'Maus' author reacts to his book being banned
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- čas přidán 26. 01. 2022
- The McMinn County Board of Education in Tennessee voted 10-0 to remove "Maus," the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel about the experiences of Holocaust survivors, from it's eighth grade language arts curriculum. The book's author, Art Spiegelman, responds to the school board's action. #CNN #News
Banning books.. by the people who don’t want the government telling them what to do.. sweeping ignorance
The epitome of cancel culture.
@@renehinojosa1962 - absolutely.. and it has detrimental ramifications
Conservatives only have a problem with government when it's not their "team" in power.
He just suggested that he’s trying to get past the fact that these people might not be Nazis. What a ridiculous comment, fully in line with the left wing playbook.
Perhaps, just perhaps, there’s a better way to teach young kids about the holocaust. Nazis. FFS.
Hitler burned books that he did not agree with.
Those who don't learn history are doomed to repeat it.
CNN PDO PRODUCERS RICK SALEEBY AND JOHN GRIFFIN ALONG WITH PDO JOE FOR PRISON
@@nasty__nancy998 Trump lost. Get over it. Womp womp. Thoughts and prayers, bro.
And those of us who HAVE learned history are damned to stand by and watch the masses do whatever they're going to do, completely helpless to stop the idiot hordes.
“The only thing that we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history.”
- Georg Hegel
: )
@@tos100returns you mad you cant loot and burn for a pair of jordan?
If the thirteen-year-olds in McMinn County aren’t mentally mature enough to process a graphic novel about life for a Holocaust survivor and his son, it’s not the graphic novel’s fault. It’s not the fault of the young adults that won’t get to read it. The real tragedy is that they weren’t only failed by their parents, but now by their schools, too.
I wouldn't worry.. The easiest way to convince a teenager he wants to read a book is to ban it. When my high school banned Catcher in the Rye back in the day, it was suddenly uncool not to have read it
Book banning is for communists.
This same school board ( like many in Tennessee ) , has no problem with their students bending over to be beaten with a wooden paddle as " discipline " .
@@loisavci3382 Unfortunately Catcher in the Rye is a shit novel.
@@loisavci3382 thats how teenagers are. Tell them not to do something, they do it.
"If your problems with the Holocaust are bad words and nudity, I think you're kind of missing the point" 💀💀
Maus is a brilliant piece of art. It is not easy to read nor should it be. It is a way to let younger people understand the Holocaust and definitely has a place on school library bookshelves. The school that banned it is deeply wrong.
All western schools should ban such books.
@@wilhelm4321 Troll alert. Go home, little fella.
@@wilhelm4321 your fear stinks
@@thinggtwoo The only trolls are those who snort allied propaganda like an addict snorts cocaine
@@wilhelm4321 why are you history deniers so afraid of the truth??
I never heard of the book "Maus". Thanks McMinn County, for bringing it to my attention. I'll definitely get a copy for my kids.
That's what happened to me with The Satanic Verses.
It's awesome, but not really for young kids because it is pretty scary and graphic. We were taught about the holocaust in high school and shown very graphic videos in history class, but I think we were in the older classes. That would be a good time for them to read it though. It is epic. I grew up in an earlier time though, so kids these days are probably not as shocked as we were in the 70s.
I read it in college I suggest giving it to your kids if they’re teens. I have a 9 year old and I wouldn’t let him read it yet
It comes in two volumes. The really mind-blowing part is Part II.
@@scrubjay93 I mean, I read it in Freshman Lit, and tbh, parents should definitely be sure their kid isn't a psycho first, but assuming stable mind is present in the child, you can maybe go a little earlier, like I probably could've taken it in mid to late middle school. Depends on the kid though.
As a retired educator…for 15 yrs., I taught Maus to my 8th gifted literature classes as it was included in a unit of study called “The 1940s”. The unit included other texts as ”Anne Frank and Farewell To Manzanar! Each book included discussion questions and other supporting resources. I always thought it was one of the best unit for giving a good background for this generation going forward in the future. What I didn’t realized…it would be so important so soon!!! Thank you for bringing Art Spiegelman into this discussion. If we don’t know what has happen in the past…we are bound to repeat!!
my essential readings list at school including lord of the rings, 1984 and mein kampff, we were told by our teacher "you must read to become aware of the good the bad and the ugly that this world has to offer, by reading books of all types including those written by monsters, you will learn what reality is like outside your life"
my daughter has got "The History of a Drowning Boy" on her reading list from school, and that is a book literally written by a serial killer about his life and the murders he committed, my local school believes in teaching children that life isnt perfect, horror exists, and that we need to learn the difference between good and evil by ourselves
Fun fact: Art Speigelman has now had two of his works banned by schools over the years... he is also the creator of Garbage Pail Kids, which schools in the 80s felt was a "distraction" and felt they were too gross for kids.
What?! I loved Garbage Pail Kids!!! Wore the vhs cassette out. It was not gross, it was about accepting and caring for others.
I believe these people know that when we don't teach and talk about atrocities of the past, then people don't know and that allows the narrative to be changed, and for similar events to take place...OUT OF IGNORANCE!!!
Banning books should be seen as a horrible sign of intentions. Open our eyes, see what people are trying to hide, and ask why.
Thank you so much for that fun fact!😁
Really?? I collected Garbage Pail Kids Cards in the 80s! I wish i had kept them..their pretty vaulable now
It wasn't banned. They're lying. It was just removed from the curriculum
Art Spiegelman created the Garbage Pail kids? Holy shit that's insane. Haha.
Excellent interview. No interruptions just letting him speak.
And what an amazing man! I bet his grandchildren love him to bits.
Noticed that too. They don't always do that.
