[Previously: Fairy Tale Controversy, Part 1 ; Fairy Tale Controversy, Part 2: Coming to America]
Fairy tales are no less controversial today than they ever were in the past. The arguments against them echo some of the concerns of the past, and add new ones. Sexual content or innuendo in tales for children is still prohibited. We are less concerned about maintaining class distinctions, but we definitely have a lower tolerance for grisly violence than audiences of the past. And we have added the relatively recent concerns of racism and sexism to the mix. As well, parents today seem inordinately bothered by death scenes in children’s literature. In past times, the death of a parent, of a mother in childbirth, of babies and young children was much more common than today, and therefore found a place in the literature. Today we seem uneasy with the very subject, a modern preoccupation.
Rarest Kind of Best 
Why Kill Off the Parents? Or, The Role of Grownups in Children’s Stories
24 Jun 2011 4 Comments
by Kim in Books, Classics, Commentary, Movies
Bambi
Even parents who are fans of Disney films are often bothered by one aspect of them, namely: “Why do they always have to kill off the parents?” We spend our days providing safety and a sense of security for our children, but as soon as we pop a kiddie movie into the player BAM! Our wee ones are faced with terror, violence, death and somebody becoming an orphan, all usually within the first fifteen minutes. More