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                        <title>The Express Tribune</title>
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                        <description>The Express Tribune keeps you up to date with all the latest happenings from Pakistan and across the world!</description>
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			<title>Can Disney make up for racism in past films?</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2289399/can-disney-make-up-for-racism-in-past-films</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2289399/can-disney-make-up-for-racism-in-past-films#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 14 Mar 21 11:26:56 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[DW]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Film]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2289399</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Due to negative depictions, Disney pulls old classics from kids' profiles on its streaming platform.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Today&#39;s adults&nbsp;remember watching Disney movies such as&nbsp;Peter Pan,&nbsp;Dumbo&nbsp;or&nbsp;The Jungle Book.&nbsp;Decades after their release, these classic animated films are still popular with both kids and adults.

Yet the films&#39;&nbsp;continued popularity&nbsp;has forced&nbsp;Disney&nbsp;to own up to negative stereotypes present in the films. In the US&nbsp;and Europe in recent years, calls have grown loud for these films from the past to be held accountable for containing racist stereotypes and culturally insensitive material &mdash; and for stories to be told differently in the future.

An opportunity for discussion



The 1953 film &#39;Peter Pan&#39; is among those now listed as including negative stereotypes. Photo: Imago/United Archives/DW

Upon the launch of the entertainment giant&#39;s streaming platform Disney+ in&nbsp;2019, a disclaimer warning about &quot;outdated cultural depictions&quot; was added to several films in its catalog. The disclaimer&#39;s wording was also&nbsp;updated in October 2020.

Peter Pan,&nbsp;Dumbo, Lady and the Tramp,&nbsp;The Aristocats&nbsp;and&nbsp;The Jungle Book, among others, now include a 12-second text&nbsp;during the opening credits which reads: &quot;This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures. These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now.&quot;&nbsp;

On Tuesday, the company went a step farther, removing the films from kid&#39;s profiles on their Disney+ streaming site

Examples of content that led to the removal, according to information available on the Disney+ website, include stereotypical portrayals of Native people in&nbsp;Peter Pan&nbsp;that &quot;reflects neither the diversity of Native peoples nor their authentic cultural traditions&quot; in Disney&rsquo;s own words, and uses&nbsp;racist terms&nbsp;to describe them.

Another example in&nbsp;Dumbo&nbsp;are &quot;the crows and a musical number that pay homage to racist minstrel shows, where white performers with blackened faces and tattered clothing imitated and ridiculed enslaved Africans on Southern Plantation.&quot; The leader of the crows is even named Jim Crow &mdash; which is&nbsp;the name of the laws that enforced racial segregation in the US.

Eva F&uuml;rst, a cultural and literary scholar, believes that putting a notice on the films is justified. &quot;Such a classification is welcome and much better than simply not showing the films anymore. This creates an opportunity and a chance to talk to children about racism and negative stereotypes.&quot;

The future of Disney animated films



&#39;The Jungle Book&#39; is another of the films removed from the Disney+ streaming service for children. Photo: Disney Enterprises/DW

Disney also removed the films from&nbsp;children&#39;s profiles on its in-house video-on-demand platform at the end of January, i.e. for viewers who are under age 12.

F&uuml;rst, who works as a research associate at the Institute for Education and Social Innovation in Bonn, is critical of this move. &quot;What I find difficult is not allowing children to understand that some things are wrong.&quot; Not showing films, she says, is not the solution. &quot;I think it&#39;s good if you don&#39;t keep blocking works, but consciously deal with the problematic points; talk about the fact that it was a sign of its time and that it was wrong even back then.&quot;

So how can things be done differently, and&nbsp;better? This is a question that many working in arts and culture in the US&nbsp;and Europe have been asking for some time now. The topic comes up in the theater world as well as by novelists and independent filmmakers.&nbsp;

&#39;Pocahontas&#39; as a positive example

F&uuml;rst, who leads workshops at European universities on &quot;racism awareness,&quot; sees the note in the opening credits of Disney films as a positive first step, especially since it alerts parents to problematic content that they may need to discuss with their kids.

But further steps need to be taken, says F&uuml;rst. Disney could create more content to address difficult questions, for example movies discussing the inappropriate content in their classic animations, which they could then make available on their platform. Such films could focus on problematic elements in the costumes and screenplays &mdash;&nbsp;more importantly, they could start a debate about the moral questions a series or a film raises.

