According to Plato, "Tales must be strictly censored because young children are malleable and absorb all to which they are exposed…Through the telling of carefully crafted tales, mothers and nurses will shape their children's souls. Moreover, children are expected to accept whatever they are told with little free-thought." It is for this reason that these songs would have been banned in Plato's Republic.
Frosty the Snowman leads children to believe in magic and inanimate objects coming to life. This lie, would be believed by many children in the republic and would have devasting effects as children will start trying to put magical hats on objects such as snowmen believe that they will come to life.
Colors of the Wind teaches children falsehoods such as "The earth is not just a dead thing you can claim, every rock, tree, and creature…has a life, has a spirit, has a name." Lastly, the song encourages children to become friends with otters and herons and to paint with the wind.
Yep, Plato definitely would ban these songs. Sad though, I can't imagine being a kid and never hearing these songs. It does make sense that he would ban these songs since he is trying to make the kids into zombies. Creativity is a no-go in the Republic.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't go as far as to say he would make them into zombies. I think his goal was to set up an ideology that would benefit himself (notice how he did not limit anything that would give him more power).
ReplyDeleteFrosty the Snowman is a very creative story. However, since Plato was a Nazi when it came to creativity this song would've never been heard by children. This is a damn shame because Frosty the Snowman is an awesome children's song, nobody hates this song. I would hate living in the Republic, that place sucks.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. He would have also banned child hood classics such as pinnochio, Lion King, the little mermaid and many other disney/pixar classics that have shaped not only the children's motion picture world, but also famous attractions such as disney world and theme parks everywhere. This was a spot in the reading in class, that once we hit it, I began to disagree with plato. A child's imagination should thrive in whichever way it chooses to go, and should not be steered. That seems to me like the controlling of free will.
ReplyDeleteCaitlin I agree that controlling of free will is wrong, but sometimes it is not control but disclipine. You will not be able to play the piano well unless you first limit your freedom to bang on the keys. Once you recognize this, you will be able to sit down and hit the keys in a way that is more productive and creates music that is not just random chaos.
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