Lord of the Rings Fan Club discussion
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If you haven't heard.. some schools are banning The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit
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...what? Kids see people smoke every day. I agree that smoking is bad. I really dislike it. And I can see why it might affect the way some people view it. But...really? They're going to see people smoke every day. Most of them probably have family members that smoke. Is it really going to affect them that badly?
Rebecca D wrote: "First thought? Glad I'm homeschooled. I don't have to worry about stuff like that. Although, if I was in school, it's not like I could not get it somewhere else to read.I agree with you Narnian..."
Agreed.
Porn is easily accessible on the internet, mortal violence occurs on the street all the time including at schools, drugs like heroin and ecstasy are easy to get, gangs inundate and recruit in many schools and they're worried about kids reading about the image of hobbits smoking? Good to know the important issues are being addressed.
How potty! If every book was banned that included a character who smoked quite a lot of works of genius would be gone.......Sherlock Holmes I presume is person non grata in these temples of stupidity. So if a student reads a banned book at home and comments on it or is inspired are they put in detention....?
1984 all over again.
I'm afraid if my child were in that school I would be moving them right out!
Banning books is the first step on the road to totalitarianism.
In Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, the Caterpillar, sat on top of a mushroom, is described as "quietly smoking a long hookah". In short, the Caterpillar is quite clearly a Victorian opium addict. So if schools are going to ban The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings because Gandalf, the hobbits, dwarves and men smoke tobacco from pipes, then, I am afraid to say, they should ban another literary classic, Alice's Adventures In Wonderland. Maybe they should also ban The Wind In The Willows by Kenneth Grahame, too, for the antics of Mr Toad in his motor car might encourage readers to be bad drivers and end up in a cell in a police station, like Mr Toad did. J.R.R. Tolkien described himself as being a hobbit, in all but size, one of his pleasures being smoking a pipe. When I first read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings when I was sixteen, they did not encourage me to smoke a pipe, which I thought at the time was something only old men in smart suits did, but they did reveal to me what magic words on a page can do, and led me on a path to discover the myths and literature of the North.
Philip wrote: "In Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, the Caterpillar, sat on top of a mushroom, is described as "quietly smoking a long hookah". In short, the Caterpillar is quite clearly a Victor..."Exactly!
People who make up these stupid rules clearly have no imagination and have probably never read any proper fiction in their lives.
Leady wrote: "But where is it happen?"This seems to be the origin of the thread....
According to a National Health Service anti-smoking group in Plymouth, England, children should be banned from watching films like Lord of the Rings because they feature people smoking. NHS Plymouth states that about 40% of school-age children have admitted smoking regularly and that research showed children were more likely to start smoking if they had been exposed to certain images, including people smoking on television and in films.
Russ Moody, from the Plymouth Stop Smoking Service, said, “This is not about being a busybody – this is about protecting young people from harm and the aim is not to stop children from watching otherwise “enjoyable films”, but to put pressure on film makers not to include any smoking scenes.”
Tweedledum wrote: "Philip wrote: "In Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, the Caterpillar, sat on top of a mushroom, is described as "quietly smoking a long hookah". In short, the Caterpillar is quite c..."I know, they probably don't have any imagination either!
Whoever the ignorant, uncultured moron who came up with that rule is, he needs to be fired without the chance of ever regaining a job educating children. All the garbage out there that kids my age read... And THAT is what they ban???? I would buy a bunch of copies just to distribute in the halls. plus, I always thought pipe smoking was classy. Bad for your lungs, but classy.
That is horrible!!! If anything the Lord of the Rings encourages loyalty, honor, respect, and sticking with your friends until the end. Also, this series is great for the imagination. In There and Back Again, Bilbo forgot his pipe!
Bookwarrior wrote: "That is horrible!!! If anything the Lord of the Rings encourages loyalty, honor, respect, and sticking with your friends until the end. Also, this series is great for the imagination. In There a..."It also has strong morals and meaning behind the words. Never give up, never give in no matter how tough it is. If this school wants to take these morals away from the students they will never have these principals. Even if there is some references to smoking, it's not worth taking these morals away from them
Abbie wrote: "Bookwarrior wrote: "That is horrible!!! If anything the Lord of the Rings encourages loyalty, honor, respect, and sticking with your friends until the end. Also, this series is great for the imag..."I agree!!!
wait seriously just because hobbits smoke, some schools ban lotr and the hobbit? how dumb is that??!!!!
I can't get over how dumb people are...there are WAY more important issues rather than some fictional characters smoking!!! Some kids' parents smoke, so...kinda dumb to ban the movies! If I HAD to ban them, it would be for violence...The Fellowship of the Ring:Epic battle sequences and some scary images. The Two Towers:Epic battle sequences and scary images. The Return of the King:Intense epic battle sequences and frightening images. All rated PG-13.
This is so bloody stupid! Banning a movie or a book because a character in it smokes! Ludicrous
Why????? The Lord of the Rings is such a good lesson on courage, and hope, and trust. They should be using it to teach kids!
This is so stupid, are they going to ban Shakespeare's work next because of violence?
If they ban Tolkien's works, they may as well ban almost every other few books that kids read in school too!
WHAAAAAAAAA!?!?!?! That's it. I'm done with school. Who wants to join me and come to Middle Earth?
Simply outrageous. That is really dumb.
I'm surprised the book wasn't banned because it had some Christian views and themes.
Eventually they will cancel Tolkien the same way they did Dr. Seuss
Gildie wrote: "WHAAAAAAAAA!?!?!?! That's it. I'm done with school. Who wants to join me and come to Middle Earth?"I would love to go to Middle Earth!!!
I think that's just so stupid. It's great literacy that soon people won't be able to read any more.
Thoughts?