7 days ago
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Shrek under fire: Russian lawmakers say Western cartoons are ‘indoctrinating' children
Russian lawmakers have accused Western entertainment giants of conducting a 'hybrid war' against the country's youth, claiming animated characters like Shrek and the Grinch are subtly undermining traditional values and having a 'destructive impact' on children's development.
At a civil forum hosted on Monday by minority party A Just Russia, members of parliament and officials denounced popular Western films, video games and toys, warning they contain hidden ideological messages that distort children's moral compass. The event aimed to promote what organisers called a strategy to 'shield children from destructive ideology'.
'They don't seem bad, but they have both physical and personality flaws,' said Yana Lantratova, a deputy of Russia's federal assembly, as quoted by the Moscow Times.
Lantratova, who also chairs the State Duma's committee on civil society and religious organisations, presented slides that contrasted Western characters with what she described as 'positive' Soviet-era role models.
The presentation criticised a trend in Western media that 'elevated' flawed characters to the status of heroes, eroding the image of purely virtuous protagonists.
A slide from Yana Lantratova's presentation criticising the influence of Western film characters. Photo: State Duma
'Gradually, as Western culture spread, characters with negative traits began to emerge – yet were elevated to the status of heroes,' one slide read. It warned that the image of the purely virtuous character was fading, while toys based on these flawed figures were increasingly adopting 'demonic traits'.
