The Isle of Sodor is a Randian nightmare

[jethrien]

Thomas the Tank Engine is everywhere for toddlers. ARR has Thomas diapers (because they were the ones on Subscribe and Save), Thomas toys from garage sales, a Thomas book from the book fair, etc. So I figured maybe we should actually watch a little Thomas and Friends.

For starters, the ultimate goal of Thomas and his friends is to be a Really Useful Engine. (Yes, it is capitalized.) Everyone kowtows to Sir Topham Hatt, the fat, wealthy owner of the railroad. Wince.

But it gets worse. Thomas and his friends are awful to each other. Everything they say to each other is teasing in a spiteful way. In the first episode, Thomas is snotty so one of the bigger engines tricks him into getting hitched to the back of the train and dragged faster than he can roll all day before finally being set loose miles from home to exhausted chug back to the station. In the next episode, another train hides under the bridge because he's vain and doesn't want to get his shiny paint wet in the rain. So they brick him up in there, Cask-of-Amontillado-style, and leave him there forever. This includes ignoring his pleas that he'll come out, and dwelling, gloatiningly, on how lonely he is now. No hint that anyone will ever forgive him or let him out. They have a picture of him sitting in the track, just his eyes peeking out mournfully over the wall, as other trains go back and forth on the next track over. And then black.

We did not watch a third episode.

Comments

[caranille.livejournal.com]

Sounds like you didn't even get to the point where you noticed there are almost no female characters. I read one of the books at a friend's house and as I recall, it involved Thomas traveling to a magical railway and meeting a pink/purple engine named Lady or Princess or something like that. I've blocked out most of the details.

[jethrien.livejournal.com]

Oh, I noticed that, but sadly, I'm used to it. Most shows for either boys or mixed gender groups feature one or two girls at best. You're only allowed to have more than two women in a show if it's explicitly aimed at girls. If there's any chance a boy might accidentally see it, it's best to make sure there's only one girl.

:(

[moonlightalice.livejournal.com]

Wow. I guess the days of George Carlin are way, way behind them. At least Reading Rainbow is back!

[momerath4.livejournal.com]

Yikes. That's good to know. I think T has watched a couple random episodes on TV while at my parents' house, and I gave him the first episode to watch on our most recent trans-continental flight, but I have to admit I wasn't really paying attention to the content. He adores the toys and we have a ton of them (mostly gifts from relatives, because jeez they are expensive), but I don't think I will be downloading any more episodes of the show.

[jethrien.livejournal.com]

Maybe there are episodes that are ok? These two really weren't, though. They kind of reminded me of the worst of British public education. (In the sense of the "public" school, where everyone gets mercilessly bullied and sometimes caned.)

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure I've read a Buzzfeed article to this effect.

[mithras03.livejournal.com]

Yeah - it's also hella-imperialist:
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2011/07/thomas_the_imperialist_tank_engine.html

[jethrien.livejournal.com]

Wow. Yeah, that's special.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Well, won't be revisiting that series any time soon...

[jethrien.livejournal.com]

Apparently it's run for decades, so maybe I just picked a bad batch?

[bigscary.livejournal.com]

No, that about sums it up.