Author Topic: News Coverage: May 2007  (Read 13573 times)

Offline tpe

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News Coverage: May 2007
« on: May 01, 2007, 07:18 AM »

It's hard to believe that it's been a year since the last MTV Awards.  Apparently, BBM has made a mark.  ;)

Excerpt from http://www.eonline.com/news/article/index.jsp?uuid=cd7851f8-de02-4887-963b-57e43b0ad667

---------------------------------

******


The big showdown for Best Kiss pits Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby's Ferrell and [Sacha Baron] Cohen (who at least have the precedent of a Brokeback Mountain win in the same category last year) against The Holiday's Cameron Diaz and Jude Law, Stomp the Yard's Columbus Short and Meagan Good, Invincible's Mark Walhlberg and Elizabeth Banks and Little Man's Marlon Wayans and Brittany Daniel.


******



Offline hpv

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Re: News Coverage: May 2007
« Reply #1 on: May 06, 2007, 01:44 PM »
Not sure if this article has been posted or not so my apologies if it has - the FilmInk awards are being held soon (never heard of them before) and they have a story on BBM and some past interview tidbits from Heath.

http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/story/0,23663,21654715-5012559,00.html

FilmInk 2007 Movie awards where Brokeback Mountain is nominated for Best Film and Worst Film. Heath Ledger is nominated for Best Performance By An Aussie In An Overseas Movies and Jake Gyllenhaal for Best Movie Moustache.
"What Jack remembered and craved in a way he could neither help nor understand was the time that distant summer on Brokeback when Ennis had come up behind him and pulled him close,the silent embrace satisfying some shared and sexless hunger."
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Offline tpe

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Re: News Coverage: May 2007
« Reply #2 on: May 08, 2007, 07:44 AM »
Thanks hpv!  :)


Offline LuvJackNasty

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Re: News Coverage: May 2007
« Reply #3 on: May 13, 2007, 06:59 PM »
I just saw this:

Lawsuit Over Brokeback Mountain in Class
By Associated Press
39 minutes ago

CHICAGO - A girl and her grandparents have sued the Chicago Board of Education, alleging that a substitute teacher showed the R-rated film "Brokeback Mountain" in class.

The lawsuit claims that Jessica Turner, 12, suffered psychological distress after viewing the movie in her 8th grade class at Ashburn Community Elementary School last year.

The film, which won three Oscars, depicts two cowboys who conceal their homosexual affair.

Turner and her grandparents, Kenneth and LaVerne Richardson, are seeking around $500,000 in damages.

"It is very important to me that my children not be exposed to this," said Kenneth Richardson, Turner's guardian. "The teacher knew she was not supposed to do this."

According to the lawsuit filed Friday in Cook County Circuit Court, the video was shown without permission from the students' parents and guardians.

The lawsuit also names Ashburn Principal Jewel Diaz and a substitute teacher, referred to as "Ms. Buford."

The substitute asked a student to shut the classroom door at the West Side school, saying: "What happens in Ms. Buford's class stays in Ms. Buford's class," according to the lawsuit.

Richardson said his granddaughter was traumatized by the movie and had to undergo psychological treatment and counseling.

In 2005, Richardson complained to school administrators about reading material that he said included curse words.

"This was the last straw," he said. "I feel the lawsuit was necessary because of the warning I had already given them on the literature they were giving out to children to read. I told them it was against our faith."

Messages left over the weekend with CPS officials were not immediately returned.

http://www.comcast.net/entertainment/index.jsp?cat=ENTERTAINMENT&fn=/2007/05/13/662199.html
“What Jack remembered and craved in a way he could neither help nor understand was the time that distant summer on Brokeback when Ennis had come up behind him and pulled him close, the silent embrace satisfying some shared and sexless hunger."

You may say I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world will live as one ~ Imagine- J. Lennon

Offline boo_boo

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Re: News Coverage: May 2007
« Reply #4 on: May 14, 2007, 07:24 AM »
In 2005, Richardson complained to school administrators about reading material that he said included curse words.

"This was the last straw," he said. "I feel the lawsuit was necessary because of the warning I had already given them on the literature they were giving out to children to read. I told them it was against our faith."


