I just got in to work after the holiday weekend and was delighted to find my set of the 1940's Max Fleischer Superman cartoons had arrived, but when I opened the Amazon box and perusedset's packaging I was appalled to read the following on the back:
Superman: The Max Fleischer Cartoon Collection Is Intended for the Adult Collector and Is Not Suitable for Children.
(LONG, CONFUSED PAUSE)
Let me get this straight. Superman, the Man of Steel, champion of truth, justice and the American way, is "not suitable for children?" What kind of shit is that?!!? They pulled the same mess when a batch of Fleischer Popeye cartoons came out not too long ago and I was pissed off about that as well, but labeling Superman as not suitable for kids fills me with a murderous rage. I've seen all of the cartoons in question and, sure, they are a product of their time, but other than the WWII demonizing of the Japanese in "The Japateurs" and "The Eleventh Hour" there is nothing in any of them that could be considered offensive. And when it comes to those two cartoons, parents can explain the context to the kids and tell them that ethnic stereotyping isn''t cool or they can skip over them using the remote.
I'm the first to admit that what I would or would not consider "unsuitable" for kids is probably more liberally interpreted than the opinions of most grownups, but I see nothing here that would damage the growing mind or sensibilities of my just-shy-of-five niece, Cleo, and I would never show her anything that would do her harm. Maybe the warning on the package was a well-intended caveat, but the mere idea of considering Superman unwholesome for kids does not sit well with me. This is just as ludicrous as the DVDs of the first couple of years of SESAME STREET being deemed "too much" for today's kids, and if this is allowed to continue don't be surprised to see America become the nation of pussies that the Political Correctness movement of the 1980's planted the seeds for. Superman "not suitable..." MY BEIGE ASS!!! That's downright un-American!!!
Oh, Amazon's on a real run these days. The company just declared that ANY book or film featuring gayness - including the kids' book Heather has Two Mommies is "adult material." Such films and books have been removed from searches, sales rankings and general consideration.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I don't see this last bit of whatthefuckery lasting long. It's been a PR disaster. Still, it says a lot about the folks who have the ear of Amazon.com's corporate division... and abut the increasing desperation of a "christian" political movement on its - hopefully last legs.
Oops. I meant to feature a link to the Amazon.com story:
ReplyDeletehttp://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2009/04/amazon-deranks-gayfriendly-books-the-twitterverse-notices.html