tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9057225441101183394.post5469582470612021183..comments2024-03-22T21:02:55.051+13:00Comments on Bat, Bean, Beam: Reverend Awdry's RevengeGiovanni Tisohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10618534731338616708noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9057225441101183394.post-78778018907320776232009-05-18T23:14:00.000+12:002009-05-18T23:14:00.000+12:00What a lovely thread, including (possibly particul...What a lovely thread, including (possibly particularly) 'cause of Martha's son's malapropism. <br /><br />I have much the same reaction as Giovanni had when first reading Thomas. The tedious morality of it all and the pious Fat Controller. But why the fear about Dora having some insidious faux multiculturalism? Perhaps it's that I'm so tragically white-bread that I don't see it? <br /><br />But backin15https://www.blogger.com/profile/16526191748394549650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9057225441101183394.post-57642008817180961472009-04-11T09:52:00.000+12:002009-04-11T09:52:00.000+12:00Quite partial to this week's rhyme myself, much as...Quite partial to this week's rhyme myself, much as I'm reluctant to show favouritism. And there is an element of vanitas in Henry's plight, although it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to opine that he was simply striking for better working conditions. But you're right, far more often is an inflated sense of the engines' capacities, leading Thomas and co. to want too work *too* hard, to pull Giovanni Tisohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10618534731338616708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9057225441101183394.post-48494252971251050232009-04-11T00:28:00.000+12:002009-04-11T00:28:00.000+12:00I always felt sorry for Henry. His punishment was...I always felt sorry for Henry. His punishment was far too draconian for his sin--vanitas--and as such makes me think of not of engines but of women deprived of their beauty in myth (the Gorgons) and present reality because others perceive it as a threat.<BR/><BR/>I don't suppose these stories have been analogised in that way much, but my brother and I were pretty invested in their moral world harvestbirdhttp://www.harvestbird.com/blognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9057225441101183394.post-30725976199997703782009-04-10T12:33:00.000+12:002009-04-10T12:33:00.000+12:00HB that's pretty cool, loving this,What happens to...HB that's pretty cool, loving this,<BR/><BR/>What happens to an engine's mind<BR/>when he is walled up in a tunnel?<BR/><BR/>Weirdly you are on a plane right now bound for Narita.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04424066726955708314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9057225441101183394.post-91788114251436870292009-04-09T22:24:00.000+12:002009-04-09T22:24:00.000+12:00What happens to an engine's mindwhen he is walled ...What happens to an engine's mind<BR/>when he is walled up in a tunnel?<BR/>Is he comatose, or is it quietude?<BR/>How fares his moral reason<BR/><BR/>without steam?<BR/><BR/><I>and Oh<BR/>says Henry<BR/>my friends are in retreat<BR/>and Oh<BR/>the world is very moral<BR/>and Oh<BR/>will my engine eyes never scan<BR/>the island's godless sky again?</I>harvestbirdhttp://www.harvestbird.com/blognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9057225441101183394.post-4791007084417657052009-04-07T11:07:00.000+12:002009-04-07T11:07:00.000+12:00Word. From the summary of findings:- Thomas serves...Word. From the summary of findings:<BR/><BR/><I>- Thomas serves an important role as a comfort blanket / friend in a friendless world for many children with autism.<BR/>- Thomas can be a point of entry to the world of communication and learning.<BR/>- For some children, Thomas can inspire previously unthinkable leaps of emotion, imagination and symbolic play.</I><BR/><BR/>And if that doesn't meanGiovanni Tisohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10618534731338616708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9057225441101183394.post-59554248900451527652009-04-07T11:03:00.000+12:002009-04-07T11:03:00.000+12:00That link is fascinating Giovanni - I love when th...That link is fascinating Giovanni - I love when things turn out to have use and value which is different from what was originally intended.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9057225441101183394.post-86619653898335915532009-04-07T10:47:00.000+12:002009-04-07T10:47:00.000+12:00Now that you've made me think about it I am intrig...<I>Now that you've made me think about it I am intrigued that my oldest, who is a non-conformist in every way and would rather die than be a really useful anything, lived and breathed Thomas for several years.</I><BR/><BR/>Yes, and don't get me wrong, I don't aim to be crudely deterministic - the overt messages of the stories are one thing, what gets to the children and how they play with the Giovanni Tisohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10618534731338616708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9057225441101183394.post-15961023431629140402009-04-07T10:32:00.000+12:002009-04-07T10:32:00.000+12:00The Thomas books are terrible, but the toys are cu...The Thomas books are terrible, but the toys are cute, except the homicidal trees.<BR/><BR/>Finn called the controller the Fucking Troller for years, we never bothered to correct him.Martha Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16957983119339597847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9057225441101183394.post-46544160634137638232009-04-07T10:20:00.000+12:002009-04-07T10:20:00.000+12:00Now that you've made me think about it I am intrig...Now that you've made me think about it I am intrigued that my oldest, who is a non-conformist in every way and would rather die than be a really useful anything, lived and breathed Thomas for several years.<BR/><BR/>I found it all so dull that I didn't concentrate hard enough to really think about any of the subtexts.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9057225441101183394.post-63814185152076261092009-04-07T09:58:00.000+12:002009-04-07T09:58:00.000+12:00Fair enough, but Thomas the Tank Engine perpetuate...<I>Fair enough, but Thomas the Tank Engine perpetuates a bone-crushingly authoritarian and narrow view of how society operates and ought to operate. If it wasn’t packaged in the talking trains scenario, which is like crack cocaine for tots, nobody would be reading, much less animating those stories.</I><BR/><BR/>Oh, no doubt. I'm certainly not going to argue with you there.Grunthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03308246886810700890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9057225441101183394.post-44095203549235493442009-04-07T09:03:00.000+12:002009-04-07T09:03:00.000+12:00Yes, thank you Philip, correction made. But you've...Yes, thank you Philip, correction made. But you've given me an idea, so I'm off to write <I>The Snitches</I>. You don't want to know what the moral of that one is going to be.<BR/><BR/><I>I think small children like conformity and rule and morals</I><BR/><BR/>Define "small children". I can tell you our children early on fought the idea of rule with all their might. Those blood-curdling screams Giovanni Tisohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10618534731338616708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9057225441101183394.post-85623912516399367742009-04-07T08:14:00.000+12:002009-04-07T08:14:00.000+12:00Sneetches, I think you'll find.Word Verification: ...<I>Sneetches,</I> I think you'll find.<BR/><BR/>Word Verification: <B>ofeedi.</B> They live in the skirting board and bite the toes of the mighty.Philiphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18076353733931722397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9057225441101183394.post-73968253962922895072009-04-07T07:15:00.000+12:002009-04-07T07:15:00.000+12:00I think small children like conformity and rule an...I think small children like conformity and rule and morals and I don’t necessarily think that teaching to those likes will eventually turn your child into a conservative gas-bag. Stories like Thomas the Tank Engine are so appealing to some children because of their moral teachings and their easily clarified rule structure.<BR/><BR/>Don’t get me wrong, I am completely in favor of open play and Grunthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03308246886810700890noreply@blogger.com