This video, posted by fourfour, is from a panel discussion/propaganda film called Not Just Fun And Games. It touches on The Simpsons and MC Hammer, but is primarily a screed against the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Complaints from over-concerned parents and quack-psychologists about the violence in TMNT were common at the time; but the men in this video also criticize the Turtles for being un-Christian. Virtually the same arguments can be found in the 1991 book, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Exposed!, by Joan Hake Robie.
To the left are some quotes from the book. The first shows the same argument as that in the video, the idea that Splinter was some sort of god-like figure.
It’s interesting to note that the author never tries to prove that Splinter or his philosophy is ‘bad,’
simply that it is un-Christian. This, in their minds, is enough reason to rage against it. Fighting against evil, protecting people, and working hard to perfect your abilities are apparently not admirable traits if they don’t involve Jesus (who, as a pacifist, wouldn’t out up much of a fight against the Shredder anyways).
Perhaps it’s telling that she describes Krang as having a ‘demonic-like figure.’ Krang, of course, is a giant brain, which should tell you something about the author’s attitude towards knowledge.
TMNT Exposed! also complains about the April O’Neil of the Archie comics incarnation (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures) as being a useless, big-breasted sex-symbol. It’s an odd choice of targets, since the April of the Archie series was by far the most complex and self-sufficient of all the Aprils (outside of the original Mirage universe). She trained with Splinter to use the Katana, started her own business, and even got some spin-off mini-series in which she was the hero. She’s a veritable role model.
But I think the Robin’s book, along with similar treatises, is best summed up by its last page:
Make up your own mind: Do exactly what we tell you the bible tells you to do.
