Banned Books Week September 25–October 2, 2004
1,607 were challenges to “sexually explicit” material (up 161 since 1999);
1,427 to material considered to use “offensive language”; (up 165 since 1999)
1,256 to material considered “unsuited to age group”; (up 89 since 1999)
842 to material with an “occult theme or promoting the occult or Satanism,”; (up 69 since 1999)
737 to material considered to be “violent”; (up 107 since 1999)
515 to material with a homosexual theme or “promoting homosexuality,” (up 18 since 1999)and
419 to material “promoting a religious viewpoint.” (up 22 since 1999)
Other reasons for challenges included “nudity” (317 challenges, up 20 since 1999), “racism” (267 challenges, up 22 since 1999), “sex education” (224 challenges, up 7 since 1999), and “anti-family” (202 challenges, up 9 since 1999).
to me, this week is a very important week, not due to the fact that i work in a library, but due to the fact that i enjoy reading. take a look at [URL=http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwlinks/100mostfrequently.htm]the list[/URL], you'll be shocked to learn many of the novels and authors american literary society is famous for Steinbeck, Sendak, Silverstein, Twain, Toni Morrison, Cooney, Salinger, Lowry, Hinton, Zindel, L'Engle, Walter Dean Myers, Stephen King, Blume, Dahl, Brett Easton Ellis, Vonnegut, Golding and so many many more are featured as being challanged or banned. this week to me, demonstrates the struggle against censorship, and the ability to pen out your own personal opinion, making it available to the public.
This year, at work, I'm taking a display case and I'm going to make a display of all of the books that have been banned/challanged from the 100 list. I'm fairly proud to say i've been able to find a copy of all of them but a mere two. The Anarchist Cookbook, because they have all been "lost" (aka stolen) and "Sex" by madonna because of the same reason. I'll post pictures of the display when it's finished.
talk about this week, it's books, or whatever. i'll answer questions about why they were banned/challanged and history on the week. it's a pretty big deal, at least it is to me...
oooh, and if cultists from other countries have lists of their country's banned/challanged books, i'd be pretty interested in seeing those as well.
[QUOTE=Manic Oppressive]56. [I]James and the Giant Peach[/I] Roald Dahl - I honestly cannot fathom why this would be offensive or raise any suspicion whatsoever.[/QUOTE]yeah, no shit. i can't imagine there is any good explanation for that. it is a childrens book. my fucking super-christian parent, the same ones who made me turn the TV screen colors down so the screen was black when Madonna video's came on so i could only hear the audio, they [I]encouraged [/I] me to read James and the Giant Peach.
WTF?
It probably has something to do with the magic beans(?) James uses to make the peach big and his talking bug friends. It promotes the occult. Same as Harry Potter.
You will never be famous.
[QUOTE=angusbeef123]It probably has something to do with the magic beans(?) James uses to make the peach big and his talking bug friends. It promotes the occult. Same as Harry Potter.[/QUOTE]
If so, the list is fucking biased against Germans or whatever Roald Dahl was from, cuz I don't see no Jack and the Giant Beanstalk on that list.
[COLOR=White]In the end, we all get lobotomies. - K[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Red]Now I'm all alone. Kept the pain inside.
Wanna torch the world, cuz I'm breathing fire.[/COLOR]
this list is books banned by libraries or schools based on what their public mandates. i can honestly say that in any average city/town this does not happen. of course that doesn't stop radicals from attempting to control the flow of creative thought...
[QUOTE=Manic Oppressive]88. [I]Where's Waldo?[/I] Martin Hanford - This isn't what I think it is, is it?
yes, it's the searching for some weird looking fellow named waldo series. the reason for this one is because there was a complaint that some of the charactures drawn in it were "sexual explicit", actually it was complaints based on nudity "purportedly a topless sunbather".
