Naked Tarzan Spurs Orthodox Anger

by Tjames Madison

1999-08-16 12:58:30

Net Flotsam

In the latest twist on the ages-old "Art? Or Unsightly Naughty Bulge?" debate, Orthodox Jews in Israel have joined the long list of groups who are really angry about stuff that Disney does.

Rabbis in Israel are complaining that publicity posters for the latest Disney animated feature, "Tarzan," which features a semi-clad Tarzan swinging through the jungle on vines, are obscene and should be banned from public view.

Strangely enough, the BBC, who first reported this story, couldn't find an actual Rabbi who was willing to go on the record about the controversy, nor was there an official group involved or anything like that, but as the news service mentions in a sidebar to the article, every time in the past Disney has come under fire from religious groups (most notably regarding the films "The Little Mermaid," which supposedly portrayed a minister sprouting a woody, and "Alladin," which supposedly included a sekrit message from Robin Williams exhorting teenagers to have big sloppy sex) sales and box-office receipts of their products have gone way up.

I mean, if you're going to really be angry about obscenity in Disney films, how about portraying a 12-year-old Pocahontas as a big-breasted wood nymph who has sex with the first White Man she sees? And how come nobody ever gets mad about Robin Williams' flimsily concealed drug flick "Flubber"? Huh? Eh?

Check it out yourself

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