F&uuml;rst cites&nbsp;Pocahontas, which was released in 1995, as an example of a more progressive&nbsp;Disney film. &quot;It&rsquo;s a spoof of the historical figure, but as a Disney movie, it works because it clearly portrays colonization as something negative for kids.&quot;



Disney&#39;s &#39;Raya and the Last Dragon&#39; aims to be more progressive and send a message of independence to young girls. Photo: Walt Disney/DW

Stories shape our view of the world

The latest 3D animated Disney film,&nbsp;Raya and the Last Dragon, aims to do things differently, according to the company. The film was released March 4 in the US and March 5 in Germany on Disney+; the creators of the Disney movie&nbsp;Moana&nbsp;are behind it.

Although Eva F&uuml;rst hasn&#39;t yet seen&nbsp;Raya and the Last Dragon, she said the Disney film&nbsp;Moana&nbsp;which told the story of the strong-willed daughter of a chief of a Polynesian village, showed progress. &quot;The actors and actresses were chosen appropriately. In the story a heroine is not in search of a man, but rather her own identity. If it continues like this, it&#39;s a good way to go. Disney owns an incredible number of media franchises, that means they are extremely powerful because the stories we consume shape how we see the world. It&#39;s important to be aware of this responsibility,&quot; she said.

Different from&nbsp;The Jungle Book&nbsp;and&nbsp;Peter Pan, movies like&nbsp;Moana&nbsp;and&nbsp;Raya and the Last Dragon&nbsp;set a new direction for children&#39;s films. According to Eva F&uuml;rst, this also suggests that society has matured: &quot;If you rate a children&#39;s film differently as an adult, then that means one thing above all: you&#39;ve become more mature.&quot;

Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below.&nbsp;]]>
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			<title>Police detain TLP workers, leaders ahead of Nov 15 protest</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2272120/police-detain-tlp-workers-leaders-ahead-of-nov-15-protest</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2272120/police-detain-tlp-workers-leaders-ahead-of-nov-15-protest#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 13 Nov 20 08:38:02 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Our Correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[Police conduct raid to detain TLP chief, fail to apprehend him]]>
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				<![CDATA[Police in Punjab has arrested at least 96 leaders and activists of Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) ahead of the religious party&#39;s November 15 protest.

Around 36 workers, including Amir Inayat-ul-Haq Shah of the parties northern Punjab chapter were arrested in Rawalpindi, while 60 others were arrested from Attock, Chakwal and Jhelum.

Those detained were kept in various police stations across the province as police conducted further raids to arrest party activists. Police in Lahore also raided the residence of TLP chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi, but he could not be apprehended.

Despite the crackdown, TLP workers vowed to reach the protest venue, Liaquat Bagh, on November 15.

TLP has announced a march from Peshawar to Faizabad to protest against the blasphemous caricatures and France&#39;s disrespect of the religion.

In a fiery speech last weekend, the TLP chief stated that France has committed global terrorism by publishing blasphemous sketches.

Addressing a rally with thousands of participants in Karachi on Nov 7, Rizvi lambasted Muslim countries and organisations representing the international Muslim community for their silence, terming it &#39;reprehensible&#39; as well as a criminal offence.

Prominent religious scholar Mufti Muneebur Rehman, who also addressed the march, also lamented that Muslim countries had remained silent on the matter.

Claiming that there would be no peace as long as the West continued to hurt the feelings of Muslims, he demanded that the Pakistani government ban French products on the national level.

The republication of blasphemous sketches in France, along with French President Emmanuel Macron&#39;s statements on the matter, has met much outcry in Pakistan in recent days, with several protests held across the country.]]>
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			<title>Child labour cartoon? Brazil turns to TV to shed light on slavery</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2031115/child-labour-cartoon-brazil-turns-tv-shed-light-slavery</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2031115/child-labour-cartoon-brazil-turns-tv-shed-light-slavery#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 08 Aug 19 15:43:26 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[reuters]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2031115</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The initiative is taken to shed light on modern slavery and change attitudes through entertainment]]>
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				<![CDATA[From a cartoon about child workers to an HBO mini series, Brazil is
turning to television and social media to shed light on modern
slavery and change attitudes through entertainment.

Prosecutors and judges are spending funds - seized from those who profit from modern slavery - on documentaries and movies in a drive to spark debate, engage with more people and bring to life the reality of slave labour in Brazil.

"Public opinion is fundamental," said prosecutor Luiz Carlos Fabre, who brokered a deal between a production company and the Labour Prosecutor's Office to part fund a series about slave labour for a major regional broadcaster, HBO Latin America.

