By Maya Kumar
The war on education is back. According to a new American Library Association report, there were 330 “book challenges” in the fall of 2021, a drastic increase from the same periods in previous years. 2021 has been filled with challenges towards concepts such as critical race and queer theory being taught in schools, while some argue it should be taught in more depth, others believe it should completely be banned. The banned book debate has opened up a whole new can of worms, extending beyond literature and delving into the very basis of the American Educational system. So, is it time for reform?
The book ‘Maus’ by Art Spiegelman depicts the horrors of the Holocaust and has recently come under fire for its use of nudity and profanity. The book was previously part of an eighth-grade language arts curriculum, before being unanimously voted out in a meeting in McMinn county Tennessee in January of 2022. The art in ‘Maus’ has been criticised for its “disturbing imagery” to which Spiegelman has replied, “But you know what? It’s disturbing history.” The crux of this debate is whether the book is being banned for the right reasons. Is ‘Maus’ being banned to limit the exposure to ideas of sex and profanity, or is it going through pajamification?
Pajamification, stems from the book ‘The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” which has been criticised for its inaccurate portrayal of the Holocaust. The book has been said to comfort its readers rather than educate and has been added to Middle School state reading curriculums, this gives readers a surface level understanding of the events that transpired, limiting the actual understanding from these books. ‘The Boy in the Striped Pajamas’ has been a staple in many units about Holocaust despite this, giving students a very one-sided learning experience. Some argue that ‘Maus’ would be a better substitution, despite its “graphic imagery”.
So why is the debate complicated? What makes this issue so difficult is identifying whether or not the reasons for banning books have to do with the wellbeing of children or whether it has to do with censorship of historical events. Amanda Bonagura, a mother of six from New York wrote into the New York Times, and says, “Pornography masquerading as school-age literature is child abuse”. She is referring to the book, ‘Beloved’ by Toni Morrison which talks about the horrors of slavery. This points out that exposure to pornography from a young age can hinder development severely and have serious consequences on the future generation. This is leaving people asking, should education about these serious social issues come at the cost of being exposed to profanity and sex?
The simple answer; we don’t know. The banned book debate isn’t so black and white, because whilst some bring up good points about the dangers of exposing children to graphic topics from a young age, others believe that we shouldn’t be coddling children.
Works Cited:
Commentaires