It’s a rarity for something to find the kind of pop culture success “KPop Demon Hunters“ has found. The musical, romantic, action, adventure animated Netflix flick has been racking up viewing minutes, numbers at the box-office in limited runs, and throwing hits up the billboard charts in record breaking fashion. In doing so, its also been promoting messages of self-acceptance, forgiveness, love, and friendship. But because the word “demon” is in the title, a British school has banned the singing of its songs in the classroom.
The Lilliput Church of England School sent a letter advising parents that their children should not to sing the songs of the film in school because it might upset “other Christians.” As the school put it, “For some Christians, references to demons can feel deeply uncomfortable because they associate them with spiritual forces opposed to God and goodness.” While that is true in some respects, it appears the school is overlooking the fact that the movie is called “KPop Demon Hunters” and not “KPop Demon Supporters.”
Still, the school paradoxically acknowledges that they “completely agree that values like teamwork, courage, and kindness are important for children, and it’s clear from your feedback that many of you feel songs like ‘Golden’ have helped your children learn about these themes.” Only for them to try and shift blame away from themselves, saying their “role will simply be to help children understand that some of their peers may hold different views and to explore how we can respect and support those peers in upholding their faith.”
This isn’t the first time that some schools have had such strongly negative reactions to popular pieces of media. The “Harry Potter” franchise was scrutinized in some areas because of its use of witchcraft as a major plot element. Some other Christian groups complained about Pokémon because the creatures can “evolve,” and far be it for some diehard zealots to acknowledge evolution, even in fictional creatures that beat the ever-loving crap out of each other.
At the very least, it seems like the members of that school board won’t have to worry about accidentally buying their kids some bootleg “KPop Demon Hunters“ merchandise. So, there’s a silver lining, right?