[QUOTE=Manic Oppressive]70. [I]Lord of the Flies[/I] William Golding - I would imagine that this book would be responsible for making young kids, especially boys, [I]want[/I] to read more. It's got such an appeal to that age group.
we can all take a quick guess why this one was. "Violence, offensive language, racist"
remember this list is from 1990 to 2000 - "Sexual themes, immorality - sexually offensive and amoral." pretty ridiculous to try to ban a book based on morals, but that doesn't stop people from trying...
heh, this one is subtle, and very surprising. "Language, drugs, inappropriate for age" the book contains the word "ass" and "promotes" the use of drugs "tobacco, snuff and whiskey" and of course "the story encourages children to disobey their parents and other adults." this is the kidn of stuff you would have expected from the 1920's or earlier, when people thought that society should control access to what their kids see, instead of parents assuming that role.
this one is very obvious 'Violence, offensive language - Virtually all the characters are from broken homes." see my above comment on the 1920's...
this one is for the whole damn series. while i don't think they're that interesting, they actually do a pretty good job of bridging the gap in "Tween/teen" literature from "Scary, but not really" for kids to the adult horror genre. and come to think of it, Stein is from somewhere around columbus ohio... reason cited "violence" and complaints of it's scariness factors on kids...
yea, i can see why books like american psycho might be a bit much for some ages, but it's not the policy or expectancy of government/libraries/schools to restrict any access to literature. so celebrate banned books week, i've heard talk of buying these books en masse and passing them out, or putting up signs. i say just poke at the riculousness of it in general...
[QUOTE=trypdwyre]yes, it's the searching for some weird looking fellow named waldo series. the reason for this one is because there was a complaint that some of the charactures drawn in it were "sexual explicit", actually it was complaints based on nudity "purportedly a topless sunbather".
[/QUOTE]
know what's fucking sad? i remember that picture not for any perverse reason, but i remember looking for Waldo and finding boobies instead. some cartoon chick on a beach and i think a dude was grabbing her bikini top as she lay sunbathing.
but, jesus, how many books were there with how many searches to be done? all this would do is make the kids, boys of course, look even harder.
first boy: "i found Waldo!"
second boy: "i found cartoon boobies!"
forty other boys: "let me see!"
[QUOTE=izen]know what's fucking sad? i remember that picture not for any perverse reason, but i remember looking for Waldo and finding boobies instead. some cartoon chick on a beach and i think a dude was grabbing her bikini top as she lay sunbathing.
but, jesus, how many books were there with how many searches to be done? all this would do is make the kids, boys of course, look even harder.
first boy: "i found Waldo!"
second boy: "i found cartoon boobies!"
forty other boys: "let me see!"[/QUOTE]
i know that, you know that, the author knows that, and those boys know that, but hey, didn't stop their quasi-puritanical parents/teachers/otherpeopleingeneral from complaining about it.
some of my favorite reasons, other than the ones above:
[B]"[U]Mommy Laid An Egg" [/U] - Two kids explain to their parents where babies come from, using their own drawings. Designed for ages 5-8. "Sexual themes"
In 1998, the book was moved out of the children's section of the Camden County, Missouri library because it explains the process from conception to delivery. [/B] so what, kids are supposed to learn about pregnancy and childbirth without actually knowing what goes on. i know, we'll revert back to the "stork" theory.
[b][u]Where Did I Come From?[/u]
Plot Summary: A broadly humorous approach to sex and puberty, using comic illustrations. Complaints: Sexual themes
Challenged at the Washoe County Library System in Reno, Nev. (1994) because "Nobody in their right mind would give a book like that to children on their own, except a library."[/b] this happening in reno? i mean, come on, let's live in one of the biggest cities of sin, and complain about a book on childbirth. damn that library for giving out information!
[B][U]A Light In The Attic[/U]
AUTHOR: Shel Silverstein
Plot Summary: A collection of humorous poems and drawings for kids.
Complaints: Violence, unsuited to age
Challenged at the Fruitland Park Elementary School library in Lake County, Fla. (1993) because the book "promotes disrespect, horror, and violence." According to the publisher, it's been challenged because it "encourages children to break dishes so they won't have to dry them."[/B] i know this book like the back of my hand, used to be one of my favorites growing up, Shel's poems are hilarious. yes, the dishes story is the only one that i can remember that addresses any sort of "violence". sad really, Shel's poems are amazing.
and probably one of the worst ones...
[b][U]Halloween ABC[/U]
Plot Summary: Silly Halloween poems and art help teach kindergarteners the alphabet.
Complaints: Promotes Satanism - Halloween is of pagan origin and the book is "evil." "there should be an effort to tone down Halloween..." "satanic and disgusting." "appears to be a chant calling forth the Devil."[/b] before you get out the pitchforks against this "evil" holiday, remember these are complaints from people who think that "'Trick or treat' is a code phrase for 'Worship Lucifer!'" (last quote taken from [url]http://solnar.com[/url])
really this whole list is fairly inane, but sadly it is real.
