When my kids were young I watched enough kids' shows to forever cure me of ever watching them again. So when my adult friends suggest seeing a kids movie, I smile and shake my head and say I'd rather poke both my eyes out with burning sticks.
I was curious about Frozen, however, because of the controversy surrounding it. Apparently there are a bunch of right-wing Christian dough-heads who think Disney's Oscar-winning movie is pushing a homosexual agenda. Among them is a frothing-at-the-mouth fearmonger named Kevin Swanson who also thinks Kermit the Frog needs the death penalty (people are so weird).
Here's what Swanson had to say to his radio cohost Steve Vaughan on the topic:
Swanson: Man, how many children are taken into these things and how many Christians are taking their kids off to see the movie Frozen, produced by an organization that is probably one of the most pro-homosexual organizations in the country? You wonder sometimes, I’m not a tinfoil hat conspiratorialist, but you wonder sometimes if maybe there’s something very evil happening here. If I was the Devil, what would I do to really foul up an entire social system and do something really, really, really evil to 5- and 6- and 7-year-olds in Christian families around America?
Vaughn: I would make a movie.
Swanson: I would buy Disney. If I was the Devil, I would buy Disney in 1984, that’s what I would have done.
Vaughn: Then you would start making all these nice little movies that throw little things in there that make sin look enticing, in fact some of the worst of sins, make it look enticing or at least to start to indoctrinate slowly, turn the heat up on the frog in the pan.
Swanson: Friends, this is evil, just evil. I wonder if people are thinking: “You know I think this cute little movie is going to indoctrinate my 5-year-old to be a lesbian or treat homosexuality or bestiality in a light sort of way.” I wonder if the average parent going to see Frozen is thinking that way. I wonder if they are just walking in and saying, “Yeah, let’s get my five-year-old and seven-year-old indoctrinated early.” You know they’re not, I think for the most part they’re oblivious. Maybe they do pick up on pieces of it but they just don’t get up and walk out.
Swanson also criticized Disney for its opposition to the Boy Scouts of America’s ban on openly gay troop leaders, saying that parents should know that the company, along with public schools, is aiming to have “their children indoctrinated” into “the lifestyle of sodomy.”
He added that it would be the “worst nightmare” of parents to have their child “turn into a sodomite.”
Kevin Swanson: Asshat. |
What a complete load of hooey. I mean, seriously? Are these guys completely deluded or are they just heroin addicts? Or maybe too many drugs aren't the problem – maybe they're just off their meds? I'm thinking the world might be a better place if they signed themselves into the nearest mental hospital ASAP.
I saw Frozen last night and I LOOKED for anything that remotely "pushed the homosexual agenda," and there was NOTHING. Nothing! The only thing I can possibly think of is when the two sisters, who are sisters, SISTERS for crying out loud, hug each other and declare that the true love of a prince isn't what helps them, it's the true love between SISTERS. Between FAMILY MEMBERS. So does Mr. Swanson think it's not OK for siblings to love each other? What happened to family values? Is the world such a twisted mess that it's not OK to love your own family members?
Kudos to Disney, by the way, for showing that a girl doesn't need a prince to rescue her.
What a fecking frozen-dinnered meatball Swanson is.
I saw Frozen last night and I LOOKED for anything that remotely "pushed the homosexual agenda," and there was NOTHING. Nothing! The only thing I can possibly think of is when the two sisters, who are sisters, SISTERS for crying out loud, hug each other and declare that the true love of a prince isn't what helps them, it's the true love between SISTERS. Between FAMILY MEMBERS. So does Mr. Swanson think it's not OK for siblings to love each other? What happened to family values? Is the world such a twisted mess that it's not OK to love your own family members?
Kudos to Disney, by the way, for showing that a girl doesn't need a prince to rescue her.
What a fecking frozen-dinnered meatball Swanson is.
Anyway, Frozen wasn't all that bad - you know, for a kids movie. I actually liked it. The reindeer was funny. And there was a lot of (gak) singing. But there wasn't any lesbian pornography to speak of. No sodomy. No bestiality. Nobody did anything to the reindeer (although the snowman did have a weird gleam in his eye – kidding).
