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CASD 1717 – Fall 2024

What’s Next?

Read

Thomas, Ebony Elizabeth. “Is ‘Huck Finn’ Still Relevant? Revisiting ‘The Case for Conflict.’”

The English Journal 106, no. 2 (2016): 85–87. http://www.jstor.org/stable/26450215.

Get article at Brooklyn Library

If the direct login link doesn’t work- search the Brooklyn College Library directly.

What do you think?

Over this and the last module you’ve seen a few different approaches to ‘problematic’ literature:

What do you think of these various materials? Were you familiar with any of them in some form? Were there things to like about the different pieces that you read even though there were problems? Do you see nostalgia as playing a role in this? What do you think we should do with problematic art and culture?

Go back
Go on to the last vocal exercises

Comments

12 responses to “What’s Next?”

  1. Sofia Buttaro Avatar
    Sofia Buttaro

    The varied approaches to problematic literature reflect distinct tactics for balancing historical context with present values. The origins of stories like Doctor Dolittle and The Jungle Book have been mostly forgotten due to adaptations and changes. While banning or reclaiming stories like Little Black Sambo reflects more harsh steps, adding content warnings, like in Peter Pan, encourages discussion while protecting original works. Despite their shortcomings, many individuals have positive recollections of these works, therefore nostalgia is important. In order to ensure that problematic art is a tool for education and development, it should ultimately be contextualized and critically explored rather than removed.

    Reply
    1. Ariana Loyfman Avatar
      Ariana Loyfman

      I think you bring up a good point. Adaptations and changes of stories can lead to the original stories that are problematic to be in a way forgotten and instead replaced with similarly storylines and characters yet differ in the way that the problematic aspects are removed. This allows the basis of famous stories to remain alive and well-known while also blocking out the older and problematic versions of it. As the times change, there can always be more advanced adapted stories that allow two things to be true at once- legendary stories can remain legendary while also being refreshed and adapted to not include problematic language and factors.

      Reply
  2. Mahnoor Avatar
    Mahnoor

    I think that the varied efforts made to address the problematic past in children’s entertainment are a step in the right direction. They give the older audience an understanding of why things were wrong and needed to be changed. However, I think it’s important to use adaptations of different versions when presenting to kids because they are too young to understand the history and see the wrong in movies. This would prevent children from picking up on harmful stereotypes and perspectives while educating the older generations on why it’s wrong. Despite the stories having a problematic past, some things I enjoy about them are the plot and the themes they often teach. They were not only insightful but also interesting to see. This also ties in with the idea of nostalgia because that is a big connection for most people. making it hard for them to let go of things even if they may be troubling. Overall, I think that if we are able to make adaptations for problematic art and culture like Disney movies, we should prioritize that because it keeps the story around without spreading hate, but I also think it’s important to prioritize the original versions for older audiences through warnings and info slots so that they can understand why it’s wrong and why we need change. 

    Reply
  3. Amy Khait Avatar
    Amy Khait

    I think that the efforts that have been made to address the problematic content in children’s entertainment is definitely a good step in the right direction. I think educating people on past content that contain harmful stereotypes and racist views is very important. Different adaptations should be made for children. This would help children to not be influenced by problematic attitudes and behaviors, like those that have been shown in earlier versions. The same should be done for problematic art, like what is being done with Disney productions. I think nostalgia is a big thing for original Disney movies or classic productions. It may be harder especially for an older generation to let go of the version that they are so used to.

    Reply
  4. Victoria Lucenti Avatar
    Victoria Lucenti

    I was familiar with some of these various materials, such as Disney Plus adding a content warning, as well as The Jungle Book from the Disney film version and its problematic content from within. I think that overall, however, from the various listed materials I believe that these are only different approaches that have taken a starter step into fixing the real issues from behind each material. I think nostalgia does play a role in this because due to broad variations and adaptions of these materials, from books to animations, live shows, films, and etc, nostalgia plays a crucial role towards the audience and those behind the making of the adaptations/variations. They intertwine with one another, leading to so many continued versions and so forth. I think the same steps can be taken towards problematic art and culture, as seen from these various listed materials, and also by real world feedback and criticism of their attempts to address and acknowledge problematic content and issues from their origins. Their feedback and criticism can also play a major part with how others(filmmakers, authors, writers, etc.) can take further steps to improve and change.

    Reply
  5. Naurah Romulus Avatar
    Naurah Romulus

    I’ve seen some of these stories in movies, like The Jungle Book and Doctor Dolittle, but I didn’t know about their problematic history. Nostalgia definitely affects how we see these works because people remember loving them as children without understanding the issues. Instead of banning or erasing them, we should continue discussing why they were problematic. I don’t even think we should rewrite or change some aspects because they are a part of what was acceptable at the time, and we should always be able to learn from the past.

    Reply
  6. Kateryna Senkovych Avatar
    Kateryna Senkovych

    I am familiar with The Jungle Book, Doctor Dolittle, and Peter Pan but I never looked into them as movies that have real life problems depicted in them. I feel like nostalgia is a big part of why a lot of people watch these movies. They don’t see them as something that is seen as problematic, they just watch them because it could remind them of their childhood or they used to watch it when they were kids. I think we should learn from these movies and try our best to not repeat their mistakes.

    Reply
    1. Michelle Cortes Rodriguez Avatar
      Michelle Cortes Rodriguez

      Yes, I agree I never looked at the movies having real life problems. As we grow older and rewatch everything we see things we didn’t see before.

      Reply
  7. Tory Sen Avatar
    Tory Sen

    The steps Disney is taking to deal with problematic pasts in children’s entertainment are beneficial because they teach bigger audiences why things were wrong and needed to change. When showing to kids, though, different versions should be adapted because they are too young to understand the past and spot what’s wrong in movies. In addition to educating older individuals about the detrimental effects, this approach would prevent children from adopting damaging notions and prejudices. Disney has experienced difficulties in the past; nonetheless, its films possess profound narratives and concepts that evoke nostalgia, complicating the ability of older demographics to relinquish contentious adaptations.

    Reply
  8. Kaylee Pontone Avatar
    Kaylee Pontone

    I was familiar with all stories except Little Black Sambo. I think sometimes nostalgia can be a reason someone is blind to how offensive a movie is, but also I think that’s mostly an excuse because the offensiveness is not enough to turn them off from it. It doesn’t really matter how much you loved a movie as a kid–If it’s extremely offensive you should not be going around defending it and saying it’s just from a “different time”.

    Reply
  9. Amna Syeda Avatar
    Amna Syeda

    I’m familiar with the Disney versions of Peter Pan and Doctor Dolittle. Adapting these stories can help keep what people enjoy while addressing harmful aspects. Disney Plus’s content warnings are helpful, but they could include more context. Nostalgia plays a big role in how we view these works, but we should recognize both their harm and cultural value. Instead of ignoring or blindly celebrating them, we should have discussions and educate others about the issues in these stories.

    Reply
  10. Jaylyn Calles Avatar
    Jaylyn Calles

    What do you think of these various materials? Were you familiar with any of them in some form? Were there things to like about the different pieces that you read even though there were problems? Do you see nostalgia as playing a role in this? What do you think we should do with problematic art and culture?

    I think the effort being made for change is amazing. I was familiar with many of the films and stories. I was able to understand a little deeper behind the meaning of them because i watched all of these when i was younger. Nostalgia definitely plays a big part in these films and stories because i grew up watching these with my older brother it brings back memories. We should recognize the problem and fix them .

    Reply

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