@@nunyabidness1852 I suppose they knew going in that letting prize winning author discuss this personal experience of his own work being banned unhindered was the smartest and most effective way to show the issue. It works too. He speaks so beautifully and articulately. He also gives too much good faith I fear. But at least he shows he did really digest what he feels the school board were trying to achieve. To give them something of a good faith until they show otherwise but he does also begin by saying that these are people making a decision who might not be Nazi's. That he hopes they are not essentially but are just misguided. Because the alternative is so scary. He speaks so intelligently. I could listen to him all day.
Yes, an excellent interview. I just love that Mr. Spiegelman was comfortable enough to drink, eat and vape during the interview!
😅for once ! I hate when they talk more than the interviewee
I can't speak for the rest of Tennessee but the private school that I attended in west TN had Maus and its sequel in the school library in the 90's. I remember reading both books over and over again at age 9, and some of the images are truly haunting, but they should be because they're based on reality. Graphic novels can be just as powerful and informative as any other work of literature.
.czcams.com/video/nytzSSN_qHo/video.html
hi I am a freshman in high school and finished the second just 2 days ago without knowledge of this case, I am the youngest in my class and I find it absurd that they think children my age in 8th grade cant handle it
It was required summer reading when I finished my freshman year in High School in Knoxville! I dunno what McMinn county is thinking here.
@@imrustyokay yay I found another non cis person who is not vibing with McMinn
Tennessee has sunk so low on an intelligence scale since your school days.
“A harbinger of things to come.“ Truer words have never been spoken. This book is one of the best insights into holocaust history out there. Remember students, a band book is a good book.
A lot of banned books are good also.
I remember Michelle Alexander's book about the prison system was banned in prisons of New Jersey, which led me to read it!
I remember learning about the holocaust in school, and from my parents. Same goes for slavery. It deeply upset me. I remember clearly crying and feeling so upset that humans could do that.
That made me a better person.
Kids are human beings. Treat them with dignity and tell them the truth.
Well said!
Same here. I agree.
However, we act like this book is the only way to do that. Because they don't want this book in curriculum, is it really banned?
I learned of the atrocity of the holocaust and I have never read this book.
In all reality, this situation probably brought more attention and more people to this book.
@@garyhall5397 the book won a Pulitzer. Why keep an award winning book out of the curriculum? Perhaps the ones who don't want it taught are afraid their kids will recognize some of the tactics being employed by the right wing extremists in America right now.
@@YoYo_Ma
Winning a prize has to do with what? So no other books can give an accurate account of the holocaust?
Did you read it in school? Have you read it now?
I had not heard of this book till this story.
The only way to teach is with award winning books?
So, what I have learned about the atrocities of the holocaust are invalid because the books where not award winning?
Same with slavery?
What reasons these parents have for not wanting the book is not for me to say.
I just believe parents have a say in what their children should read. Award winning or not.
Censoring real life from children may seem like doing the right thing, but it does more harm than good
The nazis also banned books they didn't agree with and destroying literature, knowledge itself is the first step to totalitarianism
I read Maus back in 1992. Great graphic novel. These people are ridiculous. The sad part is that this is my generation acting like it's the 50's.
did anyone know that Jehovah 's witnesses were in concentration camps in Germany way back when? sorry for any misspells or mistakes in spelling.
@@bendavis6550 Everybody who didn't fall under Mein Mustache got sent to those horrid, HORRID places of pain and death. I graduated highschool in '97, and I'm pretty sure we learned all about, or at least a lot, the Holocaust. Although, I took all AP courses, so maybe those courses for more into it? But I also remember watching every WWI, WWII, and Holocaust documentary with my stepdad starting in elementary school.
Here in Ireland, we have a now elderly concentration camp survivor, whose parents and entire family were exterminated at the camp, but somehow as a little boy he survived - at least long enough for the Allies to liberate the camp. When the Allies walked into the camp, he ran over to the first Ally soldier he saw, threw his arms around his legs and cried "You're my papa now".
And so it was - that soldier took him back to America, adopted and raised him as his own son, and in recent decades that now elderly camp survivor in Ireland, who somehow lived when all others died, has gone around to many schools to talk about Nazism and his own horrific experiences, that ended in hope denied to so many millions of others.
It is *shocking* to see Americans in any way pushing back against telling what happened - they dishonour the memory and sacrifice that so many of your grandfathers made within living memory, and it's hard not to honestly wonder if this is connected to the recent apparent enthusiasm for what even we Irish recognise as fascism that Trump, your Republicans, and many others across the pond are openly cheering on and trying to usher in, as stoney-faced Europeans silently watch - and we *are* watching your country very, *very* closely since Trump and all his rabble scuttled into the light.
Interesting bc they have similar cAmPs in all our countries masquerading as FeMa cAmPs. Aren’t you all crying that you want unvaxxxxed to go into cAmPs. Hypocrite af!
Shame shame on any district banning this.
The educational system is NOT "promoting" the contents of the material, in the way that it's a "how to" thing. That positions is insane.
It is essential that people learn about and know this behavior, not so they can emulate it, but so they can be wary of it.
A person can read something horrific and NOT adopt any of the damaging ideas in the book. You can read about slavery without going out and purchasing humans. You can read about anarchy without becoming an anarchist. You can read about the challenges of the homeless without becoming homeless yourself.
It's reductive and childish.
What do they expect? That things like the Holocaust be cleaned up? Remove the Fascism and death elements so it's nicer? That would be dishonest and would misguide young people.
Joggers just keep jogging
@King Koga As a Jew I taught my 3 year old what her grandparents had gone through. Sadly, like blacks in the US, we need to teach our children to have their antennae up so as to protect themselves. I did it in an age appropriate way and she was not shocked or harmed in any way. I was kicked, called names, pushed to the ground, called "Christ killer." Sadly our children need to know how to best protect themselves at an early age. But I would hope that non-Jews, by the age of junior high school, would be ready to learn about slavery, the Holocaust, and other dark periods in our history.
