I hate to admit it, but due to a certain project I've got in the works, I've been waiting on a good comics censorship story. To date, 2010 has been pretty dull regarding libraries and schools and comics being questioned. But now? Now comes word that -- of all series -- Jeff Smith's Bone is being called into question.
Yes, the same Bone that me and many other educators feel is a great entry-level series for just about anyone old enough to read.
Ramona DeLay feels the graphic novel is not appropriate reading for her son, who attends Southwest Elementary and checked out the book from the school's library. DeLay wants the book withdrawn from the library because she feels the imagery, use of tobacco products, sexual tension between characters, gambling and alcohol use make the book too mature for her son.
No word on whether DeLay then went home and let her child watch the Shrek movies.
What is known is that on April 27, a review committee will meet to decide the fate of the title in this little Minnesota town. If the book can't be removed, DeLay would like to see some sort of rating system in place in her library, which mean she probably hasn't looked over the book as well as she's implied. Certainly, she doesn't seem to have checked out any of the many online and print sources that not only recommend the book but suggest audience levels as well.
To the credit of the school system, no one seems to be panicking. There are procedures in place, and no one is rushing to remove the text simply to placate the parent. Indeed, there seems to be some knowledge about Bone's reputation as an exemplar text, which is refreshing.
Tom Spurgeon has some commentary on the topic here.
I need to decide if I'm going to write a letter to the school board. I often do in cases of comics controversies in the schools. At the very least, it looks like I need to keep an eye on this and update the introduction for a certain CD-Rom project regarding censorship and graphica that should be available in the fall of 2010......
6 comments:
Here's my e-mail to the official mentioned as handling the situation:
Dear Mr. Troen,
Hi there. I am Dr. James Bucky Carter, a professor of English Education at the University of Texas at El Paso. I have published extensively on comics and literacy-related issues. I edited and wrote chapters for the award-winning book Building Literacy Connections with Graphic Novels, published in 2007 from the National Council of Teachers of English.
In several presentations and publications, I've recommended Jeff Smith's Bone series as an excellent all-ages graphic novel. While it is true there is some smoking, gambling, apparent imbibing, and some attraction between several of the characters, as has been brought to your attention via complaint, it is my opinion and the opinion of many other well-informed comics-and-literacy educators that the series' excellent characterization, adventure, engaging art, and general storytelling far outweigh any negative aspects of the text, of which I feel there are none.
One might compare the text to movies like Shrek, where kids can read into the storylines and enjoy them on one level, but there is information that older readers might pick up on more readily. For example, the attraction between Fone and Thorn is less sexual than it is a "puppy love" sort of crush. There are multiple allusions to the works of Herman Melville, and anyone who has read The Lord of the Rings and other fantasy or mythological epics will note genre similarities, whereas a fourth-grader may or many not pick up on these things but can enjoy the book just the same.
However, Shrek is actually much more over-the-top in its adult references than Bone, which is much more innocuous and innocent while maintaining a fine literary quality.
While I respect Mrs. DeLay's request, it would be my opinion that the book does not need to be removed from an elementary school library or in anyway have its access limited to students. If you would like to find sources that offer suggested audience levels for graphic novels, there are many articles and books on the subject. I might suggest your librarian purchase a copy of Michele Gorman's Going Graphic: Using Graphic Novels to Promote Literacy with Pre-Teens and Teens or Gene Kannenburg's 500 Essential Graphic Novels. It will take no time at all to find that librarians and teachers across the world find Bone an exemplary text that interests young readers at almost every age level.
As well, I'd like to offer my services to the system. I am a Co-sponsored speaker with the National Council of Teachers of English and travel the country to speak about graphic novels with teachers, and I'm currently working on a collection of rationales for teaching graphic novels that should be available to teachers, librarians, and administrators by Autumn 2010. So, I have some knowledge of the subject of graphica and education and am directly working on comics-and-education and censorship issues.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
James Bucky Carter
Great letter!
I do have to say, though, for something so lauded as an "all-ages" text, the sexual tension aspect of the first volume caught me off guard. In general, I don't have problems with kids seeing/reading stories with smoking or alcohol provided that an adult explains why they wouldn't want the children to experience them (that's what my parents did, and I turned out fine, haha!). That said, I feel like I'd have a hard time explaining why Bone gets all twitterpated when he sees her bare leg ;-) It's a little different from Shrek, who falls in love with a beautiful princess--as opposed to a sexy one, haha!
Of course, I wouldn't want it taken off the shelves either, but I can sympathize with the parent--even if I feel like she should take responsibility for her child's reading instead of leaving it up the library :-/
I am consistently surprised at how flabbergasted I get when I read about such challenges to texts. I teach Volume 1 of "Bone" to my seventh graders, though my principal was also concerned with the sexual tension (specifically, a scene in which Thorn undresses in front of Fone Bone, even though it happens off-panel).
My experience? In teaching it, such 'explicit' situations (including Smiley's smoking, which a few of my students recognized as being an allusion to Groucho Marx) are just about the farthest from my students' minds. They devote zero thought to it, as they're far more concerned with how incredibly funny and exciting the story is.
I applaud you for taking the time to write such a letter. Having also spoken at NCTE conventions about graphic novels, I think it'd be a huge shame if some sort of momentum were to rise up behind the removal of such a vital entry point to the world of comics in the classroom.
I agree with E that, especially with younger students, the "sexual tension" isn't what's of primary interest. And, even if it is for some, it's a fact that attraction is a strong force and that people find themselves struggling with feelings of friendship and love sometimes. That fact just makes the characters more complex for those who can note the internal conflict. I think one can explain attraction without being sexualy explicit. So, my worries about the text as lurid in how it handles those scenes is low. As you said, BV, parental guidance might be the solution, but that can relate to ALL stimuli a young person encounters.
Bone? That's unbelievable.
The idea that the so-called "sexual tension" in the story would be problematic reminds me of Irvin Kershner defending the relationship between Han Solo and Princess Leia in The Empire Strikes Back. He felt kids just understand and relate to that naturally.
Just wanted to let folks know that Mr. Troen has been on contact with me and has been a very pleasant man to talk with. He promises to let me know the results of Arpil 27meeting that will decide the fate of this text.
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