They gave the school a "warning" about the lit they were giving the kids read?  What next...a book burning?  If they are so against what they feel their granddaughter is being exposed to why don't they home school her?  ^*)
“Ennis, on a good day it’s hard to understand ya…but when you’re talkin into my ass…I really got no idea what the f*ck you’re saying.” - Missing Motel Moments by haunted_by_bbm

Offline tpe

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Re: News Coverage: May 2007
« Reply #5 on: May 14, 2007, 08:24 AM »
I just saw this:

Lawsuit Over Brokeback Mountain in Class
By Associated Press
39 minutes ago

CHICAGO - A girl and her grandparents have sued the Chicago Board of Education, alleging that a substitute teacher showed the R-rated film "Brokeback Mountain" in class.

The lawsuit claims that Jessica Turner, 12, suffered psychological distress after viewing the movie in her 8th grade class at Ashburn Community Elementary School last year.

The film, which won three Oscars, depicts two cowboys who conceal their homosexual affair.

Turner and her grandparents, Kenneth and LaVerne Richardson, are seeking around $500,000 in damages.

"It is very important to me that my children not be exposed to this," said Kenneth Richardson, Turner's guardian. "The teacher knew she was not supposed to do this."

According to the lawsuit filed Friday in Cook County Circuit Court, the video was shown without permission from the students' parents and guardians.

The lawsuit also names Ashburn Principal Jewel Diaz and a substitute teacher, referred to as "Ms. Buford."

The substitute asked a student to shut the classroom door at the West Side school, saying: "What happens in Ms. Buford's class stays in Ms. Buford's class," according to the lawsuit.

Richardson said his granddaughter was traumatized by the movie and had to undergo psychological treatment and counseling.

In 2005, Richardson complained to school administrators about reading material that he said included curse words.

"This was the last straw," he said. "I feel the lawsuit was necessary because of the warning I had already given them on the literature they were giving out to children to read. I told them it was against our faith."

Messages left over the weekend with CPS officials were not immediately returned.

http://www.comcast.net/entertainment/index.jsp?cat=ENTERTAINMENT&fn=/2007/05/13/662199.html

I was planning to post this this morning.  Thanks LJN, for putting it here. 

Offline tpring64

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Re: News Coverage: May 2007
« Reply #6 on: May 14, 2007, 09:38 AM »
I just heard about this news story ... the only problem I have with it might be that the film was R-rated, and shouldn't be shown to kids.

Quote
Richardson said his granddaughter was traumatized by the movie and had to undergo psychological treatment and counseling.

Huh??? Sounds like they are looking to make some $$.
Duke: Summer romances end for all kinds of reasons. But, when all is said and done, they have one thing in common - they are shooting stars, a spectacular moment of light in the heavens, a fleeting glimpse of eternity and in a flash they are gone.
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Offline edgar

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Re: News Coverage: May 2007
« Reply #7 on: May 14, 2007, 11:53 AM »
I don't want to be controversial, but, as a parent, I have a little insight on this.

I (obviously) think BBM is a great movie, but I don't think it should be shown in an eighth-grade classroom. In America, the movie is rated "R," which means, "Under 18 not allowed without parent or guardian." In most schools, even in upper grades, a note from parents is required to show such films. And I wonder if the movie was part of an educational unit, or (as sadly happens) the substitute teacher was just showing the film to kill time.

The girl in question is only 12, so I do see her family's point.

Now, as far as a lawsuit and "psychological trauma," that sounds rather silly.

Offline edgar

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Re: News Coverage: May 2007
« Reply #8 on: May 14, 2007, 11:55 AM »

I (obviously) think BBM is a great movie, but I don't think it should be shown in an eighth-grade classroom. In America, the movie is rated "R," which means, "Under 18 not allowed without parent or guardian." In most schools, even in upper grades, a note from parents is required to show such films. And I wonder if the movie was part of an educational unit, or (as sadly happens) the substitute teacher was just showing the film to kill time.

Let me clarify a bit of my earlier post. I could possibly see parts of the movie shown in an eighth-grade class on sexuality or sociology or... maybe history even, but it would have to be handled properly, with parental notification and consent.