"These issues need to be in the spotlight always," said Fabre, whose office provided about R$200,000 ($53,100) for the upcoming series, which has yet to be given a release date. With more than 40 million people enslaved worldwide, the entertainment industry has made a host of documentaries and films that explore life as a modern slave.

But it is unorthodox for a government to commission content and detractors question the value of funding entertainment to educate. Under Brazilian law, civil fines for labour violations and court convictions relating to public issues should be awarded to the victims or spent on helping the affected community.

Prosecutors and judges decide how to spend the funds, and have committed tens of thousands of dollars in recent years to anti-slavery screenplays. A short cartoon on the dangers of child labour was screened last month at a fair in Juina, a small city in Mato Grosso state - a region where prosecutors say child workers are not seen as a problem by the public.

It was also shared across social media. "We heard people say: better (for a child) to be working, than on the streets doing nothing," said prosecutor Ludmila Pereira Araujo, so she used R$92,000 ($23,256) in labour fines to produce the cartoon, adapted from a comic book series. "We made it to try and reach younger people that use social
media heavily," Araujo said.

Money no object

Money gained through fines and court convictions has been used by prosecutors and judges to build hospital wings and immigrant centres, buy equipment for labour inspectors, and fund social enterprises that aim to do business and do good. Yet a lack of spending guidelines worries some civil servants.

Jonatas Andrade, a judge with more than a decade of
experience working in the state of Para, said he felt more and
more uneasy as the stash of money he managed kept growing. "It would be pretentious on my part ... to presume to know where to best spend it," said Andrade, who consults with state officials and anti-slavery campaigners on how to use the money. In 2015, he allocated R$1 million ($252,786) to fund the film 'Pureza'- a real-life account of anti-slavery activist Pureza Lopes, who travelled Brazil in search of her son after learning that he had been enslaved on a farm in the rain forest. The movie will be shown at international film festivals and in Brazilian cinemas over the next two years, according to Andrade, who said he hoped it would raise awareness.

In Brazil - whose government has rescued more than 53,000 people in slave-like conditions since 1995 - slavery is defined as forced labour, and also includes debt bondage, degrading work conditions and long hours that pose a health risk to workers.

President Jair Bolsonaro, who took office on a populist campaign targetting the opposition's corruption and economic ineptitude, last month criticised Brazil's labour laws and said the definition of slave labour 'terrorised' bosses.

"Screenplays with a message can be ineffectual without good planning and appropriate screenings, be it in schools, labour unions or regions rife with slavery", said Fred Lucio of ESPM Social, a consultancy promoting corporate social responsibility. Otherwise, the film might win awards but touch nobody. "Many times the government gives money...and has no further involvement," said Lucio. "Then it's just throwing public funds to waste."]]>
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			<title>Dutch FM told blasphemous cartoons will ‘spread hate, intolerance’</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/1790653/dutch-fm-told-blasphemous-cartoons-will-spread-hate-intolerance</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/1790653/dutch-fm-told-blasphemous-cartoons-will-spread-hate-intolerance#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 29 Aug 18 13:14:22 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=1790653</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Qureshi urges the Netherlands to prevent caricatures competition from taking place]]>
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				<![CDATA[Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has told his Dutch counterpart that the planned competition of blasphemous caricatures by an "Islamophobe parliamentarian" in the Netherlands “must be prevented as they spread hate and intolerance in societies”.

Qureshi conveyed this to Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Stef Blok in a phone call on Tuesday, according to a statement issued by the Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson on Wednesday.

Dutch anti-Islam politician Greet Wilders, who is the leader of far-right Party of Freedom (PVV), earlier announced that he would hold a competition of blasphemous cartoons at his party’s parliamentary offices.

The PVV, which has previously called for banning the Holy Quran, said the contest had been approved by the country’s counter-terrorism agency. In the past, Wilders has also called for mosques and Islamic schools to be shut down and for a blanket ban on Muslim immigrants.

In Tuesday’s phone call, the foreign minister expressed his deepest concern on the announcement of abominable and sacrilegious competition by Wilders, said the statement released by the FO.

He said this deliberate effort under the pretext of freedom of expression was of great concern to the Muslims across the world. “Such acts must be prevented as they spread hate and intolerance in societies."

The Dutch foreign minister said it was an individual’s act and his country's government was neither associated nor supporting the competition. The two foreign ministers agreed to work together and coordinate in the matter.

