Austrailians Are My Heroes!!! Australian schools ban Twilight series - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Brian Damage · 09-13-2009, 08:33 PM

A number of Australian primary schools have reportedly banned Stephanie Meyer’s hit Twilight vampire book series because the content is too sexual and goes against religious beliefs.

In Australia, primary schools teach children up to the age of about 12, after which they move onto secondary school. In some other countries primary schools are described as elementary schools.

The Twilight series has sold over 70 million copies worldwide, according to Wikipedia, and is being made into a film series, with audiences enthralled by the love story between American teen Bella and Edward Cullen, a former human who was transformed into a vampire.

But, reports Australian newspaper The Daily Telegraph, a number of primary schools in New South Wales have banned the series or restricted it to older readers:

“Librarians have stripped the books from shelves in some junior schools because they believe the content is too sexual and goes against religious beliefs … Santa Sabina College at Strathfield was so concerned about the Twilight craze that teachers ran a seminar for Year 6 students to discuss sexual and supernatural themes in the books.”

Commentary
I don’t have much idea what books are and aren’t allowed in Australian primary schools, although I would assume that most content which would fall under the Australian ‘M’ classification would not be encouraged, for the simple reason that content at those levels is not recommended for those under 15 years of age. This would preclude all Australian primary school students.

The question, I guess, is does Twilight fall into this category?

If you read the guidelines for the classification of publications in Australia, a task carried out by the Australian Classification Board, it seems fairly clear that literature falling into the unrestricted category (which includes the M rating as an option) must be discreet in its depictions of sex and violence, and such depictions must be low impact.

Does Twilight contain low impact depictions of sex and violence? Undoubtedly, by Australian standards, yes. There are no real overt sex scenes; Twilight is more about romance. And while there is violence in the book, it’s not really graphic; in fact sometimes it’s almost cartoonish (vampires fighting isn’t that scary compared to many modern day movies kids watch).

However, the fact remains that the books do contain some level of sex and violence. Thus, they’re probably not that appropriate, as The Daily Telegraph mentions, for many primary school students.

Of course, some primary school students might consider Twilight a bit lightweight. I remember reading The Lord of the Rings and Ender’s Game when I was 11 or 12. The sorts of content in those books is a lot more psychologically disturbing and adult than you would find in Twilight, although I can’t see them ever being banned. Of course, I borrowed the books myself from our city library or my father’s collection, not from my school.

One final note: it’s not really clear from the article exactly where schools feel Twilight would offend religious beliefs. But I would suggest while banning books containing sexual behaviour could be legitimate, banning books because they go against religious beliefs is a whole other kettle of fish. Touchy ground, that.

http://www.keepingthedoor.com/2009/0...ilight-series/

Liza · 09-13-2009, 10:02 PM

Am I the only person in the world that hasn't read any of the Twilight books or seen the movie? What the heck is the BIG deal about this thing? I'm so sick of hearing about "Twilight."

Brian Damage · 09-13-2009, 10:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Liza

Am I the only person in the world that hasn't read any of the Twilight books or seen the movie? What the heck is the BIG deal about this thing? I'm so sick of hearing about "Twilight."

Liza, I'm with you, I just don't get it at all.

Schmoopie · 09-13-2009, 11:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Liza

Am I the only person in the world that hasn't read any of the Twilight books or seen the movie? What the heck is the BIG deal about this thing? I'm so sick of hearing about "Twilight."

I could care less about Twilight as well. I started reading the first book only because my best friend at work just loved it, and said she'd let me borrow her copy. I started reading it and it was okay at first, but I couldn't get past the second chapter. I thought about renting the movies since they were filmed in Forks, WA (which is cool), but I'm not in a big rush. I'm not into vampires at all. I love the movie "The Lost Boys" but it took me a really long time to see that. My best friend had to drag me in there, practically kicking and screaming. Turns out I found it hilarious!!! That movie is a classic.

catlover79 · 09-13-2009, 11:32 PM

Sign me up in this club. I could care less about the Twilight series/movies and don't understand the appeal at all.

I'm sick of hearing about it.

09-13-2009, 08:33 PM	#1
Brian Damage I'm Rich Bitch Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 03, 2002 Location: What Ain't No Country I Ever Heard Of...They Speak English in What? Posts: 63,107	Austrailians Are My Heroes!!! Australian schools ban Twilight series A number of Australian primary schools have reportedly banned Stephanie Meyer’s hit Twilight vampire book series because the content is too sexual and goes against religious beliefs. In Australia, primary schools teach children up to the age of about 12, after which they move onto secondary school. In some other countries primary schools are described as elementary schools. The Twilight series has sold over 70 million copies worldwide, according to Wikipedia, and is being made into a film series, with audiences enthralled by the love story between American teen Bella and Edward Cullen, a former human who was transformed into a vampire. But, reports Australian newspaper The Daily Telegraph, a number of primary schools in New South Wales have banned the series or restricted it to older readers: “Librarians have stripped the books from shelves in some junior schools because they believe the content is too sexual and goes against religious beliefs … Santa Sabina College at Strathfield was so concerned about the Twilight craze that teachers ran a seminar for Year 6 students to discuss sexual and supernatural themes in the books.” Commentary I don’t have much idea what books are and aren’t allowed in Australian primary schools, although I would assume that most content which would fall under the Australian ‘M’ classification would not be encouraged, for the simple reason that content at those levels is not recommended for those under 15 years of age. This would preclude all Australian primary school students. The question, I guess, is does Twilight fall into this category? If you read the guidelines for the classification of publications in Australia, a task carried out by the Australian Classification Board, it seems fairly clear that literature falling into the unrestricted category (which includes the M rating as an option) must be discreet in its depictions of sex and violence, and such depictions must be low impact. Does Twilight contain low impact depictions of sex and violence? Undoubtedly, by Australian standards, yes. There are no real overt sex scenes; Twilight is more about romance. And while there is violence in the book, it’s not really graphic; in fact sometimes it’s almost cartoonish (vampires fighting isn’t that scary compared to many modern day movies kids watch). However, the fact remains that the books do contain some level of sex and violence. Thus, they’re probably not that appropriate, as The Daily Telegraph mentions, for many primary school students. Of course, some primary school students might consider Twilight a bit lightweight. I remember reading The Lord of the Rings and Ender’s Game when I was 11 or 12. The sorts of content in those books is a lot more psychologically disturbing and adult than you would find in Twilight, although I can’t see them ever being banned. Of course, I borrowed the books myself from our city library or my father’s collection, not from my school. One final note: it’s not really clear from the article exactly where schools feel Twilight would offend religious beliefs. But I would suggest while banning books containing sexual behaviour could be legitimate, banning books because they go against religious beliefs is a whole other kettle of fish. Touchy ground, that. http://www.keepingthedoor.com/2009/0...ilight-series/
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09-13-2009, 11:32 PM	#5
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,392	Sign me up in this club. I could care less about the Twilight series/movies and don't understand the appeal at all. I'm sick of hearing about it.
	__________________ "Jesus loves you and He approves this message." "I'm alive. I'm feeling good. I'm trying to live every moment as much as I can." - Valerie Harper, March 2013

09-13-2009, 10:02 PM	#2
Liza BestYearsofOurLives Forum Veteran Join Date: Apr 24, 2001 Location: Rochester, NY Posts: 6,537	Am I the only person in the world that hasn't read any of the Twilight books or seen the movie? What the heck is the BIG deal about this thing? I'm so sick of hearing about "Twilight."