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A comment on The Repressive, Authoritarian Soul of “Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends”. Parent comment

Re:The Repressive, Authoritarian Soul of “Thomas the Tank En... by krapp on Thursday September 28, 2017 @08:56PM (#15361996)
Machines are defined by their utility, and their value comes from their ability to do work, but children shouldn't be taught that the same applies to them.
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Re:The Repressive, Authoritarian Soul of “Thomas the Tank En... by ballenf on Thursday September 28, 2017 @10:15PM (#15362290)
I’m not sure that my kids see themselves as the trains. The trains don’t have parents, eat food, etc.
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Re:The Repressive, Authoritarian Soul of “Thomas the Tank En... by krapp on Thursday September 28, 2017 @10:25PM (#15362321)
What would they be meant to identify with, then?
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Re:The Repressive, Authoritarian Soul of “Thomas the Tank En... by ballenf on Thursday September 28, 2017 @10:28PM (#15362331)
I don't know, but I'm pretty sure they don't feel like they have to identify with a particular character.

When they watch a train crash episode, for example, they don't run into walls afterward, they pick up their trains and crash them together.

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Re:The Repressive, Authoritarian Soul of “Thomas the Tank En... by paulddraper on Thursday September 28, 2017 @11:36PM (#15362569)
> for example, they don't run into walls afterward, they pick up their trains and crash them together.

Oh, mine do both.

Crash into the couch.

"Bust my buffers!"

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Re:The Repressive, Authoritarian Soul of “Thomas the Tank En... by krapp on Thursday September 28, 2017 @10:42PM (#15362375)
Children's shows generally teach lessons, which is why I assumed that children are meant to identify with the trains.
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Re:The Repressive, Authoritarian Soul of “Thomas the Tank En... by Symbiote on Friday September 29, 2017 @03:22AM (#15363412)
I identified the trains with the real trains that went past the house.

It's not too unusual to hear a young boy talking about Thomas while waiting for or in a train. It's often been the only real conversation I can understand elsewhere in Europe. ("Which one is this?" "It's red mummy, this is James!")

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