Dutch police arrest man allegedly planning to kill Wilders
The Dutch police on Tuesday arrested a man suspected of planning an attack against Wilders after he said he intended to hold the competition.
Police said in a statement they arrested the still unidentified suspect at the main railway station in The Hague and he was being questioned. The suspect is expected to appear before a judge on Friday, the police statement said.
Police said they had been alerted by a video on Facebook in which the 26-year-old man talked about attacking anti-Islam MP Wilders, as well as the Dutch parliament.]]>
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			<title>Move over Superman: UN taps Pakistani superheroine Burka Avenger to fight extremism</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/1515542/move-superman-un-taps-pakistani-superheroine-burka-avenger-fight-extremism</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/1515542/move-superman-un-taps-pakistani-superheroine-burka-avenger-fight-extremism#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 25 Sep 17 05:14:56 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[reuters]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category><category><![CDATA[Life &amp; Style]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=1515542</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Emmy-nominated animated TV series has won global accolades since its 2013 launch]]>
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				<![CDATA[She has already captured hearts across Asia by taking on corrupt politicians and fighting bad guys who tried to shut girls’ schools – and now even the United Nations has been wowed by a superheroine whose only weapons are pens and books.

Move over Superman and Batman. Here comes Pakistan’s superheroine Burka Avenger who might soon be spreading her message of peace and tolerance on behalf of the UN.

The Emmy-nominated animated TV series has won global accolades since its 2013 launch, with its female protagonist - a teacher called Jiya - putting on the Islamic veil at night and transforming into an all-action heroine to tackle social ills.

'Pakistan Girl' takes aim at corrupt cops, domestic abuse

Now the UN is seeking to tap her popularity as it ramps up a campaign that emphasizes women’s role in peace-building to combat extremism.

“We have a lot of shared goals,” the series’ creator, Pakistani pop star Haroon Rashid, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone from Islamabad.

“The whole concept [of Burka Avenger] came about because I was reading about girls’ schools being shut down and bombed by extremists, and women and girls are threatened with violence. That’s why the superheroine was created,” he said.

[caption id="attachment_1515546" align="alignnone" width="625"] Burka Avengers poster. PHOTO: REUTERS[/caption]

Rashid will be speaking at a UN Women conference in the Thai capital Bangkok this week which will look at using creative approaches to promote women’s role in peace-building.

Although there is no official partnership yet, the UN agency and Rashid both said they were keen to explore collaboration, including by making Burka Avenger an ambassador.

“Burka Avenger can be a great messenger not only for women’s issues but because it’s animation, you can highlight very sensitive issues, it makes them [appear] softer,” Rashid said.

Fight extremism  from a young age

Burka Avenger was launched first in Pakistan, then Afghanistan, India and this year in Indonesia. It has been produced in different languages including Urdu, Tamil, Hindi, Pashto and Indonesian.

The series has won numerous accolades, including the Peabody Award, International Gender Equity Prize and the Asian Media Award, while the protagonist Jiya was named one of the most influential fictional characters of 2013 by Time magazine.

Pakistan to launch its first-ever female superhero comic book

Orphaned as a child, Jiya was adopted by a master of a mystic martial art called Takht Kabaddi, which uses pens and books as weapons to take on enemies.

There has also been debate over Jiya’s choice of disguise, the burqa. The all-encompassing veil has typically been viewed as symbol of female repression in the West but the cartoon presents it in a different light, as a symbol of female empowerment.

UN Women Asia-Pacific head Miwa Kato said cartoons can help prevent extremism from a young age. “We often look to law enforcement to prevent extremism but it starts very early from a child’s age, through TV and entertainment,” Kato told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “A girl and superhero using pens and books as weapons can make us start having a conversation, at home or in schools.”

Burka Avenger is set for more launches in Asia - including Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Brunei, Singapore and Bangladesh - but after four seasons and 52 episodes, Rashid said he has no plans to work on new episodes immediately although he is planning a full-length feature film.

“We believe that will help spread the message on a larger scale, to a larger audience,” the pop star said.]]>
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			<title>Muslim alternative to Peppa Pig planned in Australia</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/1258257/religious-leaders-push-muslim-alternative-peppa-pig-australia</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/1258257/religious-leaders-push-muslim-alternative-peppa-pig-australia#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 09 Dec 16 05:19:43 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[afp]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category><category><![CDATA[Life &amp; Style]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[It is not however, because they think the popular cartoon series corrupts children]]>
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				<![CDATA[Islamic leaders in Australia say they are backing a Muslim alternative to Peppa Pig but not because they think the popular cartoon series corrupts children, as reports have suggested.

