Apparently Turner Broadcasting (the owner of Hanna-Barbera cartoons) "scouring" all of there old Tom and Jerry cartoons and systematically removing any references to smoking which could be seen as "glamorising" the act or as "cool". Is it just me or are the baby boomer soccer moms of this generation taking a little bit too conservative of a stance when it comes to what their kids can and cannot watch.
Hey, I personally have no objection to a mom or dad scolding a kid for turning on the Playboy channel at age 8 or for watching too much Jackass or any of those other stupid witless MTV shows. All of these things are dangerously imitatable at that age, and it is the parents repsonsibility to make sure that there kids don't get the chance to imitate it... But come on! An anthromorphic cat and mouse from the 50's? The great thing about those shows, was that they were so over the top, so absurd, that kids NEVER even THOUGHT of imitating them! Are we, by imposing these kinds of restrictions basically telling our kids that they are stupid? I think so, and I think that this kind of over the top censorship is insulting to all kids and especially to those who are more advanced for their age.
Whats worse is that this was all sparked off by the response of ONE parent. One Parent has basically been the cause of the gutting of a landmark in the realm of cartoon and animation. Whats next, are we going to ban "Black Books" because they show disrespect for that grand profession of Bookshop owner, or are we going to ban "Blackadder" because it is 'dangerously and grossly' historically incorrect?
Link:
Worlds an Odd Place
