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Barbie Too Slutty for Iran

Wow... I don't know if I totally disagree with this.

The Iranian vice president is speaking out against Barbie, computer games, and movies.

In this Times Online article it's evident that Barbie and other western toys are not welcome:

Barbie dolls and other western toys will lead to "destructive and cultural consequences" for Iran, the country's leading prosecutor wrote in a letter to the Iranian vice-president, published in the Mardom Salari newspaper. "The appearance of personalities such as Barbie, Batman, Spiderman and Harry Potter and ... computer games and movies are all a danger "  A toy seller Masoumeh Rahimi adds that Barbie in particular  is "foreign to Iran's culture" ,  wanton, and " more harmful than an American missile".  

Hmmmm. I'm not sure what he's afraid of in Batman and Spiderman. Maybe those spandex suits are just too revealing. :) But I think there's a kernal of truth in this guy's worries when you take a look at some of the toys and games our culture is pimping out to our kids. It would be hard for us to deny some of the "destructive and cultural consequences" we are seeing from the media.

But I think this guy is taking the extreme position. It's all evil!

The other extreme is embraced by much of our culture. We should let our kids be free to choose what is right for them. 

I have to admit... I don't like either extreme. I guess that's where good parenting is going to have to just kick in.

Thoughts?

Print | posted on Wednesday, April 30, 2008 8:47 AM

Comments on this post

# re: Barbie Too Slutty for Iran

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Jonathan,

First thing, thank you so much for what you provide through thesource4ym. You are an incredibly resource and provide a wonderful ministry for other youth workers. Thank you for all you do!

Secondly, thank you for your post. As you're aware of, GTA IV was just released, and this ties right in with my thoughts on that. I'm a conservative, evangelical Christian with my first child on the way. Like you, I'm not a fan of either extreme. I enjoy video games, cartoons, the Internet....no so much Barbie :). But, I can appreciate these things, so I don't denounce them as evil and desire a nanny state where the gov't tells us what we can and cannot enjoy. At the same time, I find a lot of what gets put out (and obviously targeted towards children/youth, despite it's "M" rating (*cough*RockStarGames*cough*) very deplorable. It disgusts me what is in GTA. I recognize that they *can*, within the boundaries of the law, put this stuff on store shelves. However, it would be nice of game/toy makers would realize that just because they *can* do something, doesn't mean they *should*. Sadly, the almighty dollar trumps whatever responsibility they should.

I agree 100% with you. Whether it be the Internet, movies, music, video games, or toys, it's ultimately the parents' responsibility to know what they're children are doing/watching/playing. Sadly, too many parents don't want to take the time to invest in the children and know what's going on.

Left by Brian Johnson on Apr 30, 2008 10:52 AM

# re: Barbie Too Slutty for Iran

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I find it quite ironic that a country we’ve labeled an “axis of evil” (because of their terrible humanitarian views and actions) is rejecting our nation’s “entertainment.” It’s one thing for our culture to be rejected by a civil and just state, but when it’s Iran, wow!

Maybe this embargo will force us to take a look at what we are peddling to our kids. It’s a bit embarrassing to hear that our mere “toys” are being rejected by such a corrupt government as Iran’s.

It would be great if this could serve as an alarming wakeup call to American families. Maybe then we could see the danger that’s intrinsic in video games like GTA4 and toys like Bling Bling Barbie, etc.

Thanks to The Source for bringing this to our attention.
Left by Lee on Apr 30, 2008 3:06 PM

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