The ABCs of Book Banning

I don't understand why this is even nominated by the Oscars. Disappointing. It was a highly politicized topic that is poorly introduced, partially represented, with unartful execution. A shallow, senseless propagandistic piece of self-entertainment.

Without holistically introducing the problem of "book banning" and providing scientific arguments to both sides of the problem, the film cut straight into getting some well-rounded children on footage to sway the emotionally inclined public. Nothing substantial there, barely even representational. Same with the slide-by-slide enumeration of "banned" books with some superficial quotes. It was like watching a PowerPoint. Seriously. A YouTuber can do better than this.

I sensed no scientific nor artistic spirit in this piece of slideshow of a film. The biggest failure about it as a documentary- it's neither provocative nor informative.

I rate this highly based on the lack of coverage given elsewhere to the people affected by the far right extremist efforts to create an under-informed generation. The documentary is honest in stating that it is giving voice to the children affected by banning & restricted books.

I was moved by the words of one girl who stated it simply "Why?". As a 65 year old who benefited from a an expansive availability of books at home & through public & school libraries, I developed a love a reading. My mother never limited our choices from the books shelves. She knew that a child must be exposed to many voices in order understand themself & others.

As "The ABCs of Book Banning" (2023 release; 27 min.) opens, we are introduced to Grace Lin, an 100 yo woman attending the Martin County School Board meeting in Florida. She reminds the School Board that her husband died in WWII fighting for our democracy and that book banning is the exact opposite of democracy. The documentary then lets kids talk....

Couple of comments: this is co-directed by the legendary former head of HBO Documentaries, Sheila Nevins. The film makers bring this hotly debated controversy by ignoring any and all adults, and instead let children do all the talking. The kids are aged 7 to 15, and lament why these books are not available in their school library. "Why is Anne Frank's Dairy banned?", laments a girl, "why ban Jewish history?" or Black history, or LGTBQ history, or any other "non-conforming" history. It will break your heart as you watch these kids express their bewilderment and frustration why these books are banned. The last word, however, 100 yo Grace Lin: "The Nazis banned books too. This is about fear of knowledge. This is about power and control." Ms. Lin hits the nail right on the head. These books are not banned "to save the children". Is there a parallel between the Nazis and today's GOP? Absolutely. Each is a party who considers anyone having a different thought, or looks/thinks/acts/is simply different to be "vermin" that must be "crushed" (Trump's words). Banning books is just one tool in the toolbox.

"The ABCs of Book Banning" has received widespread acclaim, including an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary (Short), and deservedly so. IF you have any interest in this important issue, I'd readily suggest you check this out and draw your own conclusion.

It's yet again one of these shamelessly partisan movies that only care about out-agreeing each other. I am not an American, not even a Westerner for that matter, but I strongly agree that any access to knowledge should never be banned. And while I might find myself on the same side as those who made this movie, I can't ignore it when you make such a hackish movie that serves as nothing more than a cheer piece for your own people. It's not going to change minds if the approach taken is as shallow as this.

I knew nothing about the 'book banning' in America prior to watching this documentary and was surprised that such a thing can even take place in a country where freedom of expression is such a cherished right. Imagine then looking into it and finding out that the 'book banning' they were screaming about is not actually 'book banning' in the traditional sense of the word, but just not including it as part of the curriculum for children. Not saying this makes it right, but there is CLEARLY a difference between that and actual book banning, and the willingness to conflate the two just speaks to the dishonesty of the film.

If I am to watch a movie that champions my side, I would want it to be as honest and sincere about its goals and offer convincing arguments to change the minds of those opposed. And that takes a lot of integrity and introspection. Imagine if the side in favor of all the book banning made a similar documentary using kids to talk about how they wouldn't want to read such and such books and therefore should be banned? Or take a single horrible sentence from each book as an example that these books deserve to not be anywhere near children? Yes, that is the exact level of simple-minded dishonesty going on here. What a shamelessly partisan movie.

I watched this to see if they had anything new to say about the subject, my skepticism wasn't disappointed. The idea that books are banned is a modern progressive piety when the boomer "banned books" reading list is required syllabus reading, and even that has under their influenced waned to the point where it is more likely a kid has read Harry Potter than 1984, never mind anything harder like Solzhenitsyn.

The books in the documentary are all found in big box stores, "my 2 gay penguin dads", they are so not banned they are corporate approved, we are long past the point where Tipper Gore was putting warnings on rap music in Walmarts. It boils down to this, they are not afraid that children won't be exposed to the distilled thoughts of great thinkers through the ages, they are afraid they won't be exposed to what is little more than dumbed down coomer self affirmation ideology, selfie culture grade affirmation literature of crass self obsession and nothing higher.

None of this is about teaching kids how to think, but its the idea of the kid who reads, the kid who repeats the correct opinions for the pleasure of their librarians or teachers.

It was too much to hope this would have some critical examination, at 26 minutes it just flips from quote to quote from their book selection like a chain of tiktoks no depth at all, a low bar for agitprop in 2023.