Quote:
Originally Posted by hildea
I think the problem with that book is that the only picture of a Chinese person is of someone in stereotypical clothing and stereotypical accessories. The problem isn't so much the image on its own, but its context...
... it tells children that being Chinese or of Chinese descent is weird and exotic, and being European or of European descent is normal. That's not a great message to give to any child, no matter their ancestry.
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That's your interpretation. The quote from Dr. Seuss which Lynx-lynx uncovered suggests that that was not the intention:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lynx-lynx
"Seuss himself later revised the 1937 title Mulberry Street, saying that: “I had a gentleman with a pigtail. I colored him yellow and called him a Chinaman. That’s the way thing were 50 years ago. In later editions I refer to him as a Chinese man. I have taken the color out of the gentleman and removed the pigtail."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/202...ishman.” |
The picture is undoubtedly dated. But the Chinese man has the exact same pose as the magician. I don't see that he is treated any differently. Now, running down a street while eating with chopsticks is odd. Just as is running down the street while doing magic tricks.
Should Indians be offended that the Indian figure in the book is riding atop an elephant? Isn't that stereotypical? What about the fact that the elephant is blue? Was Dr. Seuss making fun of the Hindu deity Ganesha who is often portrayed as blue and who has an elephant head?
What should we make of the fact that there were no female characters in the book? Does that tell children that women are not important?