Offline tpe

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Re: News Coverage: May 2007
« Reply #9 on: May 14, 2007, 12:19 PM »
I do think BBM require a more mature audience.  Perhaps the teacher was assuming that kids seem to confront more mature issues much earlier nowadays, but I do think that that an understanding of the subject matter and issues raised in the movie are much too complex for most younger people.


Offline LuvJackNasty

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Re: News Coverage: May 2007
« Reply #10 on: May 14, 2007, 07:51 PM »
I don't want to be controversial, but, as a parent, I have a little insight on this.

I (obviously) think BBM is a great movie, but I don't think it should be shown in an eighth-grade classroom. In America, the movie is rated "R," which means, "Under 18 not allowed without parent or guardian." In most schools, even in upper grades, a note from parents is required to show such films. And I wonder if the movie was part of an educational unit, or (as sadly happens) the substitute teacher was just showing the film to kill time.

The girl in question is only 12, so I do see her family's point.

Now, as far as a lawsuit and "psychological trauma," that sounds rather silly.

I agree with everything you've said. My oldest will be 12 in a month and all of my girls know about BBM and have even seen bits and pieces of the movie when it was on HBO. I'm biased for BBM so I certainly wouldn't complain but I've had to sign permission slips for age appropriate movies the school wanted to show my children. I hate to think that it is because it is BBM that is the issue. I wonder if it was any other R rated movie that depicted love between two people if this would have caused "psychological trauma". I think living in a sheltered world where certain pieces of literature are complained about are doing more damage- but that's just me  :)

Boo_Boo I had the same reaction- Whats next...a book burning?  ::)
“What Jack remembered and craved in a way he could neither help nor understand was the time that distant summer on Brokeback when Ennis had come up behind him and pulled him close, the silent embrace satisfying some shared and sexless hunger."

You may say I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world will live as one ~ Imagine- J. Lennon

Offline Asali

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Re: News Coverage: May 2007
« Reply #11 on: May 14, 2007, 08:50 PM »
I hate to think that it is because it is BBM that is the issue. I wonder if it was any other R rated movie that depicted love between two people if this would have caused "psychological trauma".
I think whatever movie it was it would have created problems with this family but being BBM they had to make an extra fuss and of course the media jumps onto it. With people focusing on the same sex relationship rather than the issue which is of the teacher not following rules.

The problem escalates here in Australia because people who have not seen the movie read 'R' rating and virtually think porn. BBM is rated 'M' here which is for mature audiences, generally around 15 but do not need adult permission to view or hire it. 'M' rated movies are generally viewed in the senior years of high school.
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Offline tpe

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Re: News Coverage: May 2007
« Reply #12 on: May 15, 2007, 05:09 PM »
I wonder what in particular caused the psychological trauma  -- the scene in which Jack was murdered, perhaps?  It is not gory or horrendous, by any stretch of the imagination, but I can imagine certain kids having a problem seeing such a scene.

If the issue was on love between two men, then I am less sympathetic -- the sooner they get exposed to this as a reality, the better.  But this is just my opinion.


Offline Asali

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Re: News Coverage: May 2007
« Reply #13 on: May 15, 2007, 10:07 PM »
I wonder what in particular caused the psychological trauma  -- the scene in which Jack was murdered, perhaps?  It is not gory or horrendous, by any stretch of the imagination, but I can imagine certain kids having a problem seeing such a scene.

If the issue was on love between two men, then I am less sympathetic -- the sooner they get exposed to this as a reality, the better.  But this is just my opinion.


Perhaps even the sheep carcus.
I am with you Thomas although the teacher was wrong to show the any movie of that rating when it was against school rules.
The family may have made the psychological trauma story up when they discovered what she'd watched, it may be a more a case of them being upset and against it rather than the child so much.
"People's minds are like parachutes. To function properly they must first be open." - W.G.P.

