banned "Crucible" '...makes Christians look bad...'- Page 2

[PitPro2004]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 2:30pm

I just want to say that I am really enjoying hearing everyone's comments on this thread and how wonderful it is that you post all of them without fear of censorship.

I just got deleted on All That Chat for voicing an opinion and have decided that it's time to stop posting over there.

Good luck on all of your letter writing, I hope you all succeed.

[yodamarie78]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 2:34pm

I have to wonder if those who were so offended by Grease and The Crucible have actually read A Midsummer Night's Dream.

This seems to be part of a new movement in the US. Apparently we are now living in a society where a couple of people can dictate what we all are allowed to see, hear, or perform.

[justthefacts2]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 2:35pm

Well, if you're going to start a letter-writing campaign to Fulton, Missouri, you might as well bone up the place. Here's a link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulton%2C_Missouri

[BlueWizard]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 2:46pm

If a watered-down GREASE is offensive, I can't imagine what passes for entertainment in this town.

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 2:50pm

I hail from a town similar to this one. We had to fight to be able to put on "Grease." There was an outrage last year because a group of parents dared to challenge a program where elementary school kids go off of school grounds during school for a few hours a week to do Bible study. (The program ended up being upheld).

[justthefacts2]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 3:13pm

I think we're losing sight of the larger issue here. Shouldn't the fact that they're NOT in favor of hanging witches be viewed as a positive thing?

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 3:59pm

This was the Superintendent of School's action - not the drama teacher. The drama teacher had already toned down Grease and tried to remove what might be deemed offensive content.

I understand that this is a small town, and that small-town politics come into play. For all I know, these three people speak for the majority of the population.

But, again, if this was such an issue, it should not have been determined by the three letters. While I was raised in the Los Angeles area, I actually live in a small, incoroporated city within LA County. I am quite familar with small town politics. My father sat on the city council of a small town for 16 years. The size of my city is about 38,000. While it is true that the cultrual standards may be different between the two tonwn, the politics is the same.

If a superintended of schools in my city, which has it own school district, including one highschool, one middle school, and about 7 elementary schools (which is very similar to the school district at issue) had done this without consulting the rest of the school board or other parents, there would have been hell to pay.

I understand the politics, but this was caving to three letters, not addressing what the community wanted. If this is what the community wanted, and they found it offensive, so be it.

Posted: 2/11/06 at 4:49pm

Oh what fools these morals be..... The replacement show will only piss people off more!

My memory has faded in the 25+ years since I was in Midsummer Night's Dream so I did a quick search. This 400+ year old play has come under fire in recent years for it's depiction of-- wait for it...

Satanism, Witchcraft, "supernatural beings", "Occult practices", Human Animal Hybrids, rape(aka "Ravishing"), violence, animal mutilation and...oh my! "A pervasive Anti-Christian Bias."

Is there a play that doesn't ruffle any feathers? The real embarassment is the school officials who didn't read the play before approving it. Here's a good lesson to teach the kids: Do your homework, make an informed decision and then, if it's challenged, be able to defend it with the facts. What a sad example they have in charge: He rubber stamps it then is swayed by three complaints. Sad sad sad.
Updated On: 2/11/06 at 04:49 PM

[Becky2]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 6:37pm

As a Christian, I am not offended by the play in the least bit. Some people claiming to be Christians did some really stupid things. It's not as though it's not happening today, *Ahem* Jerry Fallwell, Pat Robertson, James Dobson.

[WindyCityActor]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 10:01pm

I believe that we should find every copy of "The Crucible" and burn in a huge bonfire.

That's what Jesus would do!!!!

[Roninjoey]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 10:27pm

What Jesus would do personally, with his magical elfin powers. Hell, the sky would rain with fire.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 2/12/06 at 9:27am

In a world where "Religious Leaders" opine that heads of state should be "taken out," and that 9/11 was God's revenge on abortion, gay rights, and secularism, the Salem witches were strictly tame PG-13 shenanigans.

[feinstein9]

Posted: 2/12/06 at 3:10pm

the only thing that would make sense about this is if the three letter writers are actually witches, and the principal of the school was threatened by their powers. the witches didn't want the crucible to be performed because then, people might catch on to them and get ideas about burning witches. however, their plan seems to have backfired as i can easily see through their thinly veiled attempts at keeping their magical identity hidden! they are death eaters, i assure you!

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 2/12/06 at 3:38pm

Sounds like an episode of Charmed on acid.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 2/12/06 at 4:00pm

Feinstein9, LOL.

[keggss23]

Posted: 2/13/06 at 5:44pm

Just sent the superintendent and drama teacher a letter.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 2/13/06 at 5:57pm

So they dumped The Crucible for Midsummer? A play about lust, infidelity, magic, pagan gods, and to some extent, bestiality. That makes sense.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 2:52pm

PS - Christians don't need The Crucible to make them look bad. They are doing a pretty good job on their own.

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 2:56pm

A play about lust, infidelity, magic, pagan gods, and to some extent, bestiality. That makes sense.

Yeah, but it's by Shakespeare so the content doesn't matter as a) people will go "ooh, it's Shakespeare and b) they won't understand it.

[Kitzarina]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 3:00pm

Personally, I can't stand "The Crucible," but that's because it's such a brilliantly written piece of work. The injustice inherent in the play makes my blood boil to the point where I begin to feel physically ill. I highly doubt I'd be able to sit through an entire performance.

That is why this work NEEDS to be performed. Especially in an age where witch hunts occur all too often. If Arthur Miller wrote "The Crucible" as a means of commenting on the injustice of McCarthyism, don't we owe it to his memory to perform this masterwork today, when the Bush administration is equally as invasive?

Few things make me as angry as blatant censorship. The only other thing that comes close is people who are close minded. I think this encompases both.

Posted: 2/14/06 at 6:10pm

I can't stand it either, but I understand why it's such a good peice of work. I've seen it a few times, and I've got a copy of it somewhere in TX.

I spent my senior year in Bonham, TX (if any of you know where this city is). This was the only year where Grease! wasn't the senior show. We performed Daddy's Dyin' and I don't think anyone was offended by it.

I wish I could be there opening night of Midsummer. HA... but, I'm thinking they're not going to do the entire show anyway. Probably a shortened two act, maybe even a one act.

And I agree with the statement "They won't understand it."