Buster the Bunny has taken a lot of crap from the religious right. Star of Postcards from Buster, the animated rabbit was at the center of a well-publicized, anti-PBS flare-up in 2005. The controversy concerned an episode of the show entitled "Sugartime," which introduced kids to a family working in Vermont's maple sugaring industry. That family was famously helmed by two moms. Cue upset Bush administration officials and conservative Christian organizations - neither of which wanted their children exposed to "that lifestyle." The episode was pulled by a number of PBS stations. Buster was abandoned by its sponsors, and a second season of the show was thrown into question.This weekend's New York Times featured an article on the current state of Postcards from Buster, which is actually in its second season. Its episode order number, however, was cut from 40 to 10. None of this has stopped Buster's producers from tackling hot button issues from a child's perspective - literally, a child's perspective. If you haven't seen the show, it intercuts animated sequences with knee-cap high documentary footage. This season the show features a military family with a father deployed in Iraq and border families in Tijuana and San Diego. Buster's producers are looking for foreign funding for a third season and hope to take Buster to Africa, China and the Middle East.
Frankly, I think Buster is playing it too safe. These issues may sound "hot button," but within the context of the show, they play out is a fairly innocuous, apolitical manner. Because things are told from a child's perspective, you don't hear, "Well, mom, is an ardent lesbian separatist who would like to thwart the Bush administration's current domestic policies." The children say things a little closer to, "I like bubble tea. Do you want some?" In the end, these producers are damned if they do, damned if they don't. So, why not abandon the "we're not leftist" pretense? Postcards from Buster - season four proposals, anyone? Buster takes a transgendered lover and visits a family of atheist doctors who covertly run contraceptives into Cuba?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-18-2006 @ 9:34PM
The Barb said...
The word you used "alot" is actually two words "a lot".
Common mistake.
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12-18-2006 @ 9:46PM
Katie said...
Barb, get a life.
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12-18-2006 @ 11:27PM
Sir Loin said...
I wonder if Muslims would also approve of "that lifestyle." But hey, we wouldn't want to offend them by calling them out, would we? No, it's much safer to make light of Christians, whom you know will not retaliate. Awesome!
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12-19-2006 @ 12:13AM
GhaleonQ said...
As trifling as Julia's complaint may be, Loin, conservative American Muslims don't often form such organizations, while moderate ones do. Moderate ones, of course, are more concerned with preserving the perceived integrity of their religion than bringing down what some see as corruptive television.
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12-19-2006 @ 12:23AM
erroneous_nick said...
I've said before that I'm a regular church-going Christian, but I don't find showing a lesbian couple with children necessarily offensive, unless perhaps it's in a format of trying to tell me I'm wrong for not accepting it. It's reality, it happens and my children are aware of it. We don't condone it, but I'm not about to attack someone for being different unless they're shoving it in my face and being antagonistic about it.
These days, watching television with children is bound to bring about some subjects that are uncomfortable for some, but we discuss those situations when they arise and I let them know our family's position on the subjects at hand and my reasons for believing as I do. We all have different ideas of what's acceptable, but if we start attacking everyone and everything that's outside of our own comfort zones we're going to be in for a lot of fighting.
I've endured plenty of crap just for my own beliefs from those who don't believe as I do and for some reason feel the need to ridicule me for them. I'm sure I've done the same at times when I was in a particularly bad mood and something set me off. Just ask Adam Finley, I hit him over the head about something he said once and I was seriously overreacting. I try to be better than that and I appreciate when others practice the same restraint. So, agree with the subject or not, if it's handled in a considerate manner and not shoved down your throat (ie: you can turn off the tv, change the channel, kick the screen, etc.) why get too bothered by it?
Don't like it? Don't watch it.
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12-19-2006 @ 1:25AM
hessian said...
I'm actually kind of surprised Warner Bros. hasn't sued the production company over the title character. No one remembers Babs and Buster Bunny (no relation) from TINY TOON ADVENTURES?
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12-19-2006 @ 9:27AM
erroneous_nick said...
Hessian,
Marc Brown started writing stories about Arthur and his friends in 1976 and based Buster on his best friend from grade school. Tiny Toon Adventures began in 1990. Since Arthur predates Tiny Toons if there were a lawsuit I think it'd be the other way around.
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12-19-2006 @ 9:48AM
Gordy said...
Funny, I thoght Buster Bunny was a Tiny Toon, kinda of a younger Bugs Bunny. Who is this rabbit?
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12-19-2006 @ 11:15AM
Lauren said...
Buster's last name is Baxter, as anyone who'd watched "Arthur" on PBS would know.
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12-20-2006 @ 6:39PM
MrWeen said...
erroneous_nick said: "I let them know our family's position"
Wow, way to let your kids be free thinkers. How about instead of teaching them what to think, teach them how to think. Let them have their own opinion.
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