It use to feel like a mass of dots. But more and more these days, I feel like we're all connected. (Latter Days)

Offline ragtimecowboy

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Re: News Coverage: May 2007
« Reply #14 on: May 15, 2007, 10:29 PM »
I really think the only "trauma" suffered by either father or daughter will be the severe dashing of dreams when the money fails to materialize from this frivolous lawsuit. On a positive note, it may well increase the DVD sales in North America and possibly worlwide. Think of how it will affect all these curious people. They may find this website and get deeper into the movie. Seeing it will change there lives forever, and even perhaps cause them  cherish the love of their life even more. For sure, they will shed tears. And feel happy and sad as the story unfolds. Most of all they will  learn, that love, is indeed a force of nature.

Offline Asali

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Re: News Coverage: May 2007
« Reply #15 on: May 16, 2007, 05:19 AM »
ragtimecowboy we can only hope that some more people will decide to watch it but sadly most will have decided that they never will. :(
"People's minds are like parachutes. To function properly they must first be open." - W.G.P.

It use to feel like a mass of dots. But more and more these days, I feel like we're all connected. (Latter Days)

Offline tpe

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Re: News Coverage: May 2007
« Reply #16 on: May 16, 2007, 08:02 AM »
Perhaps even the sheep carcus.
I am with you Thomas although the teacher was wrong to show the any movie of that rating when it was against school rules.
The family may have made the psychological trauma story up when they discovered what she'd watched, it may be a more a case of them being upset and against it rather than the child so much.

The grandfather was quoted to saying that such things went against their beliefs.  I suspect that there is a whole agenda behind this action supposedly in defense of their gradnchild.  Shame on them to manipulate a child's trauma to their own ends.  But could we blame them?  For some people of faith, there is no such thing as accommodation with the wider world.  One cannot fault him for standing up to his beliefs.  But there is a fine line between the freedom to believe and the desire to suppress anything that goes against one's beliefs.


Offline edgar

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Re: News Coverage: May 2007
« Reply #17 on: May 19, 2007, 12:43 AM »
Honestly, now that I think about it, I feel the movie is really quite inappropriate for 12-year-olds. The allegation of "trauma" seems silly to us, but think of how "traumatized" you (any one of us) were the first time you saw it.... What if the kid was crying her eyes out for several hours after seeing the film?

And what could "traumatize" the 12-year-old in this case? Think of the several fights, the death of Jack, the scene from Ennis's childhood.... The threat of violence between Ennis and Alma on Thanksgiving.... The family issues between Jack and his father-in-law...

Even the simple use of the f-word is pretty much taboo in American classrooms (as part of instructional materials)....

And of course the sex scenes.... (Remember, it's a classroom of 12 and 13-year olds)

Anyway, more than any of these specific things which might disqualify the movie for many people, it's just a movie that is very much about adult life. It's about disappointments, frustrations, regrets, looking back on what might have been.... With apologies to any very mature teenagers who frequent this board (and I think there are a few, iirc), I don't think the movie would really keep the interest of teenagers past the first hour or so. Thus, the shocking and "traumatizing" moments are emphasized since the emotional heart of the movie is (basically) unavailable to 12-year-olds, who don't really realate to the themes of the movie.

So, I say it be shown and discussed on college campuses and cultural clubs and film circles and festivals, but, sorry, not in school--with the possible exception of advanced classes of high school seniors with parental consent.



Offline tpe

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Re: News Coverage: May 2007
« Reply #18 on: May 21, 2007, 08:20 AM »
Honestly, now that I think about it, I feel the movie is really quite inappropriate for 12-year-olds. The allegation of "trauma" seems silly to us, but think of how "traumatized" you (any one of us) were the first time you saw it.... What if the kid was crying her eyes out for several hours after seeing the film?

And what could "traumatize" the 12-year-old in this case? Think of the several fights, the death of Jack, the scene from Ennis's childhood.... The threat of violence between Ennis and Alma on Thanksgiving.... The family issues between Jack and his father-in-law...

Even the simple use of the f-word is pretty much taboo in American classrooms (as part of instructional materials)....

And of course the sex scenes.... (Remember, it's a classroom of 12 and 13-year olds)

Anyway, more than any of these specific things which might disqualify the movie for many people, it's just a movie that is very much about adult life. It's about disappointments, frustrations, regrets, looking back on what might have been.... With apologies to any very mature teenagers who frequent this board (and I think there are a few, iirc), I don't think the movie would really keep the interest of teenagers past the first hour or so. Thus, the shocking and "traumatizing" moments are emphasized since the emotional heart of the movie is (basically) unavailable to 12-year-olds, who don't really realate to the themes of the movie.

