In light of recent events ‘over here’ on U.S. soil, here is a fun story….
Denmark’s children’s TV show, “John Dillermand,” is an animated program like no other. The main character sports a massive, tendril-like penis that saves children from danger, grabs objects, and even pokes so far out that John can bounce on it like a pogo stick. From taking pets out for a walk using his striped thin dick as a leash to having it wrap him up to float mid-air with a bunch of balloons, across the thirteen episodes (which can be seen here) Dillermand’s huge and super flexible genitalia( mmm, “flexible genitalia” one of my more favorite punk bands) get him in and out of a whole bunch of adventures.
Of course, as you’d expect, as many people enjoy the light-hearted zaniness as took umbrage over ‘big’ John’s exploits. Danish politician Morten Messerschmidt, a member of the right-wing Danish People’s Party, came out against, and a bunch of parents took to the Facebook page of Denmark’s oldest network, DR, where the show airs, demanding John’s swift removal.
Like the BBC or PBS, the DR network is funded by taxpayers.
There is a fine line between satire and bad taste (which is a subjective call at best). And certainly, we all need to be ever aware of what we subject children to, even with seemingly well-intentioned humor. But as most reasoned people do, first I listen to, watch; try and experience the thing in question. Then I take a breath, rewind if I am of a mind, and reach my conclusions, if indeed there are any to reach (and you’ll notice, time and again, the most vociferous critics of a thing hardly ever actually sit down to watch or listen to the thing they are criticizing).
In most cases, when it comes to that which we think we are protecting our kids from, the children usually get the joke as intended, enjoy it, and move on. Time and again, we have seen this happen in those shows that someone deems dangerous because maybe they worry about Bert and Ernie living together as they do promoting homosexuality or all the drug use in Alice in Wonderland (“feed you head”) imparting a message so positively our little ones are sure to go out and find a hookah.
A man with a long snake-like penis that picks up objects or gets him entwined in a bunch of balloons is certainly unusual, but worthy of attack? I think we should let our children lead on this one.
Comments