By now, most people have probably heard about Farfur, the fundamentalist Islamic Mickey Mouse-like character who promotes violence and hatred on the Hamas-affiliated Al Aqsa TV network. But have you seen him? In any case, this is both a complicated story and a simple one. It's simple because it's wrong. Indoctrinating children is hard to justify, particularly when that indoctrination involves, say, violence and hatred. But it's a complicated story, partly because Farfur was pulled off the air for review, and partly because he's just part of a long tradition of this kind of thing. There are also, just for the purposes of argument, plenty of examples of pro-American propaganda through the years that use children's entertainment as a vehicle. There are racist Bugs Bunny cartoons that reinforced negative stereotypes about African-Americans, Japanese, and Germans, and there's even a famous Disney propaganda cartoon in which Donald Duck plays a Nazi munitions worker (and says "Heil Hitler" all over the place). Is it always reprehensible? Is it effective? Might this kind of thing backfire? Are there any gray areas when it comes to teaching children to hate--or, at least, hatefully express their national/religious identity?
[Ben Greenman's acclaimed new book of fiction, A Circle is a Balloon And Compass Both: Stories About Human Love, is now available at bookstores.]
Reader Comments ( Page 2 of 14)
16. This is very disturbing; that children are being used as pawns in a political game between Israel and the Palestinians -- shame on the Palestinians for allowing their children to be used like that!
Michael at 6:09AM on May 11th 2007
17. If this seems like a violent message to you and me, for them is a way of life. You cannot ignore the fact that they face violence in a daily basis and most "industrial" countries are just watching and bending the truth about Israel. How would you feel if someone took your home and your belonging and kill your family members? Wouldn't you want to defeat them?
Jewless at 2:04PM on May 9th 2007
18. The Democratic party will now have an animated moron , that looks like goofy to get their message out to America.
geo... at 2:07PM on May 9th 2007
19. I don't know if you can really compare the WWII propaganda cartoons to this. In the '40s cartoons weren't strictly a childrens thing. The propaganda films were directed more at adults, and made for the sake of entertaining the soldiers. As far as I know, they really weren't even shown on TV, but in theaters during news reels.
And forgive me if anything I'm stating isn't accurate, I wasn't around then (I'm 20) I've just done a lot of research on propaganda in animation.
Christina at 2:08PM on May 9th 2007
20. Oh my god, deliver us from this evil.
GC at 2:09PM on May 9th 2007
21. This video saddens me. I feel that it is a shame that a nation would spend so much time hating. They remind me of the way the US used to and sometimes still does treat the minorities in this country. How dare we say it is a shame for one country but cannot see the faults and wrong doings of our own against our own people in our media!!!
HEAVENLY62 at 2:09PM on May 9th 2007
22. While i disagree with indoctrinating children into a "war" that they have no business being in, the Palestinian people do have a voice. It may not be the most comforting one, but it is their right to believe what they want. Not one person commenting on this lives there and experiences what they do. Zionism is just as incorrect as Islam, yet U.S. support for Israel lets their injustices go unseen.
Before spewing blind patriotism or xenophobic rhetoric, think about what you are saying what you ACTUALLY know.
XbrianX at 2:11PM on May 9th 2007
23. i belive that people can pray to any god of their choise,but when children are tought from an early age to hate in the name of any god may he be allah or buddah its time for intervention using any cause or means nesessary to free the future generation of evil.And the ones responsible for these actions be brought to an end of their choise. Anthony
anthony at 2:17PM on May 9th 2007
24. As a Muslim, I am disturbed to see such a video. I am shocked, for god sake children shouldn't be watching something like that. It's horribly.. im completely disgusted.
anonymous at 7:45PM on May 9th 2007
25. We sit here on the "eve of destruction" while our conservative government sleeps in bed with the religious right diverting our attention to abortion and homosexuality. This war on terror isn't going to be won on a battlefield where for every person killed, 10 more islamic terrorists are born. Solution: SEND THE CHRISTIAN PREACHERS BACK TO THEIR CHURCHES TO PREACH RELIGION NOT POLITICS OR SHUT THEM OFF OF THEIR TAX EXEMPTIONS. GET OUT OF IRAQ. MAKE ISRAEL WITHDRAW FROM PALISTINE. IF THIS ISN'T ENOUGH FOR THE PALISTINIANS AND THE ISLAMISTS CONTINUE THIS "JIHAD", THEN NUKE THEM MERCILESSLY INTO SUBMISSION. PERIOD!
JOHN R HABIB, M.D. at 2:32PM on May 9th 2007
26. Watching more and more on "terrorism", it's sad to see that it is the innocent dying for the "terrorists" to prove a point to a government who won't listen to their own people. When will we as citizens with the right to overthrow the government do just that? How many more loved one's do we have to lose for the sake of the government and their foolish rampages? It's truly sad.
dlhgirl02 at 2:20PM on May 9th 2007
27. You all act af if you are not acting the same with your comments and discriminative programming, we are all just as guilty, but instead you dont see that, you see muslims, and think "oh, they must be terror plottings phychos"
Nolimit1211 at 9:01PM on May 9th 2007
28. We better wake up and smell the roses.all the radical islamics want is to destroy us and are way of life. look what's happening in Europe,Asia,South America,and here in the USA. they're teaching their children to hate us and to kill us, because thats all they see and hear on their Islamic media. the Liberals in this country are leading into the jaws of hell. see what happend at Fort dix,New Jersey."be alert" they are here.they're "demanding" seperate schools in New York City,what ever happen to seperation of chuch and state.they want feet washing facilities at all public places in Kansas city air port.
Armando Martinez at 8:20AM on May 11th 2007
29. It's a good thing the Democrats want to cut and run. Why would we think we need to protect ourselves from a society that teaches children from the day they are born to kill jews and americans and die for this cause?
cw3burns at 2:16PM on May 9th 2007
30. Zionism is nothing more than the idea of a Jewish homeland for the Jewsih people. The enemies of this idea of a Jewish State twist and turn this definition to make it seve their own purposes, often to disguise a bitter Jew hatred.
kinapeda at 2:18PM on May 9th 2007