Sydney production company One4Kids is campaigning to fund a show loosely based on the British children's series, telling the story of the Abdullah family and their life in a small town with a predominantly Muslim population and an imam as the key role model.

Pig heads, blood on Austrian mosque

The head of the Australian National Imams Council, Sheikh Shady Alsuleiman, backed the "Barakah Hills" project in a Facebook video message, saying it was something Muslim children would benefit from rather than be "impacted negatively".

But he denied controversial comments attributed to him in The Australian newspaper that Peppa Pig "corrupts Muslim children".

In a statement, he blamed "an insatiable appetite by some media outlets to misrepresent and embellish the reality for sensationalist propaganda purposes".

He said he endorsed the concept of producing religious alternatives but that children should not be stopped from watching other cartoons.

One4Kids founder Subhi Alshaik said some reports had "spread the wrong message" about the proposal.

"It has now just blown out of proportion and it's now like we're saying 'stop watching Peppa Pig, it's bad for you'," he told SBS television late Thursday.

"No. I actually watch it myself. My kids, when we're together, whack it on and we enjoy it. We have a laugh. And I think as a producer 'what's attracting the kids to it?' and I'm always looking to produce something new.

"So I thought, we need a show for the Muslim community."

The show will be aimed at an online subscriber-based audience and a crowdfunding campaign for the first two episodes has so far raised more than Aus$5,000 (US$3,700) of the Aus$20,000 needed.]]>
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			<title>SWAT Kats to make comeback</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/1006272/nine-lives-swat-kats-to-make-comeback</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/1006272/nine-lives-swat-kats-to-make-comeback#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 08 Dec 15 15:36:25 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[news.desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Life &amp; Style]]></category><category><![CDATA[Film]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[Campaign helped creators release two minute animated teaser for TV show]]>
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				<![CDATA[Just a few days after it was revealed that Samurai Jack will be making its return on Cartoon Network, the 90s kids have another reason to rejoice as their favourite crime fighting cats — SWAT Kats — are set to make a revolutionary return to the TV screen.

Yvon and Christian Tremblay, the creators of the show, announced a Kickstarter campaign to revive the series, stated theouthousers.com. The campaign which eventually ended with a total pledge of $141,500, helped to meet the proposed target of creating a two-minute-long animated teaser for SWAT Kats Revolution.

Having crossed the $100,000 barrier 12 days prior to the ending of the campaign, the TV serial will have an animated teaser alongside character designs, three scripts and new concept art pertaining to the show.

30 years of ThunderCats

However, the current pledge only allows the creators to release an animated teaser. While a target of $200,000 would have enabled them to produce a 22-minute-long episode, a funding of $1,000,000 would have resulted in a 5-part miniseries being commissioned.

Although the amount generated for the new episode falls below the required sum, the show’s creators have responded with excitement to the response they have received.

‘Our standard of comedy has declined since PTV days’

Tremblay thanked fans moments before the close of the pledge, for displaying their loyalty and devotion while simultaneously trying to breathe a new life into the series. “We thank you guys from the bottom of our hearts. You have all been the best and loyal fans,” he said, in a video posted on the Kickstarter website.
SWAT Kats originally premiered in 1993 and was part of the syndication block known as the The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera. The series is set in the fictional metropolis of Megakat City which is populated by anthropomorphic felines known as ‘kats’. The protagonists of the show are two vigilante pilots, Razor and T-Bone, who have a fighter jet in their possession. The two titular characters are on a mission to guard the city from various villains who attempt to conquer it.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 9th,  2015.

Like Life &amp; Style on Facebook, follow @ETLifeandStyle on Twitter for the latest in fashion, gossip and entertainment.]]>
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			<title>30 years of ThunderCats</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/1003318/30-years-of-thundercats</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/1003318/30-years-of-thundercats#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 03 Dec 15 16:17:14 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Creative: Maryam Rashid]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Life &amp; Style]]></category><category><![CDATA[Film]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=1003318</guid>
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				<![CDATA[Ideals, values and imaginative capabilities that ‘Thundercats’ instilled live on with generation that grew up with it]]>
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				<![CDATA[Growing up is part of the larger facet of life where we are on the lookout for objects, memories, relations and emotions to live by: the cartoon that aired at the time of the day when the tuition teacher was ringing the doorbell, the candy that mummy forbade from eating and the comics that emerged from under the mattress after lights out.


Often when viewed in isolation, these things rarely seem to possess, on their own merits, the importance that we associate with them. Hence one wonders why they became so foundational with one’s childhood when someone else, for instance, will see nothing special in them. It makes little sense, yet many of us continue to relate with so many of these supposed trivialities with almost the same fervour that we did when we were yet to embrace the banality of adulthood.