@King Koga the point is to prevent history from repeating. Horrific impressions on a young mind leave a mark... To never want to have that happen for real! Without such impressions, how to avoid the traps that lead to the actual events?
Of course all teachings need to be delivered in moderation and all in the appropriate context. Avoidance certainly won't work.. there is importance in remembering.
@King Koga There has been an increase in hate crimes against both blacks and Jews. (Check the FBI statistics.) Perhaps you read about the recent case of three white men recently found guilty of murdering a black jogger? You may not be afraid, but blacks and Jews (as well as other minorities) are experiencing increased hatred in their daily lives. Try to put yourself in the shoes of others, even if you have not experienced the same situation.
Tennesse is making the right call. In fact, all of this racism is a communist tool pushed on children for political reasons...all of it needs to be removed from schools. If you want to specifically use CRT and raise an incredibly racist victim class generation to fulfill a Communist agenda then start a private school. Also, so much info has been learned about the period of 1930-1945, that if they are still teaching what I learned about the Holocaust when I read Maus and went to Dachau, then it's a fantasy about a victim class. The actual history is far richer and far more complex and offers serious delima's and choices to consider, choices by both sides. It's probably too much for an 8th grade class, pretty sick stuff showing people at their worst.
My son found out they banned it so he went to the library and checked it out.
Yes!!!😂😂😂
Anyone who uses the word "stuff" so often shouldn't be on a school board, not even in Tennessee.
Maus is a brilliant work of art: disturbing, thought-provoking and deeply moving. Only a fool would seek to ban it.
It’s not banned they just aren’t teaching from it
@@abbagale5914 do you think they will still allow it in the school library? Not likely, so that essentially bans it for most students.
@@origamimambo545 yes the book is still allowed in the library they are just not teaching from it
@@origamimambo545 I know because I go to school in Mcminn and I brought the book to school today and absolutely nothing was said and I asked if I was allowed to read it and they said yes
@@abbagale5914 oh well that makes it all right I guess. Okay but, how about everyone else in class who can't buy the book for themselves? And why isn't discussing the book in class allowed?
And since you've read it explain how it should be newly excluded from school curricula. Were you harmed by reading the book that has naughty words in it and if you weren't, why should it be excluded from being read and discussed in class?
This man is so well spoken, “one would think remembrance must be important”
Then get 1984, cos that’s where we’re headed bro
@@t.g.7180 not then. It is now. Censorship of History is literally one the Key themes of 1984.
Well spoken while also snacking, vaping & drinking a beverage of some kind.
There's a reason the survivors in my family say/said "never forget". It's the same reason that others don't want us to remember.
Maus is a deeply disturbing book because *it's supposed to be.* There is a mountain of difference between making references to the Holocaust in words in a history book and *seeing* it. It was scary, but I needed to see it to take this all seriously. We have *actual* nazis running rampant in the US right now who would love nothing more than to see these books vanish.
I 100% agree
I read Maus at age 14 or so, which I think corresponds to what the US calls the 8th grade I believe? It's certainly a disturbing book, but it's disturbing because of the events it depicts, which at that age me and my peers had obviously already learned about (through whatever means). And I'm quite sure I had already read plenty of books and seen plenty of films that depicted these events in much more disturbing manners than in Spiegelman's work. Personally (as a non-American), I consider it to be a classic piece of modern American literature, and if the board somehow deemed this inappropriate for this age (which I think I disagree with) it should definitely be re-instated for older students.
I think pretty much every single book I read in school as a kid in school contained some form of disturbing or controversial material. Hell, what book doesn't contain that? It's exactly those subjects that served as interesting points of discussion afterwards. I read books that contained violent murder, hate crimes, genocide, homosexuality, rape scenes, authoritarian regimes, venereal diseases, religious questions, suicide, etc. Sure, most of these I read in school when I was a little older, maybe 16 or so, but I never even once thought of them as problematic or anything. More likely than not you were already consuming books or other mediums that contained plenty of that stuff at that age.
14 is middle school, so like, 6th or 7th maybe
@@lexruptor Um no... 14 is like 8th or 9th grade.
@@PokeNachos Right. So what's the point in banning BOOKS about shit kids can see in real life?!? Ugh...for every step forward this country takes, it gets pulled 20 steps back by ignorant assholes...
Nobody told me I couldn't write the paper 'Analysis of American Psycho'
Well, I am not American either lol
Pretty much. A book with violent mice, and cats is too much violence for the American government to handle. Of course back in the 9-11 invasion of Iraq the entire carpet bombing of the over 5 million in Baghdad was televised.
Like is this just about hating the Jews, and loving Palestine/Iran/Hezbollah?
That board needs an education.
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De-Nazi-fied is more like it. Probably Antifa.
I really like that even though he claims to be inarticulate he is brutally honest and doesn't pull any punches when talking about the people who banned his book. Did I say people? I mean cats. The cats pulled his book. We really are in danger in this country of becoming 1930s Germany. Half the population has lost its mind and perhaps soul. So yes 30 percent grade level literacy is a disgrace and I love that he drove that point home.
So very true!!!
Perfectly said! It really does feel like half the country has lost its mind and soul, and the GOP has been very effective at convincing people to vote for facism just simply by calling the other side facist, like in 1984. War is Peace. Very mind boggling and scary. It's hard to know how to accurately gauge how to respond...ignore the craziness, fight against it, or get out of the country while we can.
"There is only one type of people who would vot to ban Maus, whatever they are calling themselves these days."
-Neil Gaiman
who is Neil Gaiman?
