Horton Hears a Stereotype

This interesting article was sent to me the other day and I thought it was quite educational for those who seem to be less 'tolerant'.

Here goes:

Written by Adam Brickley
Monday, 31 March 2008

Twentieth Century-FoxThe other day, I had the chance to see the new movie “Horton Hears a Who.” It won’t win any Oscars, but it wasn’t bad. And, despite being unnerved by the extreme concentration of toddlers in the theater, I can genuinely say I enjoyed the humor and plot, which is saying something for a guy who lists “Hotel Rwanda” as his favorite movie.

That said, there is a small, sinister element in “Horton” which needs to be addressed. If you’ve seen the flick, you will recall that Horton is the jungle’s schoolteacher, and that the villain is an overbearing kangaroo who has very strict ideas about jungle behavior. She never lets her joey play with the other jungle kids and is so upset by Horton’s claim that there is a city on a speck of dust that she hires a hit-vulture to neutralize Horton and the clover on which Whoville’s speck is sitting.

Personally, I’m not sure my joey would be allowed to play with the jungle kids either (they struck me as really bad influences), but that’s beside the point. What really bothered me was that one of first major lines out of the kangaroo’s mouth was “ ... and that’s why our joey is pouch-schooled!”

As a homeschool graduate, I was furious. I can take a joke, but I think that “Horton” was way over the line. Here’s why: The line about “pouch schooling” was one of the first things the audience heard from the character, and it was not explained at all. Basically, it was as if the mere mention of homeschooling was used as a justification for the character’s evil nature.

Apparently, the audience was supposed to assume that all homeshoolers are oppressive, closed-minded wackos. If you think I’m overreacting, consider this: How do you think it would go over if similar statements were made about your subculture? Would it have been a harmless joke if the kangaroo had made a quip about being a Muslim, Jew or Catholic? Yet, if the joke is about homeschoolers, am I supposed to think it’s funny? My parents certainly weren’t brooding, malicious villains, and neither are 99 percent of homeschool families.

If my parents had not pulled me out of school in 4th grade, I can almost guarantee you that I would not be in college today. The public school system failed me so thoroughly that they had me simultaneously enrolled in both special-ed classes and the “gifted and talented” program (which I’m assuming made me the school’s smartest stupid kid).

For some reason, society seems to think that my parents (who had the good sense to get me out of that hell hole) are child-abusing morons! Yes, I realize that it was just one line, but it represents a line of thinking I’ve been hearing repeatedly for years. As proof, I would cite another relatively recent movie, the 2004 teen comedy “Mean Girls."

Lindsay Lohan starred as a former homeschooler trying to cope with public school. Her character was shown as socially inept (her parents had been naturalists in Africa), and the film’s opening monologue explained how she wasn’t “weird like other homeschoolers." This speech was accompanied by scenes of such “weird homeschoolers," including one kid who said God gave man rifles to shoot dinosaurs and homosexuals. That isn’t comedy; it's bigotry.

I’ve met hundreds of homeschoolers in my time, and I have yet to meet anyone as ignorant or stupid as these silver-screen stereotypes. The vast majority are just like public school kids, though perhaps slightly better educated. Still, the general perception seems to be that we are wacked-out freaks who can’t make eye-contact.

If someone lives their life differently than you do, you should try to understand them rather than laugh at them. We live in a society where “tolerance” is all the rage, but apparently it only applies to certain trendy demographics. Meanwhile, the same people preaching “tolerance” seem more than willing to mock groups that don’t conform to their worldview, such as homeschoolers. Maybe this is to much to ask, but shouldn’t I be entitled to some tolerance, too?

Here’s the moral of my story: We need to stop stereotyping certain groups and treat all people with equal respect. You hear that line a lot these days in regard to Muslims or homosexuals, but it should be a universal value. There are tons of homeschoolers on today’s college campuses. You probably don’t notice them because they don’t look like the freaks you hear about, but they’re there. And if you happen to meet one, it might be a decent idea to respond with intelligent conversation rather than jokes about being a socially repressed shut-in. The same goes for members of other not-so-trendy groups, like Evangelical Christians.

Maybe it’s a bit self-indulgent of me to write an entire column on one line in “Horton Hears a Who.” I’m not so much angered by hearing a stereotype; that happens all the time. But it really gets under my skin that such ignorance turned up in a story that’s supposed to be about accepting people.

“Horton Hears a Who” was a great book, and I think Dr. Suess probably rolled over in his grave when the “pouch-schooling” line was written. I’m not going to encourage a boycott of the film or anything like that. Actually, I would encourage you to go see it. But instead of focusing on the psychosis of the pouch-schooling kangaroo, listen to the lovable elephant and remember that “A person’s a person, no matter how small.”
http://www.thecampusword.com/content/view/2771/593