Subject: Fawell's paper on Tinky Winky (text)
From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 11 Feb 1999 13:29:50 EST

see national lesbian and gay organzation responses at:
	HRC (Human Rights Campaign) http://www.hrc.org
	NGLTF (National Gay and Lesbian Task Force) http://www.ngltf.org

NATIONAL LIBERTY JOURNAL
PARENTS ALERT . . . PARENTS ALERT
Tinky Winky Comes Out of the Closet
     The sexual preference of Tinky Winky, the largest of the four Teletubbies
characters on the series that airs in America on PBS stations, has been the
subject of debate since the series premiered in England in 1997. 
     The character, whose voice is obviously that of a boy, has been found
carrying a red purse in many episodes and has become a favorite character
among gay groups worldwide. 
     Now, further evidence that the creators of the series intend for Tinky
Winky to be a gay role model have surfaced. He is purple -- the gay-pride
color; and his antenna is shaped like a triangle -- the gay-pride symbol. 
     Furthering Tinky's `outing' was a recent Washington Post editorial that
cast the character's photo opposite that of Ellen DeGeneres in an `In/Out'
column. This implies that Ellen is `out' as the chief national gay
representative, while Tinky Winky is the trendy `in' celebrity. 
     These subtle depictions are no doubt intentional and parents are warned
to be alert to these elements of the series. However, many families are
allowing the series to entertain their children. In the January 10 Blockbuster
`Hit List' of the top-ten selling videos, two Teletubbies titles appeared on
the list. The itsy bitsy Entertainment Company will release interactive
Teletubbies dolls in March.
     South Park Invasion     
     The creators of South Park, the juvenile animated series that airs on
Comedy Central, have released a set of trading cards depicting episodes from
the series that are now being sold in toy, hobby and sports card stores across
the nation.    
     Parents should be aware that the cards feature the same impudent and vile
language as the series. God's name is frequently taken in vain, other four-
letter words are continually uttered, female characters are routinely referred
to in vile terms and human waste named Mr. Hankey becomes a live, speaking
character.    
     In addition, the character of Kenny is brutally massacred in every
broadcast while the remaining characters respond, `Oh my God, they've killed
Kenny.' Many of those killings are also depicted in the card series. The
trading cards are the exact size of traditional sports cards, making it easy
for kids to sneak them into the home.     
     Acclaim Entertainment recently began selling the South Park video game --
which also features extreme violence and obscene language -- for Nintendo 64
with the support of a multi-million dollar marketing campaign.
     Disney's Hollow `Promise' to Parents     
     On January 8, the Walt Disney Company announced a recall of 3.4 million
video copies of its animated film, The Rescuers, after two frames of the film
were discovered to exhibit the figure of a nude woman. Disney had earlier
refused to recall videos of the films The Little Mermaid and The Lion King
after parents complained that other subliminal messages were hidden in scenes
from those movies.    
    Disney said it is recalling the videos to `keep its promise to families
that they can trust and rely on the Disney name to provide the finest in
family entertainment.' If that promise is true, families across the nation
wonder why obviously planned offensives persistently show up in the company's
videos.    
    `Certainly the image in The Little Mermaid of the clergyman who obtains
[sexual stimulation] while performing the wedding ceremony qualifies as an
image that does not belong in a children's video,' said Cathy Brown, director
of Why Life? (the youth division of American Life League). `And having the
letters S-E-X float across the screen in The Lion King is objectionable as
well. Why hasn't Disney recalled these videos?' she asked.