How Gen. Z 'Canceled' Dr. Seuss - breaking news
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How Gen. Z ‘Canceled’ Dr. Seuss
By: Chris McFadden 03.03.21 3:45 pm
PRESIDENT BIDEN [UPPER LEFT] IS JUST ONE OF MANY PUBLIC FIGURES CALLING FOR THE ‘CANCELATION’ OF DR.
SEUSS [UPPER RIGHT] THIS NATIONAL ‘READ ACROSS AMERICA DAY’.
WASHINGTON – President Biden has silently dropped Dr. Seuss from ‘Read Across America Day’ – held
annually on March 2 to celebrate the child author’s birthday & the magic of reading. This break of tradition
comes directly after a Virginia school district pulled Dr. Seuss books due to ‘racial undertones’ within them.
Why Fit in When You Were Born to
Stand Out?
Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known by his pen name
‘Dr. Seuss’, was an American children’s author, political
cartoonist, animator and filmmaker. Known for his work
all around the world, Dr. Seuss has written and illustrated
more than sixty books throughout his career.
By the time that Dr. Seuss died in 1991, he had published
a total of forty-six children’s books including many that
are considered literary classics. Books such as “Horton
Hears a- © Dr. Seuss Enterprises
© Chris McFadden March 03, 2021 | www.mcfaddenmediareview.com
Who”. “The Cat in the Hat”, “The Lorax”, and
others would later become hit movies from the early
to mid-two-thousands. Over the years, these films
have become a part of every child’s movie collection
and have grossed over $1.6 billion dollars world-
wide even earning their place as part of an attraction
at Universal Studios.
‘Canceled’ by a Virginia School
District
News broke out on Monday night that a Loudoun
County, Virginia school district ‘canceled’ Dr.
JIM CARREY AS ‘THE GRINCH’ IN THE UNIVERSAL STUDIOS Seuss due to ‘strong racial undertones’ within his
‘HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS’ (2000) [PICTURED books. A representative of LCPS is quoted as
ABOVE] stating: “Research in recent years has revealed
strong racial undertones in many books written
and illustrated by Dr. Seuss. Examples include anti-Japanese American political cartoons and cartoons
depicting African Americans for sale captioned with offensive language. Given this research, and LCPS’ focus
on equity and culturally responsive instruction, LCPS provided this guidance to schools during the past couple
of years to not connect National ‘Read Across America
Day’ exclusively with Dr. Seuss’ birthday. Dr. Seuss
and his books are no longer the emphasis of National
‘Read Across America Day’ in Loudoun County
Public Schools”.
Mixed Responses and a Swift Reaction
from Dr. Seuss Enterprises
Shortly after the announcement from representatives of
the Loudoun County, Virginia school district,
supporters and protestors of Dr. Seuss took to Twitter
to discuss their thoughts about the ‘cancelation’.
One such ‘cancelation supporter’, Stephen Colbert, a late night personality and host of the ‘The Late Show with
Stephen Colbert’, posted a video to Twitter in support of Loudoun County’s decision to pull Dr. Seuss Books.
The video, which can be found on Colbert’s Twitter page @colbertlateshow shows him reading a spoof of
Seuss’ book “Oh the Places You’ll Go!”. The spoofed-book, called “Oh the Books You can Read”, is a “woke”
call to action in support of reading books by African American and POC [People of Color] children’s authors.
Colbert goes on to say the following statements throughout his video: “So the book news you heard today just
got your goose, and now you’re defensive for old Dr. Seuss. If you find that your bookshelf just got a little bit
duller, consider these kids books from people of color… There are so many stories, a whole great assortie
[assortment], it’s fun to read books written after the forties. So don’t be so cancelly, culturally-whiney, read
these books after pulling your head from your hiney”.
© Chris McFadden March 03, 2021 | www.mcfaddenmediareview.com
In response to Dr. Suess’ ‘cancelation’, Seuss supporters such as
KTTH Radio’s, Jason Rantz [@jasonrantz] had this to say:
“Cancel culture has come for Dr. Seuss. Don’t dismiss this as
another case of fringe activists overreacting. It’s a complain to
indoctrinate kids to take on progressive causes. My latest
column from Newsweek”.