I think if you're going to see anything unwholesome in Frozen, ya gotta be slurping Swanson's Kool-Aid.
Singing? I think I'll pass then. lol I had not heard anything about some alleged agenda with this movie. How odd. Well you know those whack jobs find hidden agendas in the most innocent of things. Methinks they doth protest too much.
ReplyDeleteTHE HILLS ARE ALIVE WITH THE SOUND OF MUUUUUSIC... Chicks and ducks and geese better scurry, When I take you out in the surrey, When I take you out in the surrey with the FRINGGGGE on top ... FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD! Hot sausage and mustard! While we're in the mood -- Cold jelly and custard! Pease pudding and saveloys! What next is the question? Rich gentlemen have it, boys -- In-di-gestion ... DEAR KINDLY SERGEANT KRUPKE, You gotta understand, It's just our bringin' up-ke That gets us out of hand. Our mothers all are junkies, Our fathers all are drunks. Golly Moses, natcherly we're punks! Gee, Officer Krupke, we're very upset; We never had the love that ev'ry child oughta get. We ain't no delinquents, We're misunderstood. Deep down inside us there is good! There is good! There is good, there is good, There is untapped good! Like inside, the worst of us is GOOD!
DeleteOh man, that was WAY too much fun! :)
LMAO You are NUTS! I love you!
Deletehehehehehehehe!
DeleteI haven't seen Frozen but my kiddo did. I have no words for the comments made by the gentlemen thinking Disney's trying to indoctrinate bad things like, "True love is beautiful" or "You can look beyond the ugly in people to find the beauty in them" or "Family is important in life"...if these are the bad things...I can't help wondering otherwise.
ReplyDeleteI agree 1000%. See, I don't mind crazy people who just spout nonsense on the streetcorner, but when they have a radio program and people actually believe them, they become dangerous.
DeleteNutters.
ReplyDeleteYup.
DeleteIt's a great movie! (Was hoping for the 3D version, but had to buy the regular.) You know, I'm a born again Christian, and I think people like that are nuts. I also don't recall anything gay about the movie at all.
ReplyDeleteI know! There wasn't! And even if there was, who cares? Bah...
DeleteWhy would the devil buy Disney in 1984? I thought the idea was that Disney, himself, was the devil. Oh, no, wait, he was way to sexist to be the devil. Or something. 1984? Really?
ReplyDeleteIf the devil has enough coin to buy Disney, why doesn't he just take over the world right now? Why waste time trying to be sly with Disney movies? Anyway, can't he just do Vulcan mind melds on everyone and get it over with?
DeleteI'm with Alex - as usual, the weirdo-element taints the rest of us Christians :-/
ReplyDeleteHaven't seen the movie as yet but for goodness sake - if your mind is warped (as this Swanson character seems to be) you could read anything into.......anything! (Some people have too much time on their hands.....) - sigh.
Someone once said you can be any religion you want, believe anything you want, but it shouldn't go any further than the tip of your own nose. I like that.
DeleteWhat a complete oxygen thief. Who can't keep his mind out of other people's pants. Sad. And bad.
ReplyDeleteHow grateful I am not to live in his head.
"Oxygen thief." heheheheh
DeleteFor the record it's not just right wing nutsos who claim there is a pro-gay agenda. Several pro-gay organizations and agencies have claimed the same (but with a different attitude than the nutsos) The reason so many see this is mostly because of Elsa. "conceal it don't feel it. Don't let it show. Don't let them know." Apparently that is how many closet homosexuals felt. But I have also heard people with debilitating illness or diseases, people who have been persecuted for race, religion or gender, people with disabilities claim the same thing. Personally, I think Disney just got in the mindset of anyone who feels they don't belong, that they'll never be normal. I identified very heavily with Elsa and I am not gay, but as a teenager I often felt isolated and told myself my own version of 'conceal it, don't feel it."
