Clear-eyed, thoughtful and bang on from Barbara, which is nothing less than I'd expect from her - ThreadSky

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katebevan.com • 4 days ago

Clear-eyed, thoughtful and bang on from Barbara, which is nothing less than I'd expect from her

An Overbearing Sentence. The Newbury Paddington Bear iconoclasts and twee authoritarian anthropomorphism open.substack.com/pub/bleakhou...

Comments

jenpot.bsky.social•4 days ago

I cannot say this enough but fuck Paddington. Twee bullshit

katebevan.com•4 days ago

😁😁 Original Paddington: fine. 21st century appropriation of and spin on: not fine.

jenpot.bsky.social•4 days ago

Exactly. I read the books as a kid. They were fine, a little dated even then. New Padd can get in the sea.

barbararich.bsky.social•4 days ago

Yes, the originals are very much of the 1950s. The only way the Browns would be living on one income in a nice house in Notting Hill these days, with a live in housekeeper and two children at boarding school, would be if Mr Brown was a hedge fund manager or one of them had inherited wealth

barbararich.bsky.social•4 days ago

My point exactly. Original Paddington is an endearing and self-effacing character in a children’s story. Neo-Paddington is a twee anthropomorphic authoritarian, and simply overbearing (sorry)

barbararich.bsky.social•4 days ago

Thank you, Kate. I was half-expecting the judge to start quoting from Paddington’s Victim Impact Statement

katebevan.com•4 days ago

😆😆

barbararich.bsky.social•4 days ago

I’d also personally prefer the sort of bench that just has a modest, poignant little plaque or inscription to mark the life of someone like Mr Gruber than one with a Paddington sculpture already sitting on it

jameselder.bsky.social•4 days ago

Hmm. Agree with the comment on the sentencing, and I certainly find the overuse of Paddington - particularly as a modern psychopomp - annoying, but I can't say I'm too keen on this bit.

phaethon.bsky.social•4 days ago

TL;DR - And that was just the sentence.

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