[QUOTE=angusbeef123]It probably has something to do with the magic beans(?) James uses to make the peach big and his talking bug friends. It promotes the occult. Same as Harry Potter.[/QUOTE]
I think it has more to do with the hallucinogenic influences the author might have been under or alluding to.
I was here. Then I wasn't. Then I was again.
[QUOTE=Parkaboy]I think it has more to do with the hallucinogenic influences the author might have been under or alluding to.[/QUOTE]
OR
...
"Language, drugs, inappropriate for age" the book contains the word "ass" and "promotes" the use of drugs "tobacco, snuff and whiskey" and of course "the story encourages children to disobey their parents and other adults."
...
like i said above.
Challenged at the Pederson Elementary School in Altoona, Wis. (1991)
Morton Elementary School library in Brooksville, Fla. (1992)
Removed from classrooms in Stafford County, Va. Schools (1995)
Restricted access in the Stafford County, Va Library
you can thank these communities for the above reasons.
.JPE "owenwarland's picture")
It's sad that in an "open society" that some backwater radicals can take a book-- a representation of knowledge and learning-- and say it can be harmful. I suppose I'm saying nothing original, but banning and burning books only promotes ignorance. This whole deal just gets me heated...
[QUOTE=owenwarland]It's sad that in an "open society" that some backwater radicals can take a book-- a representation of knowledge and learning-- and say it can be harmful. I suppose I'm saying nothing original, but banning and burning books only promotes ignorance. This whole deal just gets me heated...[/QUOTE]
democracy is the bloodied two-edged sword. on one hand these people have every right to voice their opinion on literature, or anything else in general. i'm not saying they're wrong to speak up in their community to protect their children, in fact i don't hold a grudge against the people in general, except for being ignorant. i hold a grudge against the schools and the libraries that folded, caved under the pressure of their community to restrict access, or remove access altogether, to these pieces, or any pieces of literature.
i still can't track down any copies od "Sex" by madonna or "The Anarchist Cookbook" anywhere in any library in this state that i can have sent to my library. the only copies of the AC i can find that aren't "lost" are reference copies, meaning they knew better than to let all of their copies be checked out. might as well go out and by them for myself, really, i doubt i'll be able to track them down any other way, and i'll have 2 nice new books in my personal collection when this is all over that would be a nice addition, based on their status alone at least.
How appropriate that "Brave New World" is on here....
The Chocolate War was on here too. I read this book in high school and reread it recently. This book is still great. Read it.
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/Lazlosdead/completeLazloSig.jpg[/IMG]
who the fuck are these people? 'how to eat fried worms'?!? that was practically required reading when i was in school.
i'm surprised there aren't any dr. suess books in there.
[QUOTE=big S]who the fuck are these people? 'how to eat fried worms'?!? that was practically required reading when i was in school.
i'm surprised there aren't any dr. suess books in there.[/QUOTE]
The Goosebumps are coming to get us! Oh my!!!!
i love this stuff. i like to peruse the list and laugh...right after i finish watching The 700 Club....
yeah! The Adventures of Huck Finn (#5) is soooooo much more disturbing, immoral, racist, disgusting, etc. than American Psycho (#59)
i also rember many of these books being required reading in school. and i enjoyed them.
Apparently none of the right-wing christian fundamentalists read [I]Choke[/I]....
choke was published in 2001, so it would be impossible for it to be on the list of most frequently challanged/banned books from 1990 to 2000. you have to remember that most of these are challanged/banned from schools that used these books as required reading. that's what brought the parent's attention to these particular books, and is why you don't see a lot of mainstream books that are much worse. that's why you see many newberry award winners on the list, as well as other awards winners.
huck finn was higher on the list because it was around to be challenged for a longer period of time. that's why there are more votes against it. American Psycho was published in 1991, Huck Finn was published in 1851, giving it nearly 90 years more to gain points for unpopularity.
newberry award = most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.
the display is coming along, i've got 33 of the books here, 38 are on the way, and the other 29 should be here within the week.
For, say, Catcher in the Rye I can see some reasons why people wouldn't want to take a chance, knowing what happened with people like Mark David Chapman and John Hinckley (although personally I think the book isn't as extreme as it's made out to be), but for those other books... Slaughterhouse Five? American Psycho? [i]The Handmaid's Tale[/i]!?!?!? Come on... vaccinations hurt, drugs have side effects, the real world is worse than the matrix, but the benefits outweigh whatever adverse effects that book might have.