So, I say it be shown and discussed on college campuses and cultural clubs and film circles and festivals, but, sorry, not in school--with the possible exception of advanced classes of high school seniors with parental consent.




Thanks edgar.

I do agree that it went a bit too far, and the viewing was not appropriate -- because it dwelt on adult themes, and not because of the homoerotic subject per se.

Still, I suspect that the gradfather was intent on pushing a larger agenda.  It seems that he had an axe to grind.  It is unfortunate that this viewing became the convenient excuse to attack the school system...




Offline tpe

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Re: News Coverage: May 2007
« Reply #19 on: May 23, 2007, 07:28 AM »
Interesting blog:

From http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/05/22/090910.php

----------------------------------------------------

Sense and Proportion: A Parent's Guide to Film
Written by Kati Irons
Published May 22, 2007

My sister-in-law related to me an interesting incident that happened to her recently. She teaches singing to kidlets at an elementary school and recently decided to show them West Side Story. While the children were engrossed in the film, another teacher peeked in the room and saw Szilvia’s class raptly watching West Side Story, at which point she apparently flounced down to the head of the after-school program and complained. The children (third graders) could NOT watch this movie! The hero dies at the end!

The head of the program came up to tell Szilvia she had to stop showing the movie. Szilvia was dumbfounded, but the piano teacher in the class recovered enough to give the program head what for. “Do you REALIZE this movie is a CLASSIC??” Do you REALIZE it was written by LEONARD BERNSTEIN and STEPHEN SONDHEIM? Do you REALIZE it is based on the most CLASSIC play in the ENGLISH LANGUAGE, written by SHAKESPEARE?”

I think it might have been great to also ask if he realized that the kids were completely enraptured and none of them were shrieking at the door or rocking themselves in a corner. (Make the singing ladies stop… oh please… make them STOP!)

One of my own earliest memories is listening to the West Side Story cast recording of the Broadway show with my Mom. I will always remember the album cover: red, with a dramatic black and white picture of Tony and Maria running down a New York sidewalk. My mother told me the story, and she did not edit the fact that Tony dies at the end, and yet I was unscarred. To me West Side Story represented all that was glamorous and sophisticated in life: New York City. Dancing. Twirly Dresses.

Truth is, when it comes to scarring memories of movies from my childhood, others rank significantly higher. Bambi (they shot his mother and burned his m**** f*** HOME!). The Wizard of Oz (freaking flying monkeys! Don’t try to tell me - or at least my five-year-old self - freaking flying monkeys aren’t a sign of the Apocalypse). One excruciatingly early Saturday morning my parents awoke to the sound of me screaming at the top of my lungs. They rushed downstairs to find me watching Lassie, who was in a burning barn, trying to save that idiot accident prone Timmy. I also was not fond of The Three Stooges, nor I Love Lucy; Stooges for their unconventional dispute resolution techniques, Lucy just for getting herself into those freaky, humiliating jams. The anxiety of wondering how she was going to extricate herself was just too damn much.

My parents were quick to take dramatic action when something in life upset me. When I flipped out at The Wizard of Oz, they took me out of the theater. When they found me watching Lassie in tears, they turned the TV off. Interestingly enough, they did not sue the movie theater for emotional damages or report the TV station to the FCC. Also interesting, I never needed therapy to recover from seeing The Three Stooges, despite their disturbing, violent, co-dependent relationship.

This nostalgia trip reminded me of another school-related movie memory from my childhood. We were shown a film (a real honest to goodness moving picture show, rather than a filmstrip… BING) about bus safety. This was back in the days when no one thought much about scaring the beejesus out of kids to make a point. They’d only recently stopped teaching us to dive under our desks in the event of a nuclear war. The plot of the film is thus: Kids are acting up on the bus. The bus driver keeps hollering at them to settle down. One kid takes a mouse out of a box and dangles it in the bus driver’s face, the driver screams, faints, and the bus crashes, runs off the side of a bridge, and impacts in an exploding fireball.

