www.slate.com: “Just think,” says Sir Lancelot, of his nuptials to a young man named Herbert in Monty Python’s Spamalot, “In a thousand years time, this will still be controversial.” The administration of the South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Junior/Senior High School seems determined to prove the gallant knight prescient, as it has canceled a planned 2015 production of the musical due to its “homosexual themes.”
10 comments:
On many levels this is very disturbing and very upsetting within the modern world. If the school does not want to let children see homosexual activities, jokes, gestures, or any thing does that mean that we will take out heterosexual activities, jokes, gestures, or anything of the such. Will they be ok about sex jokes or locker room talk in many other plays? Romeo and Juliet have sex with out being married, will they take that out since young children do not want to see that? What about equal treatment amoung all? Equally say no, if you do not want to see then stop all. So this is very frustrateing to see and I see a line toward hate. If you make someone different and you superior then them, this is on the way toward hate. We have enough hate in the world, lets not produce any more. Look across the ocean and you can see where hate will lead.
Close minded people educate children and beget more close minded people.
I'm not surprised, honestly. It's a sad world of lies and false preaching. In the United States, we profess freedom and justice for all, but only when it suits our own needs. Our moral compass is way off.
In response to the point that homosexual relationships are unsuitable for young children to see, may I ask: What about all of the unstable and unsuitable heterosexual relationships? If we are keeping with religious and moral values, half of the heterosexual couples in shows should be stoned to death.
The stigma against homosexuals is rampant in areas outside of major cities. The hatred rests in the very musk of the air. It may not change anytime soon, but that doesn't mean we can't begin to change the tides of acceptance by educating our children properly, and not with falsehoods and dancing around the real issues.
Spamalot is an amazing show. Aside from the fact that it's hysterical and has great music and technical components, the show is about perseverance and journey. These are things I feel are incredibly valuable to students who are about to undergo college and essentially the crazy journey of life! It's disheartening and morally reprehensible that the drama teacher lost her job because of the narrow-mindedness of the district which if you really think about is terrifying that the people in power are the ones who are promoting this level of censorship and hate amongst a community of young and impressionable minds! We should be promoting tolerance, and the freedom to be who and what we are without fear and this institution is compromising this!
"the time, reports focused heavily on a statement attributed to Smith, about homosexuality not existing in South Williamsport"
This comment made me laugh so hard and pretty much disregarded anything else Jesse Smith had to say. Guess what Mr. Principal, gays are everywhere, even at your school. I look at this article and some of the people who were a part of my primary education and I come to a very stark realization. Our public school are run by a bunch of idiots. How can teenagers be educated without knowing all there is to know about the world, including the fact that there is more diversity in the world than what they see directly in front of them. I think when the idea of homosexuality can be freely spoken about in primary public schools, then we have reached a point of national acceptance. Until then, we are no where close creating a community where everyone can feel safe.
I sighed my way through this entire article. Heres the thing: I can totally understand a lot of the reasoning to cancel a production of Spamalot in a high school setting. The show could be considered slightly risqué in a public school setting. However, it was made painfully clear that this decision was made on the homosexual basis.
"I am not comfortable with Spamalot and its homosexual themes.."
Not to mention that the decision seems like an afterthought, they and already written the check to license the play, which means SOMEONE had to have already read the play and several people, probably from the school district itself (that's how my school had to get productions approved) had to approve the show for production in the first place! Then, once someone realized that there were homosexual situations displayed, they had to scramble to come up with an excuse as to why the production was being cancelled.
This issue will never be corrected until further education, starting at a young age. At what age do we learn that it's "normal" for men to date women?
I see why the principal is wary of the show because it is a middle school as well as a high school, but homosexuality is not really a big deal. Especially in a state where the gay marriage ban has been revoked, why is this such a problem? If the jokes were heterosexual, would it be okay?
"Material that is generally considered offensive, suggestive, or demeaning based on race, religion, age, gender, or sexual orientation is not appropriate for school performances."
But almost all theatre is offensive to one of more of those categories... The basis of a good show is to tackle a controversial topic in an entertaining way. Schools should be able to put on controversial shows because it makes people think. Censoring art is censoring thought. Hopefully these kids learn something from the mistakes that the adults are making.
I have heard of many high schools that close a production due to sexual themes because it is not just a theatre, it is a government institution showing "sexual material" to minors. This is upsetting because of the concentration on "homosexual themes" as if it is morally wrong and should not be encouraged. We as emerging adults in the 21st century should see no difference between sexuality and preference. Spamalot is a great show and if it was to not be shown then it should be for the right reasons.
This is upsetting, but not surprising at all. In nig cities, you are exposed to more people and become more open minded or leave. So when you go to places with smaller towns, you have people who still hold to values & beliefs that could date generations back, including the people running this school. It's saddening and makes me want to go into various administrative positions (like being a superintendent). But honestly, this will just be a very slow change and that's that, no matter how unfortunate it is.
Allowing a high school to put on a production of Spamalot is along the same lines as allowing a high school to put on a production of something like Cabaret or Chicago. It's risqué but if the audience is ok with the production and parents are ok with their children being in the production then why not? I can see how the principal might not support the production of Spamalot for fear of angry parents and angry community. There was an incident at might high school where a students parents would not allow their child to be in the production of The Producers and one of Roger Debris designers because they were uncomfortable with him playing a gay character. In the end the situation was resolved, and although that decision was small-minded, other parents might feel the same way about the high-school production of Spamalot.
This is really sad. Actually, I was kinda angry reading this article. This is something that should not be existed in today's society anymore. While ,any people are fighting for their right to live as they want to live, to get an acceptance from the community that they are just the same as everyone. While more and more people are opened to this, there's still the close minded people living in the past hating and thinking these people are cursed or sinner. I'm sorry but I feel bad for kids in the school that have this ugly people as their teachers teaching them to become another generation of haters. Or if one of those children turn out to be homosexual, how much do you think is the pressure that that kid will have when he grows up living in the school and in the community? Thinking of that is scaring me out already.
Post a Comment