In James J. Brown's article, "Evil Bert Laden: ViRaL Texts, Community, and Collision," one of the things I found to be most interesting is when he points out that "upon shutting down the Bert is Evil website, Ignacio expressed concern that his parodies had 'gotten too close to reality,' and by this he meant that his website had been taken up by mainstream media (Brown)." One of the results of Evil Bert getting too close to reality was Sesame Street and parent's concern for children and how this even would effect them. Sesame street responded by saying: "Sesame Street has always stood for mutual respect and understanding. We're outraged that our characters would be used in this unfortunate and distasteful manner. This is not humorous…The people responsible for this should be ashamed of themselves. We are exploring all legal options to stop this abuse and any similar abuses in the future." (Brown)
In response to growing parent concerns the New York Times published an activity for children grades 3-5 to "help them make sense of the image (Brown)." This activity "posed the six questions that any journalist would ask of this image: Who, What, When, Where, Why, How. The presentation of these questions to students indicates an overall feeling that the coupling of Bert and bin Laden would be somehow confusing or traumatic to young children." (Brown)
Ignacio, the creator of the Evil Bert website, also expressed his concern for children who had seen the picture by saying he fears that it "may destroy the character's credibility with children. I cannot allow that to happen. myself grew up on sesame street and it was an important part of my childhood." (Brown)
Ultimately, Brown never explains what effect Evil Bert had on children who saw the image. So, I will ask you, what do you believe the effect of ViRaL texts are on children. Is there cause for concern? After all, how many 3-5th graders are tuned into the nightly news. Were the reactions of parents and Sesame Street legitimate or were they over reacting?
You raise some interesting questions here. When I first read Brown's piece I found it weird that the NY Times was publishing for 3-5 graders. Isn't Sesame Street for pre-schoolers? I mean, the chief aim of the show is to prevent underprivileged children from falling behind from their peers before their schooling began.
ReplyDeleteWhen this Bert is Evil controversy started, I think our nation was still reeling from the 9/11 attacks. I think that there was just a visceral reaction to anything related to al-Qaeda at the time. As a result, I would imagine that in general, American parents were feeling extra protective of their children. I'm going to remain agnostic on whether or not children were traumatized by the image. Maybe it depends on the child? If my favorite children's character back then (and still today haha), Pooh Bear, had been used like that, I think I would have been upset. However, I don't think I would've been traumatized (as long as I knew that other Pooh memorabilia was unaffected).
I agree that traumatized may not be the right word to use. I would say that children might become confused later on when they can start to interpret some of the implications of the people in the photo. I think it Bert Laden sent mixed signals to little children who had to get explained what the photo was about. Also, if the collaboration was never made then the parents could avoid the explanation that they might would never imagine they would be having. Also, the photo may not express the morals that parents want share with their kids, that an innocent children's character is sitting side by side in cahoots with a mass murderer.
ReplyDeleteI don't see much potential for harm in these viral images because almost all viral images/videos/texts originate on the internet, a place where most children that age do not experience. Furthermore, even if a child were on the internet s/he would not likely be exposed to a place where the image would be featured.
ReplyDeleteI acknowledge that images can have profound effects on children, and that's why a responsible parent should be aware of what their children experience at that age. However, with the case of Bert bin Laden very few children would have any idea who Osama bin Laden was, so I don't see how the image would harm them.
As fas as the reaction of Sesame Street producers, I think it's appropriate given the context. They had to appear offended, otherwise they tacitly endorsed such pairings. Even if their response didn't represent their true feelings, it's what had to be done. But I wouldn't be surprised if they actually felt as offended as they claimed to be.
I agree with what some of these other comments said. I don't think these images would have had any effect on the kids who actually watch Sesame Street as they are preschoolers who don't generally know anything about foreign relations or the threat of terrorism. For older children, I really don't think learning that Bert is evil would have really surprised any of them. I talked about this in my blog: If I was led as a kid to believe that Bert was a terrorist, I'm not sure I would have been all that surprised. From my memories of Sesame Street, I always remember thinking he was mean anyway.
ReplyDeleteAs for other viral images, I think they're usually taken with some humor, and with the exception of a huge event (like a recent terrorist attack), I think people tend to get that it's a joke. And it's even funnier when they don't, honestly.