Actually, the exploding fireball is probably my imagination, but the rest is '70s educational film gospel. The movie totally and completely freaked me out. (Yes, I was a total wuss when I was a kid, and I was no fun at birthday parties either.) The next year at a new school we were gathered together in the auditorium for movie time, and I recognized the same movie starting. I found a teacher and asked her if I could please sit this one out, since I’d seen it before. I don’t think I admitted that I was terrified, but maybe she could see it in my eyes, so she said sure and excused me to the library. That was it. Kids find their own limits, and they tell you what they are. Reasonable adults respond in a sensible, proportionate manner.

Let us contrast this with another more newsworthy, or certainly more reported, story involving a class, a teacher, and a movie. A substitute teacher in Chicago showed a class full of eighth graders Brokeback Mountain. Now the school board is being sued by the family of one of the students, a twelve-year-old girl, for $500,000 for the ever popular “emotional damages”. The girl has been so traumatized by the experience she has had to undergo psychological counseling.

Let’s start with the teacher. What the hell was she thinking? I am more liberal than the next person, particularly when it comes to movies, but the point of film ratings is to help parents decide what they want their kids to see. No teacher with an ounce of sense could assume that most parents would be totally fine with letting their 12- or 13-year-old kids see an rated R-movie. (Let us put aside the fact that most of them have known how to override the parental control setting on the cable since they helped their parents set it up. We are talking about the sanctity of parental illusion.) Lest one wonder if she was confused about what she was showing this class of 12-year-olds, that perhaps she thought this film was a documentary about sheep farming, she screwed herself out of that excuse when she told the class, “What happens in Ms. Buford’s class stays in Ms. Buford’s class.”

I’ve pondered what might inspire a teacher to do something like this. Maybe she was tired of subbing at that school and was looking for a way never to be invited back. Certainly back in my reference desk working days we had dreams of things we would do on our last day, like answering every inquiry with, “What are you? Stupid?” It’s hard not to imagine an Edna Crabapple announcing that it’s time her class learned what the dating world is really like, starting Brokeback Mountain, and then escaping out the back door to Boca Raton. Truth is, the whole story sounds a lot like an episode of The Simpsons, up to and including the family now suing the school.

It’s true I think the teacher was an idiot. I don’t have issues with her being reprimanded or fired. She wasn’t striking a blow for gay rights or freedom of expression, and she has single-handedly justified all the oversensitive schools that have banned the use of film as a teaching tool. But she’s not the only idiot in the story, or even possibly the biggest.

That prize goes to the grandfather and guardian of one of the 12-year-old girls in the class who is now suing the school for half a million dollars. His argument is that he’s tried to protect his granddaughter from being exposed to this sort of lifestyle. Before the movie incident he had complained about books she was being asked to read, and his justification for suing the school is to teach them a lesson. The girl has been so scarred by seeing this film that kids in her class have discovered, no doubt to their delight, that they can get her to freak out just by humming the theme music of the movie.

I try to avoid mocking children for their behavior, even if a particular child does appear to be behaving like a ninny, on the assumption that children are products of their environment. If this poor child was so scarred by seeing Brokeback Mountain that she needs therapy, that the mere theme song sends her into paroxysms of hysteria, then the blame can be placed firmly on the doorstep of her grandparents. I also blame them for her inability to speak up while Ms. Crabapple played the movie. She could have told the teacher she’s sure her parents don’t want her to see this. She could have told the teacher she didn’t want to see this. She could have asked to be excused to the bathroom and declined to come back. I was eight when I approached the teacher and asked if I could be excused from Bus Carnage ’76. My parents raised me to be obedient and respectful to my teachers, but they didn’t teach me to be a passive ninny.

All in all, any common sense or sense of proportion is completely lacking from any of the adults in this story. Sadly I think this story could easily be a parable of life in the Aughts, where Shock and Awe have annihilated Sense or Proportion as desirable traits. Somewhere society got the impression that it is easier to raise children in a sensory deprivation tank than to explain things about society that might be uncomfortable.

