I'm sick of doomer posts and I want to laugh at hidden weird reactionary sentiments in children's books.

  • extremesatanism [they/them]
    hexagon
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    2 years ago

    because the rich kids all are impatient and entitled and that leads to their downfall or reversal of fortune.

    but this is the issue, they're kids. I understand we all hate rich people but punishing kids is specifically what I take issue with. Killing them or even using them to some ends is twisted, yes, but strange and unusual punishment on children of all people is just objectively all kinds of fucked up. Say what you want about the Tzar family but Lenin didn't torture any of them.

    Obviously it's just a silly children's book but it's also pretty obviously fucked up and an indictment of society's inclination to punishing those who haven't had much time at all to learn what's correct.

    • DrHorrible [they/them]
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      2 years ago

      It's a children's book, The main character is a child, it makes sense to me that the flawed characters in the story are spoiled children. It's less of a "torture children for fun" and more of a "their flaws brought their own demise upon them". Its supposed to teach the reader (child) those same basic moral lessons. If I remember the story correctly I thought all of the children ended up okay. They had a bad experience but came out okay.

      Its not about punishing people unfairly. Thats how kids learn things in generally. Thats how people learn in general. As a kid, you fuck up and end up facing the consequences of said fuck up, hopefully learning that your behavior before was wrong/stupid and shouldn't be done again. Everyone learns through experience, and without proper guidance you will often learn the hard way.

      • extremesatanism [they/them]
        hexagon
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        2 years ago

        Of course the moral is good when taken at face value and it's altogether quite innocent, I'm just saying that it comes across odd to adults, which is just a funny thing, or freaks the fuck out of children who have trouble with anxiety, which is bad but TBF not really the fault of the author who doesn't have anxiety and doesn't know that mindset.

    • infuziSporg [e/em/eir]
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      2 years ago

      Who are kids going to identify with and learn from better as moral lessons? Adults, or children closer to their own age?

      I'm pretty certain no children were harmed in the writing of the book. And I don't think it's meant for the age range of kids who have learned how to think along the lines that you're doing.

      • extremesatanism [they/them]
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        2 years ago

        I'm not sure why people are being so defensive, I'm just saying the plot of a children's book with a normal and average plot that is of course common in other books is just kinda fucked up if you think about it too hard. Obviously it works for what it's trying to say but

        And I don’t think it’s meant for the age range of kids who have learned how to think along the lines that you’re doing.

        Haha, It appears you did not live most of your life with chronic anxiety! Good for you

        • infuziSporg [e/em/eir]
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          2 years ago

          A lot of things that look simple on the surface are fucked up if you analyze them further.

          Haha, It appears you did not live most of your life with chronic anxiety! Good for you

          Oh are we diagnosing/categorizing/outgrouping people based on their responses to children's literature now? Flawless.

          • extremesatanism [they/them]
            hexagon
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            2 years ago

            A lot of things that look simple on the surface are fucked up if you analyze them further.

            Yeah I don't really know what you're getting at this is just supposed to be a funny thread with maybe some slight criticism of our society's views on morality.

            Oh are we diagnosing/categorizing/outgrouping people based on their responses to children’s literature now? Flawless.

            Of course you could have anxiety and not overthink it, but I sure as hell overthunk it as a kid with anxiety. I was just saying it wasn't a universal experience not to overthink things. I'm sorry I communicated that in a bad way that was deeply insensitive and wrong.

            • infuziSporg [e/em/eir]
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              2 years ago

              My first reply was going to say "no, it's entirely a story about liberation" but you got me to think about it more and how it kinda runs with a bunch of black-and-white Dickensian tropes.

              Did you read The Twits as a kid? It's not as well-known but it is definitely an example of Roald Dahl writing some fucked-up stuff, like a step-by-step description of how to gaslight your spouse.

              • extremesatanism [they/them]
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                2 years ago

                My first reply was going to say “no, it’s entirely a story about liberation” but you got me to think about it more and how it kinda runs with a bunch of black-and-white Dickensian tropes.

                yeah, the message of the movie is pretty much objectively good just like Dicken's novels but if you decide to apply an analytical cultural cross-section of it for... Some reason, it comes across as weird. But I know that most people don't do that because doing that is also weird, but I was a weird ass kid. Sorry again for being a sarcastic shit

                Did you read The Twits as a kid? It’s not as well-known but it is definitely an example of Roald Dahl writing some fucked-up stuff, like a step-by-step description of how to gaslight your spouse.

                No and now I am afraid yet want to know more

                • infuziSporg [e/em/eir]
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                  2 years ago

                  Different people react differently to the same things. For instance, as a kid I got all concerned about stuff in Winnie The Pooh, but not in CATCF.

                  Mr. Twit does a thing to Mrs. Twit where he tries to play on her fear of shrinking, so he slowly makes table and chair legs longer until they're much bigger in proportion to her. And a bunch of other stuff, there's large amounts of animal cruelty in there too.

                  • extremesatanism [they/them]
                    hexagon
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                    2 years ago

                    For instance, as a kid I got all concerned about stuff in Winnie The Pooh, but not in CATCF.

                    Makes sense, I think I freaked out about Winnie the Pooh at least once too

                    Mr. Twit does a thing to Mrs. Twit where he tries to play on her fear of shrinking, so he slowly makes table and chair legs longer until they’re much bigger in proportion to her. And a bunch of other stuff, there’s large amounts of animal cruelty in there too.

                    What the actual fuck