@@scatterbrainstudios1143 try google
As a school board member, I am disgusted that a fellow board would ban books, especially an excellent book like "Maus". They should be recalled. Going to the National School Board Association meeting this year? I'll be looking for you and tell you off in person.
Please do that for those of us who cannot. I am baffled.
I find book banned as a witchhunt by nazis
Thank you for what you do. And thank you for being the voice of reason in troubled times
It wasn't banned.
It isn't banned.
My Dad fought in WW II and saw a concentration camp after is was liberated. He could not even watch the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan - he made us turn it off. What happened before and during WW II and what Nazi's did to Jews and other people they thought were undesirables should not be forgotten and that is why it is taught, so it is never repeated. School boards and teachers that remove books because something tells the truth should visit a Holocaust Museum or visit a WW II concentration camp in Europe. Talk to a survivor. Hopefully they will learn how cruel a belief about a group of people is a lie and can lead to such a dark period in human history. This education board is not educating students.
Its repeated in Gaza
*This is an insult to the memory of the author’s father who survived the Holocaust*
Yeah
There are so many amazing layers in Maus. Of course it’s about the Holocaust, but it’s also about the generational revelation between the author and his father, the PTSD, and of course the amazing artistry of the portrayal. It’s also about the process of oral history, and how to go about doing that work. It’s really an amazing work. If it’s not in your teenager’s curriculum, get a copy of it and read it with your teen.
Maus is the only graphic novel to have ever won the Pulitzer Prize. That’s how good it is. For anyone to ban it is beyond me. But, then again, we live in the present day and age where madness appears to have taken hold in our country yet again.
I agree with you it is really good and it warrants the attention it gets, but I also think graphic novels as a whole do not get enough recognition as a legitimate storytelling medium, which is why it is the only one to have won a Pulitzer Prize. There is another graphic novelist, Gene Luen Yang, who I also highly recommend checking out his works. He has companion graphic novels based on a historical event called "Boxers" and "Saints" that I absolutely loved. Those are what got me into graphic novels.
exactly! The story telling was compelling. It was an independent read, and not from my school cause they likely didn’t like that either.
A literary prize doesn't make something good.
@@PiroKUSS sure maybe, but Maus is good, and it got the prize for being incredibly well made and moving
@@izzythefizzy4 No, it got the prize because someone thought so about it.
That’s so outlandish.
Also props for Spiegelman calling out the parents/school board as being part of something “bigger and stupider” than outright Nazism.
Never heard of “Maus” but I sure want to read it now! Thanks for bringing new attention to this. We can NEVER FORGET what happened.
Its on youtube as an audible video. Im listening to it
This was eighth grade and required reading. It was removed from the curriculum, not banned.
When you tell the truth, you’re going to anger people. Usually, it’s the people who want to pretend that the truth doesn’t exist. They make up excuses, but it just boils down to not wanting to let go of the lies they tell themselves, or not wanting to see themselves in the dark places they try to keep hidden.
Tell people the available information, but don't assume you have the final truth. The concept of truth is quite the thing really.
But that's a more general answer. Obviously concerning the holocaust the history is clear but in a more general sense your statement is flawed
People are more concerned with their comfort than with the truth.
Exactly!
I wonder if the parents who are upset about these books are this upset about the sex & violence depicted in video games and TV?
They probably don't but 9/10 times, they haven't read the book themselves. One person sees a single phrase, or swear word or one frame of a graphic novel like this one and immediately becomes obsessed with rallying their friends to a "cause" to get it expelled from their community.
They pretend to be upset when it is convenient for them. They don't really care about much.
No. The parents decide how they run their own home. We are sovereign citizens in the US.
That's a great point.......parents are not the ones upset about the books they are forced into these situations by Politically ambitious School board members.
I wonder if they're as protective of their kid's fragile learning process when they read them the bible. Pretty violent book, little boys are murdered, little girls are enslaved and raped. God murders firstborn sons in their sleep and causes genocide by making women barren. The bible also explains how to perform an abortion on women accused of adultery. Then there's all the sex, Lot gets drunk and impregnates both daughters, slavery is considered a god given right, and we haven't even gotten to all the senseless bloodshed. Bible should be banned, it can cause trauma to young mind, just look at the adults who were force fed that shit.
Just gave Maus to my 11 year boy on Xmas. He's a lot into mangas and drawing and he's loving it.
Thanks for this segment ☮️
I am a British expat living in the U.S., and my late mother was a Ukrainian and her father was Jewish. That was enough to put her in a labor camp at the age of 15, where she was starved and enslaved, and then to an extermination camp at age 18, where she was sexually abused, and if any weakness was shown, you were sent to the gas chambers. The rest of her family were shot and buried in a mass grave, and their property taken over as a base for the Nazi officers. At age 19, as the allies were approaching, she, along with the other survivors of the camp, were sent on a death march to the coast, so they could be loaded on a ship, the intention being that a Nazi warship would be bombed, and they, as "evidence," would be destroyed. She escaped, having walked 100 miles barefoot, she found shelter at a farm , and eventually got to to a U.S. Army encampment. With food and medical care she gained the strength to volunteer as a refugee nurse to wounded soldiers. There she fell in love with a black medical officer, but was ordered by her white officer to end the relationship. Heartbroken at the racism she turned and fled to the British camp, where she met my father.