When the world inevitably intrudes into this illusory sensory deprivation tank, it is easier to write angry letters or sue someone else then it is to explain to children that shit happens. Bad things happen to good people. People have different opinions but that doesn’t make them evil. You can’t always get what you want. Some cowboys are gay, and Tony dies at the end.

Speaking of signs of the unravling fabric of civilization, I have to say something about the recent "debate" about evolution shown on ABC's Nightline. Actually, I'm not going to discuss the debate, which was so far from newsworthy I imagine Ted Koppel dying just to roll over in his grave. I just have to discuss one moment in the "debate" (I'm sorry, I just can't use the word without adding quotes.) when actor Kirk Cameron help "prove" the fallacy of Darwinism by showing a picture of a duck with an alligator head.

Set aside for a moment what it says about a movement that would send a long-past-his-expiration-date former child sitcom star to make an intellectual argument upon their behalf. I simply must point out, for the sake of my own sanity, that a picture of a duck with an alligator head actually PROVES NATURAL SELECTION more than it proves God is behind the whole thing. You see, there are no ducks with alligator heads. Ducks with alligator heads... crazy... funny... nutty. Wouldn't work in real life. Wouldn't last very long. Their mouths are bigger than their stomachs for one thing, which is never a good survival mechanism. In the process of natural selection, weird creatures that make no sense never make it past the mutant embryo stage.

In fact, the only way a duck with an alligator head could come about would be if some almighty powerful being with sense of the ridiculous created it. That's why I firmly believe that God created the platypus, while leaving natural selection to do the rest. Therefore, to use the same masterful, razor sharp "debating" techniques spouted by Cameron and his sidekick: the only thing that could explain the existance of a duck with an alligator head is some all powerful being making up things just to f*** with our heads. Ducks with alligator heads do not exist. Therefore, an all powerful being that makes up things to f*** with our heads, hides dinosaur bones inside mountains for kicks, and provided us with reason and common sense so that hucksters calling themselves spiritual leaders could label them as sinful, does not exist.

Cogito ergo sum.


Offline LuvJackNasty

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Re: News Coverage: May 2007
« Reply #20 on: May 23, 2007, 11:21 AM »
That was interesting Thomas  :) The author makes great points about what we were exposed to as children and lets face it most of these kids today (my own included) are not so innocent- the music, the tv shows, the video games etc. It is up to the parent to try to restrict these things until they feel their children can handle them but I know as a mother myself that I am not with them 24/7, just as I know that I can't think or feel for them. I do agree the teacher was out of line in the sense that she showed it without parental consent.
“What Jack remembered and craved in a way he could neither help nor understand was the time that distant summer on Brokeback when Ennis had come up behind him and pulled him close, the silent embrace satisfying some shared and sexless hunger."

You may say I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world will live as one ~ Imagine- J. Lennon

Offline tpe

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Re: News Coverage: May 2007
« Reply #21 on: May 23, 2007, 11:38 AM »
That was interesting Thomas  :) The author makes great points about what we were exposed to as children and lets face it most of these kids today (my own included) are not so innocent- the music, the tv shows, the video games etc. It is up to the parent to try to restrict these things until they feel their children can handle them but I know as a mother myself that I am not with them 24/7, just as I know that I can't think or feel for them. I do agree the teacher was out of line in the sense that she showed it without parental consent.

Yes, I found those points interesting too.  It's funny how selective certain people are, though, no?  I mean, selective when it comes to restricting certain things as opposed to others.

In this case, I really think that the grandfather was being particularly selective.  If we really look at this closely, we find that he is no better than the teacher...


Offline LuvJackNasty

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Re: News Coverage: May 2007
« Reply #22 on: May 23, 2007, 08:28 PM »
Exactly Thomas. As the author stated the girl could have asked to be excused. It'd funny that she didn't collapse or anything while it was showing  ::)
“What Jack remembered and craved in a way he could neither help nor understand was the time that distant summer on Brokeback when Ennis had come up behind him and pulled him close, the silent embrace satisfying some shared and sexless hunger."

You may say I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world will live as one ~ Imagine- J. Lennon

Offline Asali

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Re: News Coverage: May 2007
« Reply #23 on: May 23, 2007, 09:46 PM »
Also I doubt the teacher would have made her sit through it if she was visibly upset which makes me think she said absolutely nothing while at school.
"People's minds are like parachutes. To function properly they must first be open." - W.G.P.

