Reading the Vatican’s review of Avatar brought back fond memories of the good old days when Christians believed television was a gift from the devil. You see, I used to have a stash of MOTU action figures, but my father actually believed they were evil and threw them away. If I’m not mistaken, the Skeletor variant I played with was purchased at a humble price of $6.90 from a local departmental store. Today, the franchise is extinct and the figure is worth 690USD…damn.
Turmoil in the Toybox happens to be one of those many books that turns the wrong assumptions into gospel truth. Although we have progressed from the Dark Ages to the Age of Information, evangelical Christians have displayed a strong tendency to criminalise popular culture in very absurd ways. By interpreting images of skulls, dragons, witches and spells in the context of Biblical scripture, they are quick to conclude that Harry Potter, D&D and Pokemon exert an evil influence on the lives of our children.
Much of the basis for this claim is derived from the Book of Deuteronomy, when the children of Israel were due to enter the Promised Land. Moses gives them his final instructions and makes it clear that they have to avoid the physical practice of witchcraft and sorcery:
“Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritst or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord, and because of these detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you” (v.10-12)
There is absolutely no mention of make-belief, games, toys and television images.
Author Phil Phillips also commits a fatal error in literary criticism, by seeking out the representation of the toys in real life. In other words, Turmoil is largely about how these artificial characters create truths that are lived out in reality. The fact is, even the most deluded fans are aware that what they are playing with is not real. This experience is so tangible, that even kids themselves acquire the rationality to grow out of that phase. Mr. Phillips, unfortunately, argues that audiences are too passive to tell the difference—a consequence of taking the media effects model one notch too far.
Although the book is no longer in vogue within the Christian circle, these ideas are still reflected in the current debates on rock music, fantasy books and role-playing games, just to name a few. Whenever a new fad is brought into the market, religious zeal will always incite a critical reaction. Question is, if metaphors are not to be taken literally, what makes anyone think fantasy can be otherwise?