ReplyDeleteABSOLUTELY. That's the beauty of a great movie, that it allows anyone and everyone to identify with it. Well said, SP.
DeleteI think they don't see, read or hear the stuff they condemn, they're just passing it down the line from the puppeteer with the money. If they ever got the full frontal truth it would knock them stone, frozen cold.
ReplyDeleteI like what you did with the play on words there, Mizz Joanne.
DeleteOh, good grief! First the decision, then (maybe) the evidence. I get really frustrated with people like Kevin Swanson.
ReplyDeleteI know quite a few people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, etc. And I have (as a minister) married some same-gendered people to each other. Great celebrations.
We need to allow Swenson and his ilk their free speech. But we don't have to listen.
In the meantime, blessings and Bear hugs, everyone.
I think you're awesome, Rob, accepting all people no matter what their sexuality or whatever. There aren't many ministers in many religions that will do that. APPLAUSE, APPLAUSE.
DeleteEvery parent's worst nightmare is having a gay child? Not mine. Mine is Kevin Swanson and his ilk. Thanks for this post.
ReplyDeleteI love you susan
DeleteYup, Susan, you nailed it.
DeleteOh, I had a dream about you last night, John. I dreamt I went to visit you and Chris in Trelawnyd and you had to pick me up in a helicopter and take me home in a boat. Don't remember much about the actual visit but I do remember thinking I must have pissed you off in order to be sent home in a dinghy.
Deletep.s. Hey, Cathy! Sundays are days off in the A to Z Challenge, remember?
ReplyDeleteI know!!!! I was just all fired up yesterday when I wrote this and couldn't wait to blast it into the world!
DeleteI'd heard about Swanson's remarks. Sanctimonious hypocrite douchebags like that are one of the reasons I've become an agnostic.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen it myself- I tend to avoid musicals altogether- but at some point I'll get a look at it. I've got a couple of Idina Menzel's albums.
It speaks volumes about Travolta that he couldn't get her name right at the Oscars.
Hehehehehe... poor old Johnny ... I think all that black hair dye he uses has infected his head.
DeleteI'd heard about this guy too. Hard to believe. My daughter loves Frozen, so I have a soft spot for it.
ReplyDeleteIt was a good movie, seriously, I enjoyed it, and every little girl I know adores it. There is absolutely nothing in it but good empowering messages for girls - maybe that's Swanson's real concern - that women don't need princes/men, and a lot of fundamentalists like him still think women don't belong in a pulpit or anywhere, for that matter, but in the kitchen.
DeleteJust googled him ... oh yes, he believes when a woman uses birth control she is populating her uterus with little tombstones ... that pretty much says it all... *facepalm*
DeleteI took my granddaughters to Frozen. They loved it. Me, not so much. Like you, I didn't see any homosexual agenda. It was refreshing to see a princess take control.
ReplyDeleteExactly! It was! Disney has taken so much flack about the whole princess thing, it's wonderful that they're finally doing the opposite!
DeleteThe commenters above me made so many great points that I don't have much left to say. I hate the word "indoctrinate" (my neocon brother in law uses it all the time) because the people who use it have no idea that they themselves are indoctrinating -- by pushing their anti-gay agenda or whatever else those lunatics spout off about.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, it's depressing that these idiots cast a black cloud over something as innocent as a kid's movie. My little girls loved Frozen and I enjoyed it despite all the singing. Kristen Bell is terrific and one of my favorite people in Hollywood.....OH! I just thought of the "gay" connection. Kristen Bell supports marriage equality! Maybe that's what this a-hole means by "pushing the homosexual agenda". SMH.
Maybe, it's hard to comprehend what's going on in their noodles - do they really not realize they're trying to indoctrinate everyone with their be Christian or go to hell message? Really? I guess that would explain it - or maybe they think what they're pushing is good, like medicine, so their indoctrination is a good thing... Bah. Who knows, right? (I feel sorry for you about your brother in law.)
DeleteProbably Swanson was seeing incest instead of sisterly love. more fool him.