It use to feel like a mass of dots. But more and more these days, I feel like we're all connected. (Latter Days)

Offline chameau

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Re: News Coverage: May 2007
« Reply #24 on: May 23, 2007, 09:49 PM »
Quote
The head of the program came up to tell Szilvia she had to stop showing the movie. Szilvia was dumbfounded, but the piano teacher in the class recovered enough to give the program head what for. “Do you REALIZE this movie is a CLASSIC??” Do you REALIZE it was written by LEONARD BERNSTEIN and STEPHEN SONDHEIM? Do you REALIZE it is based on the most CLASSIC play in the ENGLISH LANGUAGE, written by SHAKESPEARE?”


At least some people still have some common sense.  Who's this Ladie? I'd like to send her flowers.  Thanks for posting this Thomas, it's very interesting.
La dictature c'est ''ferme ta geule'', la démocratie c'est ''cause toujours''
 Jean-Louis Barrault

Offline tpe

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Re: News Coverage: May 2007
« Reply #25 on: May 24, 2007, 07:23 AM »
Exactly Thomas. As the author stated the girl could have asked to be excused. It'd funny that she didn't collapse or anything while it was showing  ::)

Perhaps the child was under some sort of peer pressure; or perhaps she felt compelled by an authority figure.

Either way, the teacher should have been more careful, as this became a weapon used by the grandfather, who clearly had a bigger agenda.


Offline tpe

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Re: News Coverage: May 2007
« Reply #26 on: May 24, 2007, 07:25 AM »
Also I doubt the teacher would have made her sit through it if she was visibly upset which makes me think she said absolutely nothing while at school.

Asali, you and LJN do have a point here.  Perhaps things were exaggerated a bot.  I am not discounting that the film disturbed the child.  Perhaps she went to her parents afterwards and started asking questions.  Perhaps it upset the parents more...


Offline tpe

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Re: News Coverage: May 2007
« Reply #27 on: May 24, 2007, 07:26 AM »


At least some people still have some common sense.  Who's this Ladie? I'd like to send her flowers.  Thanks for posting this Thomas, it's very interesting.

Yes, Cham.  There is still hope in this world!

You're welcome!  :)


Offline LuvJackNasty

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Re: News Coverage: May 2007
« Reply #28 on: May 24, 2007, 11:19 AM »
Asali, you and LJN do have a point here.  Perhaps things were exaggerated a bot.  I am not discounting that the film disturbed the child.  Perhaps she went to her parents afterwards and started asking questions.  Perhaps it upset the parents more...



What else is curious (and I haven't come across any other articles pertaining to this situation) is that this is the only child who was affected and the only set of parents that were so upset over it. Where are the rest of the villagers with the pitchforks clamoring for their share of the money?  ::) It just seems like a way to make a buck to me. If my child saw something that upset her I'd certainly go to the school and discuss it- calling a lawyer would not be the first thing on my mind. And it seems to me that their brainwashing or "teachings" aren't sticking to well because the girl would/should have left the classroom.
“What Jack remembered and craved in a way he could neither help nor understand was the time that distant summer on Brokeback when Ennis had come up behind him and pulled him close, the silent embrace satisfying some shared and sexless hunger."

You may say I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world will live as one ~ Imagine- J. Lennon

Offline tpe

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Re: News Coverage: May 2007
« Reply #29 on: May 24, 2007, 12:18 PM »
What else is curious (and I haven't come across any other articles pertaining to this situation) is that this is the only child who was affected and the only set of parents that were so upset over it. Where are the rest of the villagers with the pitchforks clamoring for their share of the money?  ::) It just seems like a way to make a buck to me. If my child saw something that upset her I'd certainly go to the school and discuss it- calling a lawyer would not be the first thing on my mind. And it seems to me that their brainwashing or "teachings" aren't sticking to well because the girl would/should have left the classroom.

I suspect that the motives here are not entirely disinterested.  Pity that this has to involve a child.  Grown-up can be quite twisted, especially when it comes to hidden motives!