Sunday, February 18, 2018

"Brandish that raspberry!"

Have you seen that some concerned parents are concerned about a scene in the new Peter Rabbit movie when rabbits attack a man with blackberries, knowing he is allergic to them?
"Allergy bullying is not funny," concerned parties say.


I can see if your child was likely to die from allergies, that is a terrible thing to live with, and you'd be extra sensitive. 
But from the outside, I wonder if the concern is a wee bit overblown, or possibly misplaced?
I haven't seen the movie, but as I remember from the book, the man in Peter Rabbit was going to shoot Peter and EAT him. 

Seems to me this scene could be a political allegory... 
The children say, STOP SHOOTING US.
 
What I really thought of, however, wasn't Beatrix Potter's books but Monty Python's sketch, "Self-Defense Against Fresh Fruit" (1969)--especially the bit around 3:30, re the raspberry. (I think the tactics would work against any small berry.)

"Brandish that raspberry--be as vicious as you like with it!"


I began watching MP soon after it first aired in the United States in 1974. 
High-school pals and I used to go around saying,
"Come at me with a raspberry!"

I suppose most parents of small children today wouldn't know this skit. 
Did the filmmakers? 
You'd hope so....

2 comments:

ArtSparker said...

Outrage is hot, Sense of humor is not.

Fresca said...

You are so right--policing and calling out one another is the mood of the day.
The good side is, one hopes, a heightened concern for other people's feelings? Maybe? One hopes...?