If you are anything like me, you have not only seen the new muppet movie, but you have practically memorized the soundtrack (OK, very few of you are anything like me.) The movie has been praised almost across the board as a glorious return of an old favorite. Why is it then, that Fox News feels you shouldn’t see this movie? Because, of course, it is leftist propaganda being made to brainwash our kids. Of course.
I find this to be incredibly ridiculous. Their claim is that the movie negatively characterizes oil barons and teaches our kids that hard work should not be paid off. For one thing, the movie in no way says its wrong to dig for oil. It does however say it is bad to lie, cheat, and steal to dig for oil, just as it would be wrong to lie, cheat, and steal to save the dolphins. The only reason he is an oil baron is because the story required a reason for someone to want a piece of land. Secondly, no one criticizes Tex Richman, the villain of the film, for being rich and working hard. They criticize him for being evil. Theres a difference. Furthermore, the Muppets themselves are shown working incredibly hard to try and save their show, though they only succeed due to a change of heart by Tex Richman. If anything, this movie shows how you can work as hard as you can, and still be subject to the whims of the rich.
Fox continues to criticize shows like Captain Planet and Nickelodeons Big Green Help movement for similarly brainwashing the youth of today into trying to help keep the world clean and safe. It is so absurd that I almost felt like I was watching a clip from the Colbert Report. Whatever the case is, I can’t wait to see what Fox has to say about the Lorax movie coming out in March. If there is any children’s entertainment figure more green than the Lorax, I don’t know what it is.
The video you posted was so absurd I couldn’t tell if I wanted to stop it and walk away from my computer and cry or just laugh. Without talking about the absurdity of the debate I witnessed, the idea that a movie can be used for propaganda is not so strange. Art has been used time and time again to send some sort of message, whether it’s political, social or any other message to the public. Art was and is being used as a medium for propaganda. We have seen it used during World War II when posters of Rosie the Riveter was used to encourage women to aid the U.S. war effort by taking men’s jobs at factories. Rosie was used again for the feminist social movement to prove that women are just as useful as men in the work force. Even in imperial times, Emperors used art for propaganda. Portrait sculptures of Roman emperors were often used for propaganda purposes and included ideological messages usually to convince the people of the divine mandate of the Emperor. It is not so far off then that Fox could consider accusing the Muppets of being a tool for the “leftist liberal agenda”. To say that the movie was made to brainwash the children that capital america and the big business man are evil might be taking it to far. The movie itself, like Joseph said, shows the change in heart of the oil tycoon; making the business man not seem as bad as the way Fox news interprets the movie. I think Fox has to learn when to learn to draw the law and sit back, relax, eat a bucket of popcorn, and enjoy the movie.