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The Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, one of the T.V. favourites of kids the world over, have long since disappeared into their shells and slunk back into the sewers of New York. The Power Rangers, so all-powerful that they could shift an entire galaxy of merchandise in a single week, are no longer the almighty force they once were. And that other great T.V./computer game/ film phenomenon, Pokemon, has long since lost the spark that fired a million trading card collections and revitalised the fortunes of the ailing Nintendo Corporation.
Apart from making a fortune for their creators, the above three have something else in common. All of them, at the height of their popularity, were accused of being a bad influence on children. The Hero Turtles and the Power Rangers were said to make children aggressive. Pokemon was charged with making them aggressive AND stupid. Teachers bemoaned the fact that their pupils could reel off every one of Pokemons' 150 or so “pocket monsters”, yet couldn’t name five European capital cities.
Last week, however, brought perhaps the most ridiculous of accusations aimed towards a children’s T.V. character. In the firing line this time was the unlikely figure of Thomas the Tank Engine, the moon-faced, steam-powered hero of many young kids of the present and of years gone by. I was once a proud subscriber through my parents of the Thomas the Tank Engine Fan Club.
In a report in a leading newspaper some professor or other claimed that Thomas, the little blue train that chugs merrily around the island of Sodor with his friends Percy, Edward, Gordon etc., is having a negative effect on children. You might justifiably ask “Why?” Being a tank engine, Thomas smokes of course. Laughable I know. He never gets tanked up, never does drugs, never gets into fights and never chases girl trains. When you’re made from several tons of metal and have to get around on tracks, sex is pretty much a non-starter anyway!
So, ruling out these possibilities, into what other dark tunnel of corruption is Thomas shunting his young fans? Well, according to the professor, the trouble with Thomas and his friends is that they sometimes crash into one another, thus exposing children to horrific scenes of “destruction” and perhaps even warping the kids for life. Oh, right. My parents and I had never really thought about the deep psychological scars I could suffer from watching a model train with a funny face crash into a pile of plastic bricks.
Frankly, all this carries the unmistakable stench of something that comes out of the wrong end of a bull. If they’re looking for an argument about the pros and cons of exposing children to scenes of so-called “destruction”, they’ve picked on the wrong guy in Thomas the Tank Engine! The professor, not the kids, is the one who needs a reality check.
Apart from making a fortune for their creators, the above three have something else in common. All of them, at the height of their popularity, were accused of being a bad influence on children. The Hero Turtles and the Power Rangers were said to make children aggressive. Pokemon was charged with making them aggressive AND stupid. Teachers bemoaned the fact that their pupils could reel off every one of Pokemons' 150 or so “pocket monsters”, yet couldn’t name five European capital cities.
Last week, however, brought perhaps the most ridiculous of accusations aimed towards a children’s T.V. character. In the firing line this time was the unlikely figure of Thomas the Tank Engine, the moon-faced, steam-powered hero of many young kids of the present and of years gone by. I was once a proud subscriber through my parents of the Thomas the Tank Engine Fan Club.
In a report in a leading newspaper some professor or other claimed that Thomas, the little blue train that chugs merrily around the island of Sodor with his friends Percy, Edward, Gordon etc., is having a negative effect on children. You might justifiably ask “Why?” Being a tank engine, Thomas smokes of course. Laughable I know. He never gets tanked up, never does drugs, never gets into fights and never chases girl trains. When you’re made from several tons of metal and have to get around on tracks, sex is pretty much a non-starter anyway!
So, ruling out these possibilities, into what other dark tunnel of corruption is Thomas shunting his young fans? Well, according to the professor, the trouble with Thomas and his friends is that they sometimes crash into one another, thus exposing children to horrific scenes of “destruction” and perhaps even warping the kids for life. Oh, right. My parents and I had never really thought about the deep psychological scars I could suffer from watching a model train with a funny face crash into a pile of plastic bricks.
Frankly, all this carries the unmistakable stench of something that comes out of the wrong end of a bull. If they’re looking for an argument about the pros and cons of exposing children to scenes of so-called “destruction”, they’ve picked on the wrong guy in Thomas the Tank Engine! The professor, not the kids, is the one who needs a reality check.
