Canadian professor says that Thomas the Tank Engine brainwashes kids with right-wing ideology

[alp227]

Jonathan Turley reports:

Professor Shauna Wilton and colleagues at the Department of Social Sciences Research at the University of Alberta have made a disturbing discovery: Thomas the Tank Engine appears to be a vehicle used to implant a “conservative political ideology” in our children. This is the liberal version of the campaign against Purple Teletubby Tinky Winky by Jerry Falwell as sending hidden gay messages. The professor, however, may find proletarian values in another railway, the London underground: http://jonathanturley.org/2009/12/13/railing-against-the-bosses-london-train-announcer-suggests-suicide-as-option-for-travelers/">here.

Wilton found that the Thomas the Tank Engine series teaches children what she views as a conservative agenda, including a world that “punishes individual initiative, opposes critique and change, and relegates females to supportive roles.”

She found that “storylines in several episodes that divided the characters into different social classes and punished those who tried to gain individual power . . . Any change is seen as disrupting the natural order of things.” Worse yet, “of 49 main characters listed in the show, only eight were female, reflecting a general trend among children’s programming.” She warned that “e tend to think of children’s TV shows as neutral and safe, but they still carry messages. Eventually these children will attain full political citizenship, and the opinions and world outlook they develop now, partially influenced by shows like Thomas and Friends, are part of that process.”

[NightWatcher]

1. Fuck that, we all know the real enemy is Bob The Builder

[jwirr]

12. Who's slogan is "Yes, we can." I about died laughing first time I heard it. nt

[NightWatcher]

16. Can we build it?

[Nay]

18. I . can . fix . it!

[alp227]

2. Personal note: Despite a steady diet of Thomas as a young boy

I grew up to embrace true blue and despise the red.

[PeaceNikki]

3. Ringo Starr is gonna be pissed.

[Richardo]

4. Somebody's been told to get published.

What a load.

[PeaceNikki]

5. And George Carlin was a well-known mouthpiece of the vast right-wing conspiracy, also.

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. Silly me, I have been worried about Sponge Bob.

[JackRiddler]

7. All children's stories have implicit politics.

And it's worthy of analysis. That doesn't mean the professor is right about this particular show, but the ridiculing responses here evince ignorance. It also doesn't automatically mean that children's shows are brainwashing, or that, even so, that brainwashing always works. So if you grew up on Thomas but didn't become right-wing, that doesn't actually say anything about the show's meanings, only that you're still you.

What I remember of this show is that it was very creepy. Anthropomorphized industrial machines on tracks with rigid hierarchies. Everyone has an assigned, immutable function in a society revolving entirely around work. And the lack of female characters except a few in subordinate positions was very obvious.

Given that the ambient politics of our society reinforces class society and devalues the feminine, her conclusions hardly come as a surprise.

[Jamastiene]

8. It took 7 responses before someone stopped and thought about it.

I agree with your response. This is definitely something to think about.

[Nikki Stone1]

9. +1

I agree with you.

[hfojvt]

13. I have never seen the show

but I used to sell the books. i wonder if the same is true of the books.

"a society revolving entirely around work" sounds like a lot of TV shows.

[jwirr]

14. I agree with you on the possible meanings of our children's shows.

Several days ago I asked about the propaganda content of the shows aimed at preteens on both Nick jr and Disney. In our day we found our rock heroes as part of the counter culture that no one wanted us to listen to and now our children are fed daily doses of "stars" who play silly roles on sit-cons. I hate these shows so I have not sat down to even try to analyze them but it bothers me that the kids are fed this stuff instead of finding it themselves.

[JackRiddler]

17. The Disney "Hannah Montana" values are beyond gross.

Their live shows all seem to be about spoiled, snooty adolescent pop culture stars.

1) "Everyone's special" but stars are more special than others, so you'd better be one or implicitly... you're a loser!

2) The proof of special is in the cool clothing and mannerisms.

3) Oh, but consumerism's not everything, dad will say. Except everything in the show screams that it IS.

4) Change your lightbulbs, save the world. Green is so cool. We'll be back after this!

[jwirr]

23. I get that much from just the commercials while my grands and I are

waiting for Dora and Diego to come back on and save the animals. I refuse to play along with my preteens. At least they will know that one adult doesn't agree.

[cali]

15. I disagree. All children's stories have implicit values- not necessarily

implicit politics. Other than that, I think you make a good point.

[Davis_X_Machina]

10. I remember a debate in the House of Commons..

...on C-SPAN dealing with the privatization of British Rail where the Labour MP speaking said that he was prepared to vote for the measure only if the honorable Secretary would guarantee him that the new private enterprise would be run by The Fat Controller (whom we know as Sir Topham Hat).

[SteelPenguin]

11. It's not conservative....it's British

Watch it with the original British narrators and it becomes more apparent. Perhaps it's 'conservative' but it's not in the sense of an American conservative political movement. It's something that they put on BBC for children to know their place and to be proper Brits.

[mamaleah]

19. Wow.....as silly as moron conservatives who thought the teletubbies were pushing a gay agenda

or whatever that nonsense was....

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

20. I thought individual initiative to gain individual power was a right wing idea.

[walldude]

21. Shit and I thought Percy was gay...

Gimme a break. I spent my childhood watching H.R. Pufenstuf and I didn't grow up to be some crazed mushroom eating stoner... Oh shit waitaminute...

[Libertas1776]

22. I seriously doubt George Carlin

would have ever been a party to a program with a right wing ideology.

[alp227]

24. OMG I FORGOT THE URL

http://jonathanturley.org/2009/12/13/thomas-the-tank-engine-capitalist-stooge-professor-finds-dark-messages-in-childrens-series/

I normally try, but forgot to include it this time!