[QUOTE=trypdwyre]
i still can't track down any copies od "Sex" by madonna or "The Anarchist Cookbook" anywhere in any library in this state that i can have sent to my library. the only copies of the AC i can find that aren't "lost" are reference copies, meaning they knew better than to let all of their copies be checked out. might as well go out and by them for myself, really, i doubt i'll be able to track them down any other way, and i'll have 2 nice new books in my personal collection when this is all over that would be a nice addition, based on their status alone at least.[/QUOTE]
You do know that you can get the AC on the internet, right?
Claudius : What about my father, who was your son? And Germanicus, who was my brother? Did you poison them?
Livia : No. Your father dies of his wounds, and Placina poisoned Germanicus with out instructions from me. But I had marked them both down for death. They were both infected with that infantile disorder known as 'Republicanism.'
2. Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
11. Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
Hahah these are actual books?! Thats so awesome!
[I]Everybody Poops[/I] isn't on there...
[URL=http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y4/tragicfolly/Picture1039.jpg]There is still love in the MidWest.[/URL]
[B]You God damn better believe.[/B]
I think them Nazi guys were onto something with all that book-burning hullabaloo.
[QUOTE=alex cassun]I think them Nazi guys were onto something with all that book-burning hullabaloo.[/QUOTE]
Interesting you say this b/c Mein Kampf [i]isn't[/i] on here...
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/Lazlosdead/completeLazloSig.jpg[/IMG]
[QUOTE=Nith Sahor]...
You do know that you can get the AC on the internet, right?[/QUOTE]
if you mean i can purchase a copy, yes i know that. but see, i'm cheap when it comes to my job. i don't care to buy anything for the job that i don't need to. if you mean i can get an online version, well, only in theory. most copies of these files are not the original version, but homebrewed versions. it's very very tough to find the actual true copy. besides, it's for display, i want the book in my hands, not my floppy.
interesting indeed, i'm checking on why it's not. gear up for a good reason, i hope.
[QUOTE=Lazlosdead]Interesting you say this b/c Mein Kampf [i]isn't[/i] on here...[/QUOTE]
so i checked up on it, and couldn't find a reason. it was on the list in 2001 (possibly even earlier), 2002, and 2003. it's possible it just fell off the list due to a new upsurgance of challenging/banning.
Supreme Court Justice William Brennan - Texas v. Johnson:
“If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the Government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable.”
Banned Books Week began just this past saturday, I unveiled my display, was told it's a good disply by many patrons and even some of my superiors.
it seems even Baer was caught up in this event indirectly. check out Dennis' thread here: [url]http://www.chuckpalahniuk.net/community/showthread.php?t=16381[/url]
When I worked in a library we also did a banned book display yearly...
You mentioned Mein Kampf.... that had to be the most stolen book from our library. We always felt we should just say goodbye to it when it walked out the door... assuming the person even bothered to come check it out... instead of just smuggling it out the door and somehow not setting off the alarms..
Another one that was challenged while I was there .... which made all us workers laugh was "King Bidgood's in the Bathtub"
The person thought it was just innapropriate for children to see the pics of all the people in the bathtub....
One things for sure in this world..... idiots will always exist.
88. [I]Where's Waldo?[/I] Martin Hanford - This isn't what I think it is, is it?
70. [I]Lord of the Flies[/I] William Golding - I would imagine that this book would be responsible for making young kids, especially boys, [I]want[/I] to read more. It's got such an appeal to that age group.
62. [I]Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret[/I] Judy Blume - Isn't this book like 20 years old? They're seriously still challenging it?
56. [I]James and the Giant Peach[/I] Roald Dahl - I honestly cannot fathom why this would be offensive or raise any suspicion whatsoever.
43. [I]The Outsiders[/I] S.E. Hinton - This is a great book. Maybe a little violent in some parts, but nothing that the average teenager hasen't seen in a movie or on basic television by the time they're 10.
16. [I]Goosebumps[/I] R.L. Stein - This is the one that really convinced me that the people who oppose these books are really, truely idiots. These books are what got me and millions of kids away from video games and television and started us reading for gods sake.
I'm pretty strongly against censorship, although I can understand why certain books (american Psycho) might be a little harsh for 9th graders, but the overwhelming majority of this list is complete bullshit.
[COLOR=White]In the end, we all get lobotomies. - K[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Red]Now I'm all alone. Kept the pain inside.
Wanna torch the world, cuz I'm breathing fire.[/COLOR]