Any responses would be welcome!
The Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, one of the T.V. favourites of kids the world over, have long since disappeared into their shells and slunk back into the sewers of New York. The Power Rangers, so all-powerful that they could shift an entire galaxy of merchandise in a single week, are no longer the almighty force they once were. And that other great T.V./computer game/ film phenomenon, Pokemon, has long since lost the spark that fired a million trading card collections and revitalised the fortunes of the ailing Nintendo Corporation.
Apart from making a fortune for their creators, the above three have something else in common. All of them, at the height of their popularity, were accused of being a bad influence on children. The Hero Turtles and the Power Rangers were said to make children aggressive. Pokemon was charged with making them aggressive AND stupid. Teachers bemoaned the fact that their pupils could reel off every one of Pokemons' 150 or so “pocket monsters”, yet couldn’t name five European capital cities.
Last week, however, brought perhaps the most ridiculous of accusations aimed towards a children’s T.V. character. In the firing line this time was the unlikely figure of Thomas the Tank Engine, the moon-faced, steam-powered hero of many young kids of the present and of years gone by. I was once a proud subscriber through my parents of the Thomas the Tank Engine Fan Club.
In a report in a leading newspaper some professor or other claimed that Thomas, the little blue train that chugs merrily around the island of Sodor with his friends Percy, Edward, Gordon etc., is having a negative effect on children. You might justifiably ask “Why?” Being a tank engine, Thomas smokes of course. Laughable I know. He never gets tanked up, never does drugs, never gets into fights and never chases girl trains. When you’re made from several tons of metal and have to get around on tracks, sex is pretty much a non-starter anyway!
So, ruling out these possibilities, into what other dark tunnel of corruption is Thomas shunting his young fans? Well, according to the professor, the trouble with Thomas and his friends is that they sometimes crash into one another, thus exposing children to horrific scenes of “destruction” and perhaps even warping the kids for life. Oh, right. My parents and I had never really thought about the deep psychological scars I could suffer from watching a model train with a funny face crash into a pile of plastic bricks.
Frankly, all this carries the unmistakable stench of something that comes out of the wrong end of a bull. If they’re looking for an argument about the pros and cons of exposing children to scenes of so-called “destruction”, they’ve picked on the wrong guy in Thomas the Tank Engine! The professor, not the kids, is the one who needs a reality check.
Apart from making a fortune for their creators, the above three have something else in common. All of them, at the height of their popularity, were accused of being a bad influence on children. The Hero Turtles and the Power Rangers were said to make children aggressive. Pokemon was charged with making them aggressive AND stupid. Teachers bemoaned the fact that their pupils could reel off every one of Pokemons' 150 or so “pocket monsters”, yet couldn’t name five European capital cities.
Last week, however, brought perhaps the most ridiculous of accusations aimed towards a children’s T.V. character. In the firing line this time was the unlikely figure of Thomas the Tank Engine, the moon-faced, steam-powered hero of many young kids of the present and of years gone by. I was once a proud subscriber through my parents of the Thomas the Tank Engine Fan Club.
In a report in a leading newspaper some professor or other claimed that Thomas, the little blue train that chugs merrily around the island of Sodor with his friends Percy, Edward, Gordon etc., is having a negative effect on children. You might justifiably ask “Why?” Being a tank engine, Thomas smokes of course. Laughable I know. He never gets tanked up, never does drugs, never gets into fights and never chases girl trains. When you’re made from several tons of metal and have to get around on tracks, sex is pretty much a non-starter anyway!
So, ruling out these possibilities, into what other dark tunnel of corruption is Thomas shunting his young fans? Well, according to the professor, the trouble with Thomas and his friends is that they sometimes crash into one another, thus exposing children to horrific scenes of “destruction” and perhaps even warping the kids for life. Oh, right. My parents and I had never really thought about the deep psychological scars I could suffer from watching a model train with a funny face crash into a pile of plastic bricks.
Frankly, all this carries the unmistakable stench of something that comes out of the wrong end of a bull. If they’re looking for an argument about the pros and cons of exposing children to scenes of so-called “destruction”, they’ve picked on the wrong guy in Thomas the Tank Engine! The professor, not the kids, is the one who needs a reality check.