almost nothing to your imagination, their teeny tiny clothes still do not show a butt crack, so it is OK :D). And last but not least, there's the issue of guns and violence. I'm sure that many Americans are also puzzled by this, as you've said. So I don't want to tar all Americans with the same brush. :-)
ReplyDeleteOh and just a last note. I hope it came across that my point is not that Americans should show their butt cracks :D but that they should think about what really might be harmful to their children and affect them in a negative way.
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