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I hope you aren't serious about that. Chuck Jones would have been HORRIFIED to hear someone thought that of Pe Pe. (A character he based on himself.)
I know several people who knew Chuck very well (and I met him myself on several occasions) and a sweeter man you couldn't ask for. There was nothing dark about Pe Pe. Just unrequited loooooove.
I agree, but by today's standards, Pepe at least was sexually harassing his love interest. I think if that cartoon aired today, somebody would read too much into it and feel it was inappropriate, just like people tried to raise a big stink about one of the Teletubbies being gay. As for all of us who watched and enjoyed Pepe LePew, I think it's safe to say that the majority of us don't feel like stalking/rape/sexual harassment was the norm, or even interpreted the cartoon like that.
I hope you aren't serious about that. Chuck Jones, Pe Pe's creator, would have been HORRIFIED to hear someone thought that of Pe Pe. (A character he based on himself.)
I know several people who knew Chuck very well (and I met him myself on several occasions) and a sweeter man you couldn't ask for. There was nothing dark about Pe Pe. Just unrequited loooooove.
(You also couldn't ask for a sweeter man than Mel Blanc, Pe Pe's voice.)
Tell me more. I adore him and Tex Avery. So much better than 99% of cartoons today.
Tell me more. I adore him and Tex Avery. So much better than 99% of cartoons today.
He was a guru to people I know who work (and are otherwise interested) in animation in So Cal. He liked hanging out with young animators and film students. (UCI, - which is near where he lived - UCLA, USC.) He was VERY generous with his time and would speak to film classes. And, I'm sure, liked the adoration of talking with people who grew up with his cartoons and absolutely worshiped him.
I have a friend who interviewed him years ago. (The friend worked for a college radio station and Chuck came in and answered calls from students.) The friend and Chuck became close. I met Chuck through this friend. I'm still in shock at the thought of sweet Pe Pe being thought of as a molester.)
Last edited by DewDropInn; 03-23-2012 at 02:23 PM..
I think my issue with The Glass Castle was the drunken father, mother with mental illness, Jeanette being sexually assualted by boys when younger, etc. The themes seemed very harsh for a young child (my daughter was 10 at the time). Today my daughter claims it to be her favorite book. I guess, "aghast" was too strong a word, because I didn't put up a fight. I guess I would rather she ready heavy books than what I call "fluffy" books, but when I see she is reading only heavy books, I might try to suggest a book that is more for an 11yo. Thank you for all of your responses. I like the quote from Corrie Ten Boom,though I would have had no problem telling a 9yo about sexism. I might have saved that "example" for something very harsh. But then again, I answered my daughter honestly when she asked how gay men have sex. She asked within the last few months. I didn't want to answer, but I felt compelled to be honest. (that's for another topic) It's hard knowing what to do sometimes.
I've never read The Glass Castle before but, I agree with you, those themes do sound a bit harsh for a 10 year old. There are so many great books for kids that age, I wonder why the teacher picked that one.
It's good that your daughter enjoyed the book, though. Sometimes they are ready for things before we are...
I think many kids begin to self censor rather quickly upon learning to read and quite often skip over parts that they find too upsetting or simply put the book down and not finish it. The other thing you have to realize is that many kids don't interpret what they read the same way adults do, even if they are mature for their age.
The are many words that impact adults far differently than most of our children. When we read words like sex, rape and incest or murder, mutilation or decapitation, for instance, we have vivid visualization to accompany them. The kids typically have a hazy idea of what they might mean, nothing clear.
So, when they read something that could be very distressing to us, it may not have much of an impact on them since they don't really have the experience to fully comprehend. Of course, it varies by child and by issue.
The thing is, I've found with all 4 of mine that they simply don't read something that has a truly disturbing effect on them. That doesn't mean some things don't impact them, but nothing that gives them reason to fear. As many others have posted, many things I've read have impacted my perception, but I don't consider that a bad thing.
Really? So ignoring her rejection of him ceaselessly, following her wherever she goes, and when she manages to keep him at bay, holding a gun to his head to manipulate her into coming back is romantic? Not in my book. Not only that but the girlfriend has no words and is usually not given a name.
Books were never censored in my home. On the contrary actually, I remember pretending to sneak around for the sake of sneaking. However I did go to Catholic school so sometimes the message I was getting at school contradicted what I was hearing at home.
My senior year of high school "I Know This Much is True" was assigned for summer reading. My mom and I were excited because we owned the book already and it was one less thing to buy. About 2 weeks later we get an anonymous typed letter in the mail stating that this book was an abomination to catholic morals and should be banned from the school. Then it proceeded to list out every inappropriate thing in the entire book. This letter was pages long! My mom laughed, however the book was still pulled from the reading list.
I remember being (and still am)fascinated by books about drugs. Mostly because I never tried drugs, never in my life. I used to tell my mom that I "lived" through the books so I never felt the need to try. I read Go Ask Alice in the 9th grade and it put the fear of God into me to never even THINK of trying anything.
I have been a reader my entire life and got into "darker" book at the age of 12 like your daughter. Sheesh there were times I did not want to go outside and instead would opt for a good book in my room all day! My mom worried about me but figured I was not out running around like other kids getting in trouble, I was in my room reading, she did ask me to take a break for meals and had me sit at the table but after? It was straight to the books.
I recall my first favorite author ( whom is still my favorite) Mr. Stephen King.
I believe I read "IT" WHEN I was 12 and I fell in love and soon I was in the library getting every book by Stephen King. I m 38 and I can still sit with a good s.king book. I believe the last one I read was "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon" 4 years ago. I actually I think I have read everything he has ever written.
Come to think of it I always have a hard time with his movies because while they are somewhat close to the storyline they lack the brilliance and fluid way King expresses in his books!
That led me to love reading and literature in general.
While there may be concerns I am not sure they should be that serious it is beneficial I think unless it is complete smut!
She is young and reading will broade her horizons and imagination, I klnow for me books took me somewhere that television could not, it increased my vocabulary, it showed me how sentences are constructed, usage, and helped immensely on comprehension and interpretation of literature later in college, to look for meanings, to understand the characters, the plot and so forth.
Twilight is geared towards young readers and no different than other assigned books.
My son was assigned the "Outsiders" in 7th grade at a catholic school as well as the "Hunger Games" in the 8th grade.
I don't think I would censor because books speak to people differently.
When I was 10, I found my first book from C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia in my backpack. Month after month, a new book would show up. I don't know who put it there and will never know as I asked everyone. I did not have any discussion with family about these books since nobody asked.
I loved the books but they did depress me at the time. Here were children who went on adventures, tested their limits, made mistakes, were disciplined and were allowed to learn from them. I thought I could never be a part of that kind of family or community. I was wrong. I created that environment today. However, those books did get me started on the right path.
A couple of years ago, I read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and could not stop thinking about how this book could have helped me if I read it when I was younger.
Would I have lived homeless like the character? I don't think that really matters because in a dysfunctional family, I was already doing things that children of normal families did not have to do. I was trying to protect myself from my family.
Sorry for such a depressing post.
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Tell me more. I adore him and Tex Avery. So much better than 99% of cartoons today.
