Thursday, February 23, 2012

Lou Dobbs Vs. "The Lorax."



I am going to get straight to the point on this one.  Rarely do I get this angry - this pissed the fuck off - about things I find during my daily web-surfing.

Lou Dobbs, pictured above, is claiming that Universal's new movie - an adaptation of the Dr. Seuss classic, "The Lorax" - has an insidious goal: to indoctrinate our children.

"It's about a woodland creature who speaks for the trees and fights rampant industrialism... So where have we all heard this before?  Occupy Wall Street, forever trying to pit the makers against the takers, and President Obama repeating that everyone should pay their fair share in dozens of speeches since his State of the Union address last month... The president's liberal friends in Hollywood targeting a younger demographic using animated movies to sell their 'agenda' to children."   

I did not make that bold text up.  Those are actual words out of Lou Dobbs' actual stupid mouth.

Don't believe me?  I've posted the entire clip at the bottom of this page.  


First of all, Mr. Dobbs, don't fucking act like this is a big conspiracy orchestrated by President Obama.  That's absolute nonsense.  "The Lorax" was published in 1971 - forty goddamn years ago!  And the message in that children's book is exactly the same as the message in the children's movie: we need to take care of our environment.  Allow me to expand on that for those of you who haven't read "The Lorax."


The meat of the book is the Once-ler telling a story to a little boy - essentially the reader - about how there used to be a large forest of Truffula Trees where now there is a desolate wasteland.  The Once-ler, a character of industry, chopped down a tree and used to foliage to knit a "Thneed" (an article of clothing).  After selling the Thneed, the Once-ler begins to chop down more and more of the Truffula Trees.  The Lorax appears to the Once-ler claiming that he is the voice of the trees, and that the Once-ler needs to stop what he is doing.


As the story continues along, the Once-ler's industry grows as his family comes along to help produce more Thneeds.  The pollution increases, and amount of trees decreases.  All the while the Lorax is warning the Once-ler of the damage he is doing.  Before long, there is nothing left.  The trees and animals are gone.  The sky can no longer be seen through the smog.  The Lorax disappears.  And the Once-ler is left alone in the ruins of his now useless factory.  


But the Lorax left the Once-ler with a parting gift - the last Truffula Tree seed.  The book ends with the Once-ler giving this seed to the young boy.  




I find "The Lorax" to be incredibly touching, and I take extreme issue with the fact that Fox News is picking this fight.  Indoctrinating our young?  To do what, exactly?  Take care of the fucking environment?  Use things in moderation?



Listen up, assholes.  Universal announced this project back in the Summer of 2009, long before the Occupy Wall Street movement, and long after the book was actually written.  It makes me so fucking angry that there are people as ignorant and misinformed as Lou Dobbs - a journalist, no less! - on this planet.

This isn't the first time Fox News has attacked fiction either.  Not only have they gone after Spongebob Squarepants for having an "agenda," but the Muppets too.  During a recent press release in which a reporter asked Kermit and Miss Piggy what they thought of the fiasco, the latter responded by saying, "It's almost as laughable as accusing Fox News as being, you know, news."  When Kermit told her that she was in "such deep water," Miss Piggy responded with, "Yeah, if they take what I say seriously, they got a real big problem."

Essentially, that is the problem.  To Fox News, Hollywood is an arm of the Liberal media, with each movie having a specific indoctrinating talking point.  No matter how outrageous and fictional the characters are, the pundits over at Fox will attack them as if they are real people.  Roger Ailes can and will turn anything on its head in order to push his narrative on Fox's viewership.

So before I wrap this up, I need to know something.  Am I crazy here?  Am I the only one that's absolutely pissed off about this?  Since when did protecting the one planet that we have become so unpopular for Republicans?  Sound off on the comments below.


6 comments:

Brendan Grant said...

O Fox News. O the stupid things you can think if only you try. While I agree that Fox News is always accusing children's movies as promoting "the liberal agenda"(which by the way is way better than the fear mongering the conservstives do) The Lorax has always been somewhat controversial. In fact, in your area, it was banned from some schools because of its anti lumbering views. Small children would hear the story in school and ask their lumber jack father why he killed animals.

A Sane Break said...

Oh, yes! The Lorax has had its controversies - and it's certainly not the only Dr. Seuss book with them. But this is 2012. The book is 40 years old. I mean... come on.

Anonymous said...

You are definitely not the only one.

feathers said...

I used t o think, "oh, it's only Fox." when I heard these insane slanted things. Then I discovered how many people actually watch AND BELIEVE Fox. Now it scares me.

oly bob said...

fox is not news, its propaganda. keep the people ignorant and ill informed and they are easyer to manipulate.

A Sane Break said...

To Feathers and Oly Bob...


I just finished reading this fantastic book called "The Fox Effect" by David Brock, Ari Rabin-Havt, and the rest of the crew at Media Matters. It is nothing short of fantastic. I highly recommend it.