rdamurphy
08-31-2008, 08:45 PM
From Gutfield:
REPLACE-ALOGUE: THE RIPPER OF SODOR
http://www.dailygut.com/CMS/DATA/Magazine1/Thomas_a.jpg
Having watched more episodes of Thomas The Tank Engine than I care to admit, I have come to some conclusions.
First is Thomas The Tank Engine is an allegory to slavery. You have anthropomorphic trains, who are by and large the most developed characters outside of their slave master, which would be Sir Topemhat. All the engines and to a lesser extent railway cars, helicopters, busses, cranes and tractors are sentient. They think. They feel. The have goals. They worry.
But should one of these anthropomorphized trains get out of line. Sir Topemhat scolds them. If his anger is sincere he says that only useful engines are wanted on Sodor's railway. Which, apparently, Sir Topemhat wholly owns.
The implied threat is that the trains will be sold off or worse, like bad slaves. Save slaves were never limited by rails so they had a chance to escape. If, say, Henry can not pull a load to Sir Topemhat's exacting standards he could wind up bricked up in a tunnel, disassembled and tossed in the smelter or worse of all; hauling cars in Sheffield.
An allusion to slaver, while vile is not what I find most disturbing about Thomas The Tank Engine. It is the copious amount of engineers and other personnel on Sodor's rails that are perpetually in harm's way. And by harm's way I mean flat out killed. The show thrives on calamity.
Literally every other episode is about one train or another going off their rails. It might be off a bridge, down an embankment, off a cliff... you get the picture. Given that Thomas The Train is set in a murky time somewhere between WWI and 1950 it is not like safety standards are like they are now. Additionally the laws of physics would remain the same.
On a good day, anyone caught in a train's cabin and then said train goes off the rails is likely going to be injured. Probably badly as the pinball in a cabin. It is not like they are in seat belts. Which back at that time were only for scardy cats.
Perhaps if they are lucky those on Sodor's rails can jump from the train, but that too would result in bodily harm. What is most likely is that these poor souls who were recruited for the Sodor Railway Company were killed. As the engines plummet from perilous heights, their bodies would be battered and beaten into mush. Well... sawdust at any rate they are only minitures. It is not like the engineers are in harnesses or wearing anything more protective than grease stained overalls.
This too I lay at the feet of Sir Topemhat. If he did not browbeat and threaten the trains they would be happier and perhaps less wanting to fling themselves off cliffs. After all, how can the trains respect other creature's lives if they are programmed to not value their own? But also given the frequency of these accidents suggests the state of repairs on Sodor's rails is lacking even by the lackluster standards of a century ago.
Thomas The Tank Engine might be a delight for little boys who love all things mechanical, but there is a darkness not far under those bright, primary colors.
And if you disagree with me, then you sir are worse than The Wiggles.
I think he makes some good points!
Robert
REPLACE-ALOGUE: THE RIPPER OF SODOR
http://www.dailygut.com/CMS/DATA/Magazine1/Thomas_a.jpg
Having watched more episodes of Thomas The Tank Engine than I care to admit, I have come to some conclusions.
First is Thomas The Tank Engine is an allegory to slavery. You have anthropomorphic trains, who are by and large the most developed characters outside of their slave master, which would be Sir Topemhat. All the engines and to a lesser extent railway cars, helicopters, busses, cranes and tractors are sentient. They think. They feel. The have goals. They worry.
But should one of these anthropomorphized trains get out of line. Sir Topemhat scolds them. If his anger is sincere he says that only useful engines are wanted on Sodor's railway. Which, apparently, Sir Topemhat wholly owns.
The implied threat is that the trains will be sold off or worse, like bad slaves. Save slaves were never limited by rails so they had a chance to escape. If, say, Henry can not pull a load to Sir Topemhat's exacting standards he could wind up bricked up in a tunnel, disassembled and tossed in the smelter or worse of all; hauling cars in Sheffield.
An allusion to slaver, while vile is not what I find most disturbing about Thomas The Tank Engine. It is the copious amount of engineers and other personnel on Sodor's rails that are perpetually in harm's way. And by harm's way I mean flat out killed. The show thrives on calamity.
Literally every other episode is about one train or another going off their rails. It might be off a bridge, down an embankment, off a cliff... you get the picture. Given that Thomas The Train is set in a murky time somewhere between WWI and 1950 it is not like safety standards are like they are now. Additionally the laws of physics would remain the same.
On a good day, anyone caught in a train's cabin and then said train goes off the rails is likely going to be injured. Probably badly as the pinball in a cabin. It is not like they are in seat belts. Which back at that time were only for scardy cats.
Perhaps if they are lucky those on Sodor's rails can jump from the train, but that too would result in bodily harm. What is most likely is that these poor souls who were recruited for the Sodor Railway Company were killed. As the engines plummet from perilous heights, their bodies would be battered and beaten into mush. Well... sawdust at any rate they are only minitures. It is not like the engineers are in harnesses or wearing anything more protective than grease stained overalls.
This too I lay at the feet of Sir Topemhat. If he did not browbeat and threaten the trains they would be happier and perhaps less wanting to fling themselves off cliffs. After all, how can the trains respect other creature's lives if they are programmed to not value their own? But also given the frequency of these accidents suggests the state of repairs on Sodor's rails is lacking even by the lackluster standards of a century ago.
Thomas The Tank Engine might be a delight for little boys who love all things mechanical, but there is a darkness not far under those bright, primary colors.
And if you disagree with me, then you sir are worse than The Wiggles.
I think he makes some good points!
Robert