The many other horrors that my mother was able to share, or showed us in films, the information my brother gathered that filled in the things she simply could not utter, and the severe PTSD we witnessed in her, have haunted me all my life. It has also instilled a strong sense of social justice. I am now 61, and in spite of living in the U.S. for most of my adult life, and I am now planning to leave to return home. I live in an area of Pennsylvania that is littered with Trump flags, profane banners and even confederate flags. It is not easy to share my family's history, or sometimes even safe. I saw the most hateful gaze on a man who was standing behind me as I was shopping the kosher section of the grocery store. I participated in the burning of a swastika and confederate flag, while white supremacists stood proudly holding a confederate flag aloft as they glared menacingly at us. The KKK have thrown leaflets onto lawns in our community. I've done what I can, having participated in protests for refugees, and against racism and fascism, and working in progressive political campaigns. I have attended a school meeting where banning books was on the table and shared how book burning led to half my family being wiped out. But still the darkness keeps growing.
I promised my mother I would not just stand by and live in a fascist country without a fight. So I am going back to the U.K. to do what I can there, and maybe live my golden years in a little more peace. I urge you: please make your voices heard, not only online to each other, hoping someone will do what needs doing, but please, do what must be done, as much as you are able to. Do not let the darkness win this time.
I'm 61 and I don't blame you a bit. The racism in this country does vary quite a lot from sort of racist to wildly racist. You may visit another part of US before you take the big step and move overseas. Either way, good luck.
Thank you for sharing your story
@@danbrownellfuzzy3010 just because people take a book out of the criculim doesnt mean that there racist, you have to relize that this was in ELA! Not history or social studies, but ELA.
it might be too late for the usa so you might be making the right decision. If you can get out now, I would. The UK is following the suit with the fall of democratic values and just listening to the loudest and most distracting voice. But its moving slower there, and the UK seems to be at more peace with its history of colonization. They also had world war 2 literally fought in their country and still have scars to prove it. the US has pearl harbor. The USA has never had a true invasion. i think there might be hope for the UK for that reason. If i had the means to leave this country I would and never return. Its a big country but I fear like the author has said this is a sign of things to come. Your mothers story truly moved me. Thank you for sharing it.
@@amyskull7543 im not trying to make beef with the uk (im part british) yes the usa is a big country. But the reason the us hasent had an "invation" is because apparently the us military is super strong and no one want to mess with us? I fully dont understand it
As a Spaniard, I recognise at first sight censorship when it shows its serpentine head... The people that have banned the book are not myopic, nor are they missing the point of its story, its art and its context: they are using those arguments as mere excuses. Allegedly -because in your country you’ve got the legal need to add «allegedly» each and every time you use classical logic 😔
Franco did that too.
For forty years.
Just saying.
Take care.
Really. Take care, please.
🧡
The idea that people are so ashamed of the human body is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard. And FYI kids say "bad" words when they think grown ups aren't around.
If this book was assigned to my kids I'd be fine with it. It is amazing. Super sad, and very well done.
If history is forgotten, not taught , it will be repeated.
This is different then forgetting. Purging, banning, blacklisting is violence against the mind. But the minds are not fighting back any more.
I taught writing and we asked students to avoid using the word ‘stuff’ because good writing uses more accurately descriptive words to clearly make a point.
Maybe the person on the school board could learn a more concise way to describe his objections to a book like the one that is being banned.
Sadly it’s ignorance that needs to be corrected.
Improve the school system with best practices not banning books.
Exactly my thoughts and I'm not even an English native speaker. Proves the ignorance of these people who should be anywhere BUT on school boards!
My high school teacher discouraged the use of the word "nice" 🤣 He would argue, when you describe something as nice, what exactly do you mean?
Mr. Spiegelman is right about the state of education in Tennessee, and it's an exacerbating problem when those teaching kids today came from that same broken system. Unfortunately, instead of making progress (which Conservatives have convinced themselves is somehow a sinister political plot), many (specifically Republican) states are going backward, lowering the bar even more. The person who delivered that statement is clearly one of those who was educated in this system, and now that he has a political ideology and some power, he's going to erode the intellectual potential of their youth even more. They will then grow up to replace him, and erode things further. And on it goes until Tennessee is like a live role play of Idiocracy and they're trying to grow crops with Red Bull while throwing flaming bowling balls at each other's heads.
The word "stuff" did make me return to the Idiocracy movie
@@s.p.8803 Same here, from Europe.
It’s crazy how my college professor had assigned this book to us this semester and shortly after it made the news about it being banned in curriculum for HSers and younger. After just finishing this book a few days ago, I definitely feel this is something that should be used to teach students of the horrors of the Holocaust, history isn’t kind and gentle and this is something students inevitably have to learn about. Children need thought provoking books like this to expand their knowledge on important subjects in the world. I don’t understand why people want to cancel this book.
Wow...I borrowed this in the 90ies in Germany...in my high school times in the school library...a certified classic.
I discovered this piece of art while pursuing my creative writing degree so many years ago.
…I get a chuckle over people complaining about cancel culture… until they’re using it.
This wasn’t any worse than any book or texts used on the subject during junior high or high school. A lot is sensitive.
History isn’t a family-friendly, rated-G, kid film. I’m looking back at US History, World History, World Culture course from my youth. A lot is appalling . A lot is gruesome.
I just don’t get what ignoring events does?
they cry about cancel culture when free citizens arent force fed their crap, but they wield TRUE cancel culture via government power to ban ideas and free thought.
@Retard well, in that school they did pull it for that grade level. I sure hope it's still available for older grades and at the public library. It would be good to know how far this book pulling (banning) went. We sure should be concerned. Most 13-14 year olds can handle this graphic novel. 10% of parents shouldn't control teachers and/ or other people's kids!
(if this is the majority of parents...
I would be calling U-Haul)
They are still teaching the Holocaust, however yoy feel about that. This book will just not be part of the curriculum. They didn't ban it, and they didn't ban Holocaust education
@@BazzBrother except nothing is being "banned." Children just won't be forced to read it via the curriculum. So you're saying not forcing something upon children is cancel culture, but "conservatives" are wrong to be mad that adults being silenced for communicating ideas to other adults.