Creativity and fun: Films help children develop global perspectives

2015 marks 30 years since one such thing that the 90s kids will surely remember, first aired on air – ThunderCats. The franchise, and more specifically the original ThunderCats cartoon, was part of the kids’ shows that aired between 3pm and 6pm everyday on the now-defunct STN which was our prime, go-to source of entertainment and amusement. For the parents the slot literally translated as three hours of peace. As for the children, it meant the world to them.

ThunderCats was undoubtedly the highlight of the day. The idea of a race of armed, sentient humanoid cats with supernatural abilities and the rationale behind its portraiture was, frankly, quite unbelievable. Yet it saw the light of the day, keeping us glued to the screens as we roamed the world of human imagination.



However, ThunderCats had a much deeper influence on me. The notions of bravery, intelligence, sensitivity, strength and ingenuity that its characters represented made the pursuit of these attributes a life goal. The constant support and help they provided to the weaker species of the planet and their battle to overthrow the tyrannical evils of Mumm-Ra was of immense influence. The camaraderie and loyalty that these cats shared represented in no way better than Lion-O’s call to the other cats through the power of the Sword of Omens. Be it the belligerence of Panthro, the speed of Cheetara, the brains of Tygra or the wisdom of Jaga, they complimented each other’s strengths and weaknesses for the larger effort of establishing peace on the planet.

It was of prime importance for people like us who were still learning to get along with different people in school and making friends that would stick by for a lifetime. Impressionable young children like me understood the value of both friendship and family bonds which is above anything and everything. This process of instilling certain values and ideals in a whole generation cannot be understated or scoffed at.

Japanese movies to break cultural barriers

Children’s programming on TV serves essentially as a babysitter, providing parents with a break from the constant demand for attention that their young ones ask of them. While much is said and written about the negative influences of the box that began as a piece of furniture in the living room and soon gained the importance of a family member, rarely it is credited with constructive impact on budding minds.

I have no qualms about the fact that ThunderCats was one such show that helped shape me for the better. Thirty years since its creation and more than 15 years since I first got hooked to it, the show saw demise, rebirth and then yet another end. Today I can say with full conviction that the ideals, values and imaginative capabilities that the show instilled in us, live on with grown-ups like me.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 4th,  2015.

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			<title>Editor behind Denmark's Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) cartoons steps down</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/988084/editor-behind-denmarks-prophet-muhammad-pbuh-cartoons-steps-down</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/988084/editor-behind-denmarks-prophet-muhammad-pbuh-cartoons-steps-down#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 09 Nov 15 12:31:38 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[afp]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=988084</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The cartoons were also published in 2006 in French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo]]>
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				<![CDATA[The Danish editor who commissioned the Muhammad(pbuh) cartoons that triggered deadly protests a decade ago said Monday he was leaving the Jyllands-Posten newspaper to focus on his career as an author and political commentator.

Denmark court convicts four over cartoon killing plot

"I want to spend more time writing books and participating in the public debate in Denmark and abroad. The growing diversity in Europe has put freedom under pressure," Flemming Rose told the paper.

"It is a crucial debate that will determine the future of Europe," he added.

Danish newspaper says won't print Prophet cartoons

Rose was the culture editor of the right-wing Jyllands-Posten in 2005 when he commissioned 12 satirical cartoons of the Islamic prophet, triggering deadly protests in some Muslim countries.

The cartoons were also published in 2006 in French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, where Islamist gunmen killed 12 people in January.

Rose, 57, still lives under police protection because of death threats made against him, and there have been numerous foiled terror plots against Jyllands-Posten, which has had to take extensive security measures.

Jyllands-Posten was the only major Danish daily that didn't carry any illustrations from Charlie Hebdo in the wake of the Paris attacks, citing security concerns.

"Jyllands-Posten has a lot to thank Flemming for. Through all (of his) 16 years he has made an outstanding contribution," wrote Jyllands-Posten's editor in chief, Jorn Mikkelsen.

The newspaper's decision to publish the 2005 caricatures was controversial in Denmark and many journalists criticised Rose for doing it.

Berlin court allows Prophet (PBUH)’s cartoons to be displayed at rally

In March, however, the national press club awarded him a prize for "being a strong and central actor in the international debate on freedom of speech".

Rose, Jyllands-Posten's foreign editor since 2010, has written two books about freedom of expression in a multicultural world.]]>
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