Dr. Seuss Enterprises weighed in on Tuesday afternoon stating
that a total of 6 Dr. Seuss books will be discontinued. A
spokesperson for Dr. Seuss Enterprises told the Associated Press
“These books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong.
Ceasing sales of these books is only part of our commitment and
our broader plan to ensure Dr. Seuss Enterprises’ catalog
represents and supports all communities and families”. The
books that will be discontinued have been identified as: “And to
Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street”, “If I Ran the Zoo”,
“McElligot’s Pool”, “On Beyond Zebra!”,
“Scrambled Eggs Super!”, and “The Cat’s
Quizzer”.
“The decision to cease publication and sales of
the books was made last year after months of
discussion… Dr. Seuss Enterprises listened
and took feedback from our audiences
including teachers, academics and specialists
in the field as part of our review process. We
then worked with a panel of experts, including
educators, to review our catalog of titles”, the
representative of Dr. Seuss Enterprises
continued.
“We respect the decision of Dr. Seuss Enterprises and the work of the panel that reviewed this content last
year, and their recommendation.
– Random House Children’s Books, Publisher of Dr. Seuss
Many people cited instances of people of Asian decent being
portrayed wearing a conical hat, holding chopsticks, and eating
from a bowl in “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street”, as
well as two bare-foot African men wearing what appear to be grass
skirts with their hair tied above their heads in “If I Ran the Zoo”.
Both books, which are amongst the six to be unpublished were
written in 1937 and 1950 respectively.
PICTURED [LEFT] A PAGE FROM ‘IF I RAN THE ZOO’ WHICH APPEARS TO SHOW
AFRICAN MEN IN A RACIST FASHION.
© Chris McFadden March 03, 2021 | www.mcfaddenmediareview.com
The Truth About Seuss – A
Troubled Past and a Bright Future
During World War II, Dr. Seuss was hired as an
artist to create political cartoons for the left-
leaning newspaper ‘P.M.’ These cartoons, some
of which unflattering, were a type of war
propaganda the media & the government used at
the time. Companies like The Walt Disney
Company made similar cartoons portraying
‘Donald Duck’ in Nazi uniform in a World War
II era short film.
Cartoons like “Dr. Seuss goes to War” denounced
American enemies like Adolf Hitler and Mussolini, and called out the racism that people of Jewish and African
decent were facing here at home -- Dr. Seuss would go on to denounce racism, Jim Crow laws and antisemitism
throughout his literary career.
During the war, like many other Americans, Dr. Seuss
supported the internment of people of Japanese-American
decent. After the war however, Dr. Seuss had overcome his
prejudice against the Japanese and used his book ‘Horton
Hears a Who’ as an allegory for the post-war occupation of
Japan. In that book, Seuss dedicates the story to one of his
close Japanese friends.
Long after the war, Dr. Seuss decided to write about a wide
variety of social and political issues. ‘The Lorax’ (1971)
focused on environmentalism, ‘The Sneetches’ (1961)
focused on racial injustice and racial equality and ‘Horton
Hears a Who’ (1954) focused on anti-isolationism.
Dr. Seuss’ past, although riddled with racist and prejudice DONALD DUCK [PICTURED ABOVE] SALUTES
cartoons, is something that exists. There is no denial. ADOLF HITLER IN NAZI UNIFORM IN A WORLD
However, by ‘canceling’ him and his work, you are WAR II ERA DISNEY SHORT FILM.
‘canceling’ his development and a much larger picture.
It would be later in his career when Dr. Seuss denounced the racial stereotypes he had used throughout his
cartoons, and according to friends and family, he tried his best to do better. After his statement, Dr. Seuss
would later go on to write multiple children’s books focusing on moral values, inclusivity and acceptance, three
things he learned for himself. -- Read the Continuation of this Article in: “The Hidden Dangers of ‘Cancel
Culture’ and ‘Wokeness’.
It’s not about what it is. It’s about what it can become.
-Dr Seuss
© Chris McFadden March 03, 2021 | www.mcfaddenmediareview.com
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