Posted on 12/10/2009 2:13:14 AM PST by markomalley
Children's favourite Thomas the Tank Engine has been attacked by a Canadian academic for its "conservative political ideology" and failure to adequately represent women.
The show's right-wing politics shows the colourful steam engines punished if they show initiative or oppose change, the researcher found.
She also highlighted the class divide which sees the downtrodden workers in the form of Thomas and his friends at the bottom of the social ladder and the wealthy Fat Controller, Sir Topham Hatt, at the top.
The criticism, by Shauna Wilton, a professor of political sciences at the University of Alberta, is likely to anger fans of the original books by Rev W. V. Awdry first published in the 1940s which were turned into an animated TV series now shown in 130 countries.
She launched her study after watching the programme with her three-year-old daughter.
She then analysed the plots, characters and other aspects of 23 different episodes to draw her conclusions, which she then presented at a conference of political science in Canada.
She was critical of the fact the show only has eight female characters out of the 49 who feature.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Some people really need to get lives, or something...
Libs attack cartoons, because they can’t fight back.
Penis envy.
Maybe they are gay. Does she hate gay people? What a homophobic bigot this lady is.
My son (4.5 yrs) and daughter (2.9 yrs) both enjoy the Thomas books. I HAVE noticed that Sir Topham Hatt is portrayed as a competent and caring boss, and I like seeing a business portrayed favorably.
Oh, no! It’s Thomas!
She’s really just offended that sometimes they show trains going into tunnels.
She must really hate “The Little Engine That Could”.
For those of us who have kids or grandkids addicted to Thomas, give us a break. My 4 year old grandson can recite the life stories of all the characters, and one of his favorites of all time is Emily. These people are nuts, and if they want to attack Thomas for something, they could note that watching the videos with the little kids is a strong sleeping potion for the grownups.
The critics probably also object to Thomas beause the characters get their comeuppance from the natural consequences of their actions when they misbehave. God forbid that should happen. And now that I think of it, Emily isn’t one of the characters who is generally shown as being naughty, nor are the other females.
My son (when 4) named our dogs after the bad dump trucks Max and Monty.
Thomas is also a massive polluter and contributor to global warming. He must be stopped.
Never heard of that one. By any chance do you mean "The Little Engine of Diversity That Was Empowered by Beneficial Government Programs"?
She’s mad becuse more girls aren’t pulling trains?
This has to be satire. It has to be.
Maybe she’s in line to become Canada’s new safe schools czar
“She also highlighted the class divide which sees the downtrodden workers in the form of Thomas and his friends at the bottom of the social ladder and the wealthy Fat Controller, Sir Topham Hatt, at the top.”
Maybe she would rather prefer to see the downtrodden American workers at the bottom of the social ladder, and the wealthy President, Barack Hussien Obama, at the top.
“Children’s favourite Thomas the Tank Engine has been attacked by a Canadian academic for its “conservative political ideology” and failure to adequately represent women. “
Maybe we should attack Barbie for not adequately representing boys. How ridiculous some complainers are.
Piston envy.
I think she’s been hanging out with Devious Diesel too much. He told her Sir Topham Hatt is going to send all the professors of political “science” to the scrap yard. He needs useful professors, who are reliable. Professor Wilton, you have caused confusion and delay. Back to Tidmouth Shed with you!
A textbook example of someone whose education far surpasses their actual intelligence.
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