
The hidden messages in children’s books - westi
http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20140318-hidden-messages-in-kids-books
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sp332
The "Werner Hertzog reads..." series on Youtube is pretty amazing. It ranges
from a kinda silly, rambling take on Where's Waldo
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvWh6PMi9Ek](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvWh6PMi9Ek)
through a pretty thoughtful version of Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z1R5vDG2Tg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z1R5vDG2Tg)
to an incredibly deep interpretation of Madeline
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57EDxvldLD4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57EDxvldLD4)

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pimlottc
I should point out that the reader in these videos is not actually Wernor
Herzog. Which you might think goes without saying, but it wouldn't be that out
of character for him, given his views on professional wrestling, for example.

[http://therickbarry.com/2010/08/26/youre-welcome-world-
werne...](http://therickbarry.com/2010/08/26/youre-welcome-world-werner-
herzog-talks-about-pro-wrestling/)

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at-fates-hands
I must have been some highly developed child growing up. When I was around 4
or 5 my parents read to a lot of Shel Silverstein and of course plenty of Dr.
Seuss.

When I saw the Lorax film, I immediately knew it was about over consumption of
resources and a little later on (ages 8 or 9) felt a strong environmental pull
during the whole movie.

Even the Sliverstein books made me sad. Take for instance, the Giving Tree.
People to this day talk about what the meaning really is:

[https://www.mtholyoke.edu/omc/kidsphil/questions/Givingtree/...](https://www.mtholyoke.edu/omc/kidsphil/questions/Givingtree/givingtree_discussion.html)

When my parents read it to me, I was saddened by the fact the tree gave
everything to the child, and the child never seemed appreciative of the gifts.
On the one hand, I felt it was about being selfish and even when life has
handed you everything, happiness was still elusive. On the other hand, it also
spoke to me about generosity, and giving to others who don't have as much as
you.

Other books just confused me. Alice in Wonderland just gave me nightmares,
never mind what the actual meaning of the story was. I'm content to think it
was just some crazy acid trip Carroll was recounting.

I feel like the more depressing themes seemed to connect with me as a child,
while some of the deeper meanings (The LOTR series and Wizard of Oz) I totally
missed. Even after seeing the Star Wars movies, a friend had point out all the
biblical parallels. Like Darth Vader being his father. Father in German is
Vater. Vader, Vater, it's so very close, but once pointed out, so obvious.

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goodcanadian
I rarely see the deeper meanings that people claim are in these stories . . .
I highly doubt many are put there deliberately. However, I do find it
interesting what meanings people find. In the first instance, it is an
interesting commentary on the way their minds work, but also, it is
fascinating how ideas and new lines if thinking can be generated from truly
unrelated material (which, in my opinion, is usually a good thing as long as
you don't claim those ideas were put there by some sort of conspiracy).

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jerf
One way of cutting through the BS is to see whether people agree with each
other about the message. On one extreme, the Lorax clearly has an
environmental message, and you'd be hard pressed to find an adult to read it
and disagree with that. On the other extreme, the sheer variety of suggestions
about what Alice in Wonderland is "really" about suggests that the vast bulk
of them are quite wrong.

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Discere
People in the UK can't read this... Now I want to know more

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jakeburtn
For UK readers:
[http://web.archive.org/web/20140413055133/http://www.bbc.com...](http://web.archive.org/web/20140413055133/http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20140318-hidden-
messages-in-kids-books)

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ColinWright

      > BBC Worldwide (International Site)
      > We're sorry but this site is not accessible
      > from the UK ...

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harryjo
This article is talking about "lit crit" (literary criticism) and
deconstruction, presented in a light and superficial way so the reader doesn't
notice the depth of the topic.

Ironic!

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deconstruction](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deconstruction)

~~~
Kroem3r
Well, it was until you pulled back the curtain.