@@JesusLovesBest again, not a ban. Children just aren't forced to read it.
I've read MAUS and MAUS II. They're brilliant books that graphically illustrate the horrors off what happens when one group of people has complete control over another.
It's embarrassing to be a Tennessean when our so-called educators are so scared of history. History is neither bad nor good, just like the truth... IT JUST IS.
My grandmother grew up under Nazi occupation. She saw friends murdered within feet of her for doing nothing more than chatting on the street.
The American fascists are the actual cancel culture. Not talking about something doesn't make it go away. What the Great Generation fought to wipe away from the face of the earth, the Banana Republicans are embracing with open arms. Hitler, Mussolini, and even Stalin would be so proud of them.
Geez, did you get this info from public school? They did a terrible job with the 20th Century political movements and now the kids are graduating with no understanding of Fascism. .
Well said.
@@vade137 did read what James wrote? He got his information from his grandmother who LIVED through the Nazi occupation of Europe.
@@leonieromanes7265 Yes, but did you really read his comment. He uses the grandmother story to establish credibilty and trust, but then delivers a statement with errors. So do you trust what he says? I don't. Even if you do not know enough about 20th Century European/Russian events to see through the end statement you should at least be able to know the story is arranged to specifically manipulate you...pretty obvious.
@@vade137 if you say the post has errors, you should be able to point out those errors. Instead you tried to shift the topic, by insulting the writers education. That comes across as more manipulative than anything James posted.
As a Frenchman, a fan of comics, history, memory, I find it terrible that some "educators" ban this book that is so important for the education of young people, so as not to forget the horrible drama of the Jewish people.
Some are determined to make our children illiterate in order to control them better, with the excuse of some swear words or a drawing of a nude. Today, with the internet in our lives.
Strength to the American people.
They don’t even qualify as educators anymore. Horrible horrible
I am a teacher in Bolivia, MAUS is one the most great readings assignments I teach. It grabs and keeps students attention, it creates great debates and makes students think, analyze, know history and don't forget so it won't repeat it. The same with To kill a mocking bird, A brave new world, etc. ; even if it didn't happen in out country you could find a lot of similar topics. The students who can read them in english read the original version, I thank translations for the ones who don't. I can believe US is banning schools its own literature!!
Never trust CNN, the book isn't banned, and nobody is stopping the parents from buying it. School libraries have always removed certain books, I don't agree with it but like I said, it's nothing new.
I’m so sorry, I’ve read it many times and I totally disagree with the ban. Thank you for sharing your work with us all. There are many people around the world who will cherish your messages.
It wasn't banned.
Education, definitely not the strong suit of Republicans
Or the democrats...
Do you even know if this school board is made up of Republicans? I identify mostly with Republicans and it's obvious to me that this book ban is stupid.
@@vockski3173 REPUBLICANS ARE THE ONLY PEOPLE BANNING BOOKS, SO STOP THE BS.
@@johnallenbailey1103 TYPING IN ALL CAPS DOESNT MAKE YOU RIGHT.
@@vockski3173 NO JUST BEING RIGHT MAKES YOU RIGHT. IGNORING FACTS AND EVIDENCE MAKES YOU A MORON.
What an incredible interview, thank you so much for having this jewel, this gem of a man. I hadn’t read Maus yet, about to download a copy.
Omg, my daughter read that in school. It was awesome! Hopefully this will result in many many more people reading it.
The excuses from the people banning books are all based in fear and ignorance. Most have never read the books they are banning or understand the ones they have, they have no idea what purpose education serves, and are part of the problem in America. This book, despite being a graphic novel, should not be banned. It should be required reading.
..czcams.com/video/nytzSSN_qHo/video.html
Conservatives don't want to educate, they want to indoctrinate.
There's only one Book they need...
My Art History
Well said, I read the book in highschool. It’s a great piece of literature. The Holocaust is something we should always remember so we never repeat that time in history. If anything we need more books like Maus.
@@ct5625
Well said
Maus is a brilliant work of art. Come on America...be better than this. : )
My 14yo son brought this book home. I didn't realise it was so contentious. I'm glad he was able to be exposed to it. Edit: I live in Canada
Maus would traumatize our kids if they managed to get a hold of it between active shooter drills. 🙄
Heaven forbid kids learn any real history let them live in never never land.
you're not seeing the full picture of why they banned it
No history lessons? My tax money spent to babysit future Walmart greeters?
@@Th3_Gh0sT_n1ghtmar3 Over some nudity and swearing, at least from what it looks like
@@RB01.10 no thats not it the teachers dont want to force it on the students to read
@@Th3_Gh0sT_n1ghtmar3 I’m sure 8th Graders can handle elements of the Holocaust.
Every teen has a phone and easy access to information nowadays anyway
As someone who struggled with reading in grade school, I was immediately drawn to Maus... So ironically, for those stuck at a low reading level, this book is likely even more appealing. Perhaps that is part of why it was targeted for censureship.
So your saying this is a book for stupid people? I think you might have hurt Arts fee fees.
That’s a heartbreaking thought
RusDaddy
Struggling with reading does not mean you are a stupid person
I want to know but can't seem to find what other books are being banned there
I checked recently and discovered that my school has two class sets of Maus! Can’t wait to teach it… ordered a personal copy as well.
Banned books have always been the best books. fascinated by the fact that certain books held the "power of ideas" and history that frightened those in power so much that they felt the need to ban, burn & destroy them. Meeting at a bookstore and reading banned books sounds like a great way to meet people.
The library is a cool place for unbanned books too; another institution that they would like to curb as well.
Yes! Read Snyder’s book “On Tyranny”, very informative!
Yet I bet you'd vote to ban any book or publication which promoted the muh evil orange man
Books are fine. Allied propaganda is not educational
Great. Let's all read books that are currently banned by Amazon.
