The Inside Story of the Banning of "Maus." It's Dumber Than You Think.
DAVID CORN
Washington, DC, Bureau Chief
One of my favorite books is Maus: A Survivors Tale, Art Spiegelmans brilliant 1986 graphic novel that recounts his parents harrowing experiences during the Holocaust when they were imprisoned in Auschwitz. In the book, Jews are depicted as mice, Germans as cats, Poles as pigs. It is a richly and simply drawn blend of history, fiction, and memoir that captures the story of these survivors, their trauma, and the consequences for their son. The book is a complete artistic success, hailed widely as a masterpiece and awarded a Pulitzer, the first ever handed to a graphic novel. Not to overstate Maus significance, its publication legitimized this form of storytelling and marked a historic moment in American literature. In 1992, the Museum of Modern Art mounted an exhibition displaying Spiegelmans original panels for the work. Two weeks ago, a Tennessee school board voted to ban the book.
That decision of the board of education of McMinn Countylocated in the southeastern part of the stategenerated headlines. Maus was the anchor text for an eighth-grade module on the Holocaust, and the reason for knocking it out of the curriculum was that the book includes a few cuss words, as one county school board member put it, and depicts nudity (that is, illustrated animal nudity). The offending phraseology was bitch and god damn. Of course, its ridiculous to object to an account of the mass murder of 6 million Jews and millions of others because of salty language and (animal!) nudity. But thats what happened. Spiegelman told the New York Times it seemed to him the board members were asking, Why cant they teach a nicer Holocaust? To understand this decisionwhich was rendered just down the road from where the Scopes Monkey Trial occurred in 1925I read through the minutes of the school board meeting devoted to Maus. It makes the story worse.
The session opened with Lee Parkison, the director of schools for the county, noting that there is some rough, objectionable language in the book and that two or three school board members came by his office to discuss it. He consulted with the attorney for the school system, Scott Bennett, and they decided the best fix was to redact eight curse words and the picture of the woman that was objected to. Apparently, that was not sufficient.
Board member Tony Allman remarked, We dont need to enable or somewhat promote this stuff. It shows people hanging. It shows them killing kids. Why does the educational system promote this kind of stuff? It is not wise or healthy. Julie Goodin, an instructional supervisor who used to teach history, patiently explained to Allman that there is nothing pretty about the Holocaust and for me this was a great way to depict a horrific time in history. Allman wouldnt relent: I understand that on TV and maybe at home these kids hear worse, but we are talking things that if a student went down the hallway and said this, our disciplinary policy says they can be disciplined and rightfully so. And we are teaching this and going against policy. Melasawn Knight, another instructional supervisor, took a stab at it: People did hang from trees, people did commit suicide, and people were killed, over six million murdered
[Spiegelman] is trying to portray that the best he can with the language that he chooses that would relate to that time
Is the language objectionable? Sure. I think that is how he used that language.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/02/the-inside-story-of-the-banning-of-maus-its-dumber-than-you-think/
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Why are these people even ON the School Board? They cannot read!
CrispyQ
(36,509 posts)Like these kids don't hear the F-word every day. And the naked mouse thing?
Duppers
(28,126 posts)Small towns where church attendance is mandatory. It's a different culture in these small southern towns. Seriously.
JustAnotherGen
(31,879 posts)Do their kids have cell phones?
Tablets?
Folks - your kids know those words, look at porn, and hear it everyday in music and on T.V.
Their kids aren't angels - and they know it . . . just don't want to admit it.
Thomas Hurt
(13,903 posts)this about everyone else's kids and instituting a white nationalist blasphemy regime.
Skittles
(153,192 posts)they are fucking evil
they want to whitewash history like nazis
Solly Mack
(90,780 posts)They don't care about the language or a naked mouse. They don't even care about the violence depicted.
They object to the subject. They object to not being able to control how the Holocaust is taught.
They want the Holocaust taught like they want the rest of history taught - sanitized of any uncomfortable facts least their own thoughts and beliefs are called into question.
sinkingfeeling
(51,471 posts)Skittles
(153,192 posts)he doesn't seem to understand what EDUCATION means