ReplyDeleteI've seen Frozen but wasn't really paying attention, for me there's too much singing. I'll watch it again one day, someone gave me a DVD copy.
I think you're right - that's what he was getting at, and if that's true, he's a truly sick puppy, perverting a natural and good relationship with his taint.
DeleteI haven't seen Frozen yet, but I really want to, even more so now :) I just got it on DVD, so I'm looking forward to it. Maybe I'll sit there with a checklist to see if I can spot the agenda! ;P Swanson I have heard of before thanks to the internet, and he would be laughable if he wasn't quite so worrying,
ReplyDeleteSophie
Sophie's Thoughts & Fumbles - A to Z Ghosts
Fantasy Boys XXX - A to Z Drabblerotic
If you find anything at all, let me know, because I sat there all eagle-eyed waiting to find anything the least bit off-colour. And there was nada.
DeleteI hadn't heard any controversy until this post and about half way through reading I thought I was going to have to watch it, but I believe your nothing. So thanks.
ReplyDeletehehehehe... You're welcome, Rhonda!
DeleteI almost want to watch it just to see if I can figure out the stuff. My daughter may buy it so I am sure I will see it at some point.
ReplyDeleteMaybe cause she doesn't need a prince?
That's the only thing I can think of ... but sometimes I think we try too hard to find reason in an insane mind.
DeleteI LOVE the animated Movies ! I also can't wait until tomorrow when the 2nd Hobbit movie comes out in the Video Stores ! even thought it is not animated we LOVED the first one.
ReplyDeleteWe did, too, and meant to see the second Hobbit at the movie theatre but for some reason we never did! See ya at the video store!
DeleteI've not seen this movie, when I do I'll check it out. Thanks for stopping by my blog.
ReplyDeleteYou're so welcome, Mizz Rosie. Love the flowers!
DeleteI didn't see the parellels until I watched it the second time. The attraction they were talking about was between the reindeer and snowman. It's very subtle, but I can see where someone might have been going for that angle.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I liked Tangled more. Talk about witty dialog.
Flynn Rider: "You smell that? Take a deep breath through the nose. Really let that seep in. What are you getting? Because to me, that's part man-smell, and the other part is really bad man-smell. I don't know why, but overall it just smells like the color brown. Your thoughts?"
Really? Snowman and the reindeer? (She says, doubtfully.) I really just thought they were friends. Maybe I'll give it another go, seeing what, exactly, I missed ... it never occurred to me that a thing made of snow might have a thing for a reindeer ... unless Olaf peed on him or something. Maybe I'm just blinded because his name is Olaf and that's the Swedish version of Olliffe, so I'm prejudiced ... (Really? Snowman and Reindeer sitting in a tree?)
DeleteOH WAIT! Olaf is the SNOWMAN, not the reindeer. Sorry, I was confused. I was thinking the reindeer peed on the snowman, cause he had a bit of a yellow tone, but maybe that was just my TV ...
DeleteVery funny, yes, I like!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Leovi!
DeleteFrozen!! I almost talked about that for my F but did Fables instead. Still, It'll come up for my I post haha. Great topic and terrific movie!! Happy A to Z.
ReplyDeleteI watched the movie and loved it totally. There was nothing 'sinful' about it. Infact the last scene of true love is the best part of the movie.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the movie too. First Disney animated one I have in a long time. Never saw any of that crap. And these morons try and put their thoughts off on kids, kids don't go all deeper meaning most times and there was no such crap in it, need to lock those nuts in a rubber room.
ReplyDeleteI saw it last week while on vacation. Not too bad, although Disney long since gave up on having any original thoughts, preferring instead to recycle stories long since public domain (and claiming copyright in perpetuity). The right-wing asshats are right to criticize Disney, but they do it for exactly the wrong reasons. Figures, eh?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, what I heard was that the asshats were asshat'ing because the princess didn't have to marry for her happily ever after… thus busting the plot line.
I liked it too. ;)
ReplyDeleteOlaf's song is hilarious. "I'm gonna tell him." "Don't you dare."
Clever writing and a good story.