They don't want people to think for themselves because then they will question everything. The govt wants us to be good little worker bees and nothing more.
I'm so sick of the crazy right taking my rights away while they play the victim . They really should hear themselves sometime. They are pretending this book was banned because of nudity, when it's more likely because they want to erase the holicost.
Yep, very true. Nicely said, my friend.
They are illiterate to begin with and many American Universities are amongst the worst education in the world. American kids get out of high school and are extremely ignorant about the rest of the world.
And these people are republicans right? The freedom party (but only when its suits them)
@@afre3398 Not just the freedom party, they're the law-and-order party as well - as long as it's not for Trump, his insurrectionist mob, his tax-avoiding criminal corporation or his nepotistic corrupt family.
Yet they don't want the government to tell them what to do as far as getting vaccinated. SMH.
Does anyone know how long Maus has been in their school libraries? If it has been there for many years I am wondering why they are noticing it now?
I was glad to hear Mr. Spiegelman. One of the things we learned from Maus and Maus II was that his father destroyed his mother's diaries. I'd like to know, did he ever tried reconstructing his mother's experiences from interviews with her friends and fellow survivors who knew her?
Foolish. Just foolish. Hopefully, as is the case sometimes, this book being banned means far more people will buy it, giving this author some proper income
Yes!! I'm 62, I haven't read it but now I'm buying it!
Do you think this author does not have proper income...he's fine.
@@vade137 proper boost* to his income. Better?
@@RedMo46 Sure, but he's fine...the Govt. is buying his books for every public school in the US, that's a pretty sweet deal.
...And in Virginia, they instituted a TIP LINE for kids to report their teachers if they say something
that is not PC according to the new Republicanazi government. God forbid they teach about the
secession of Virginia, fighting against the United States, to allow them to keep slavery going.
Gee, that doesn't sound at all like what was expected of 'H!tler Youth.…/s
That sounds like a party line. I bet I could get a million people to call in some advice for them.
This book had such a massive impact on me after we studied it in highschool, and remains to be one of my favourites (as devastating as it is). I'll be ensuring that my children read it one day in order to learn about the Holocaust in a supported but honest way.
"Maus" now is sold out at Amazon. Banning a book does wonders for sales!
No books should be banned. What is taught in schools and access to potential inappropriate materials for youth is at the discretion of the parents.
Parents can ban things that they feel that their kids are not ready for.
They banned it because of the images. Not the topic. You still can’t show sexual or graphic content in schools. That is still a felony in some instances. Some board members are being investigated for sexually explicit content.
@@jamesrlewin You are exactly correct and when they turn 18 we hope we have guided them in a positive, proactive direction so whatever it is they seek out will not dissuade who they are as people. Denying access to any of that material beyond that point is censorship and that is totally unacceptable.
@@jamesrlewin If you don’t want your kid to learn how to make sure things like the Jewish Holocaust WWII don’t happen again, I don’t know how to explain it to you.
@@TheMINDL3SSGamers Bullshit. Just Bullshit.
If we don't learn from History, we are doomed to repeat it.
But there's history we don't learn in school.For example I've never had heard or read about Holodomor.
Those who learn from history are doomed to watch everyone else repeat it.
I read both part 1 and 2 in the last 2 days. Maus came out after I graduated high school. What an amazing book that should be required reading of all students 8th grade up. Thak you for preserving your parents harrowing experiences.
Amen And thank you for the update and keep holding the line ❤️
too bad for them, not getting to know a genius author of many astouding works. Art Spiegelman is a very special withness of our time.
I remember my teacher giving me a book cover for Dick Gregory's autobiography, because of the title. My teacher told me I am not going to judge a book by its cover but I am an exception, not a rule, someone will get angry and possibly violent. That book changed my life, I was angry and racist, but I realized that my life experiences mirrored Dick's and that I had more in common with poor black people then I ever had with the privileged class.
If you also look at the black history movies in true based on a true story it will make you cry and be piss off at the Sametime and people that are Republicans that supported Trump and what he did and said daring his 4 years like I will never forget when said at the rally tours a black man saying look at my black African right there then the black man walk away,cause if he would of said something back to Trump then those Trump supporters would had did something bad to him.
The uber rich want Cletus and Tyrone to kill each other and not them.
Nobody's banning anything. None of the books touted in "Banned Book Week" displays are truly banned. Maus is available at any public library, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc. McMinn County Board of Education is simply saying that Maus is not suitable for their 8th grade curriculum. It may be suitable for higher grades--11th, 12th grade levels. If parents of 8th graders feel Maus is suitable for their child then they can get it at many venues as noted above, outside of the school library.
Even a writer can’t make sense of the stupidity.
I read "Night" when I was 12 in my school's curriculum in conservative ass Georgia. Kids NEED TO THINK. They need to know what happened.
Knowing that Ellie Wiesel experienced all that at 15 still terrifies me
@@davidace5864 it's also terrifying to think the evil powers-that-be might be trying to do something like that again
I am going to purchase the book right away and promote it to other people. Banning is bad business for the ones who are trying to silence voices.
.czcams.com/video/nytzSSN_qHo/video.html
After haunting the comment section for a couple of ways, I have seen a pattern. You, and many others will buy or read this book, so all in all its been good for book rather than bad. I think it's called Poetic Justice.
The book is a masterpiece, Art Spiegelman is national treasure. Maus is being attacked because it's so powerful and potentially transformative. Understanding Comics is likely next on the list.
@Jackoftrades LOL another one of David Irving's devotees.
There was a poster for "Maus" on the door of my Louisiana elementary school library in the early/mid-90's. No classmates were traumatized by it.
To be real, though, backwards podunk school boards have been banning classic books since time immemorial. The shining example always being Huckleberry Finn.
Huckleberry Finn is always targeted because Twain had the gall to promote the idea that "slavery & racism = bad".
I maintain that to guage the freedom of a city just count the statues with dicks.
This guy is great!
Maus really needs to be taught in every classroom
Why?
@@mr.horrorchild4094 why not use a first and second hand account to teach about the Holocaust?
@@WhiteBloggerBlackSpecs what grade would we be thinking of?
@@mr.horrorchild4094 Is asking if we should teach the Holocaust 💀💀💀
@@michaelhoang3544 I asked why Maus should be taught. Why are you attempting to misrepresent me?
“If you’re problems with the Holocaust are naughty words and nudity, I’m not sure you’re getting the point.” CNN still has logical reporters?!?!
Even a broken clock is right twice a day
the finest graphic novel covering the holocaust
A must read for people of all ages and every child
Why should children who are not from Germany read about something that happened in Germany 70 years ago in their own country schools ?
@@snakeplissken6110 As if genocide and bigotry are things that have only ever happened in one country ever? Children need to learn and clearly so do you.
@@maryn7097 Good idea. Let's learn about Holodomor too or how terrorist organizations oppressed the muslims in Palestine.Since you are so keen on me and the others learning about genocides,let's learn all of them,not only one of them.
@@snakeplissken6110 now you’re getting it. We have to learn about it all. The Holocaust was not the first genocide and sadly was not the last either.
@@maryn7097Then why are there no textbooks that teach about Holodomor ?
I live in Tennessee and the things that they remove, retreat, and withdraw with is appalling. I had a man walk in my gas station on my shift dressed as a confederate. It was a hot day his wife chimes in and said they were putting on an reenactment on capital hill. She was a daughter of the confederate. Mind you this is Nashville Music City. She was so Cozy and safe. Meanwhile I was horrified and yet…… smh I rang them up and said have a nice day.
You sound like a very weak person. You should celebrate your history.
You sound incredibly strong to have put up with that crap
@@wilhelm4321 Your history, not ours, and you sound weaker.
Tolerance lives.
@@wilhelm4321 : Germany has a zero tolerance policy for a reason. The universe will deal with you. It might be your demise on earth. Nothing good comes from your thought process.
If you think the book isn’t age Appropriate, why can’t we just talk to our kids !! Why do we have to police the whole classroom?
Really? My god this must have been a brain tumor for the author. Spiegelman doesn’t deserve this crap.
Kids need to know about the Holocaust!
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The first time I learned about the Holocaust was in my high school freshman year. My professor was from German descendants and it was the most eye opening and profound education I learned to be a better human being.
I read Maus in school in 8th grade. Yes it was dark and disturbing but that's... Kind of the point? I think people tend to underestimate kids and their ability to handle dark subjects, and they shouldn't be coddled and shielded. With a good teacher, students can discuss, process, and become educated on subjects that some people would rather have ignored and hidden.
I remember reading it as bound volumes in "RAW" many decades ago. I can't help but be suspicious of the motivations of anyone who'd want to ban it.
Hopefully they are just reducing the amount of trauma books kids are using to learn basic comprehension skills. The US illiteracy rate of high school graduates is steadily increasing. In the late 1800's, pre-Rockerfeller educational changes, adjusted for population, Americans were far more literate. They read and learned comprehension from Readers which were not trauma stories or sex/trans/rape stories. Maybe it's better that the part of the brain that responds to truama is not turned on while trying to learn comprehension skills. And when they learn comprehension skills they can choose to read whateer they want...but the school just needs to make sure they can comprehend, not that they specifically read truama based books.
When I was at school back in the 1950s un the UK. We read a book called 'the silver sword' about displaced children travelling across Europe to Switzerland after the war. One child - Yan had a box of the only treasures they saved from their house which had been bombed - which contained a silver letter opener. As a 7 year old child we read about the horros of war - from the perspective of the surviving children.
Yeah, they wasted no time to press on psychologically with the population. When I was 7 I was at Dachau Concentration Camp looking at pictures of tons of kids shoes. I dont't even know if they were pictures of Dachau now that I've learned more about that camp.
@@vade137 Please elaborate on how you believe Dachau was not a concentration camp....
I just found this book by random chance when i was looking for a book in my teacher's selection and when I asked my teacher what Maus was about she told me and I was instantly interested, and I'm now on part 2.
What is the age of required reading for this novel?
About age 10 I think, but whatever age you believe to be appropriate. It contains violence, because his father lived through that.
@@jin_cotl I totally get that autobiography or nonfiction will have violence. Perhaps there should be a required age for the novel, instead of banning the book, it should be read by older kids. Just a thought!
Kids in Pennsylvania have already started a banned books club, this is happening everywhere. Thank the republicans and their misplaced indignation for creating the next generation of activists.
I don't agree that my kids should be reading racist books.
@@jamesrlewin to what “racist” book are you referring? “Maus” is not a racist book… it’s a book about racism. Do you really not understand that?
@@brianfergus839 I commented on the kids banned books club. Banned books would include racist materials, right?
That's great to hear. Hope other places follow.
seems that racist books are about people who were/are racist... who are/were the racist in these books Oscar..
So the people of the party of individual freedom GOP. Se it as their duty to micromanage what kids in school can or more important can not read
I actually read this book in high school from my school library and it was an amazing book it was so amazing and important lessons to learn and learning from others people lives and history and even at that age I was able to process this story and moved by it
I remember reading this when it came out. An excellent work.
People who ban books are deaf to the magic and mute to the wonder.
I'm gonna go buy a copy of Maus right now then. Woo!! Fuck. I remember reading it in school. Truly appreciated book, teaching of the atrocities that should never be forgotten