FINAL GROUP POD

The group discusses the topic of book bans in the United States. They explore the reasons behind the bans and how they have changed over time. They mention the emphasis on diversity and representation in modern bans, as well as the role of social media in spreading opinions and backlash. They also touch on the importance of personal experiences and biases in these discussions. Overall, they question who has the right to censor books and whether it should be left up to parents or other entities. This is the group final. This is our podcast. My name is Makayla. I'm Amy. Hi, my name's Brittany. I'm Dominic. I'm Clemente. I'm Ian. Perfect. Okay, we're going to get started with Dominic and Dominic's research and points of views. Okay, so today we're just going to be discussing the topic of book bans in the United States. It's a subject that touches on important issues like freedom of speech, educational rights, and society values. Today we are in society. We continue to keep seeing these banned books, particularly that address themes of race, sexuality, or identity. It raises several questions that we want to discuss today, like do the bans actually prevent young people from accessing controversial content or do they make them more appealing? Or what are the unintended consequences? What is it teaching our children or the historical content of it versus how it is now? At first when I was thinking about what we could talk about, I was thinking about looking back at books that have been banned in the past versus the books that are being banned today. I guess the interesting thing that I found is that while the bans are similar to the past, but it seems like nowadays there's a greater emphasis placed on diversity and representation versus some of the older books that were being banned, like To Kill a Mockingbird or The Grapes of Wrath, which was all the way back from 1939. They were criticized for its portrayal of migrant workers. I mean, so it just kind of goes, like highlights just like political and economic stuff. However, it seems like today more of the books are being banned for like LGBTQIA+, I think that's the letters, all those kinds of topics. So, I was just thought we could maybe discuss why we think or why are these topics being banned so much nowadays? Or what's changed in society? I think it has a lot to do with how mental health is so much more in everyday life now. Like it's more of a known thing and not so much on the back burner. So, these types of books are being brought up. I agree. And I also feel that the topics that, well, I also feel that the books that are being banned today versus the books from the past are so different, I think, because as a society we've grown, you know, as the African-American woman, in the past reading books from, like you said, 1939 or 1940s or 50s, there's not this portrayal of the events and the trauma that actually happened in colored people's lives. People of color were just kind of in the background, like we were the butlers or we were this or we were that. And now it's like this is the story of a main character who is Mexican-American or African-American or Chinese-American, you know, like it's grown so much as well as diversity and sexuality, you know. Back in the day, I think talking about LGBTQ plus community was like kind of shunned upon, you know, like you don't speak about those things because it was just not tolerated as well as it is today. So, I think a big part of the reason is because we've come so far in a society. Yeah, I would totally agree. And the other thing I thought or just kind of interesting is, you know, is the political side of it, you know, and now I think a lot of it has to do also with social media, which is why books are being banned so much more frequently than they have in the past. I think it's just so easy now for, you know, somebody to post something on social media and then a group of moms jump on board and start this whole thing when, you know, back in 1930 or 40 or 50, that obviously didn't happen like that. So, I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but I think that's probably a main reason why they're being banned so much more often in so many more places. I think social media definitely has a huge, huge factor in it because so many more people are able to share their experiences and their opinions, whether they're warranted or not. And it's a lot easier for these, you know, opinions and things to be spread. And sometimes it gets taken as fact, but a lot of the times it really just is personal bias or personal experience and people either aren't comfortable with it or they're just not familiar with it. And it gets, it receives a lot of backlash. And I was looking into it a little bit and Pen America was saying that already in 2024, in the first half of the school year, there was already over 4,000 challenges for books. And I think a huge part was in, you know, that in 2020 when Black Lives Matter was so, so huge, it, you know, kind of started this um, I can't think of the exact word, but basically from then there was so much more involvement in other people's communities that weren't just their own. And this idea of diversity was so much more welcomed because before, like you guys were mentioning with the 1930s, 1940s, 50s, diversity wasn't something that was celebrated. And now people are wearing themselves out trying to get these diverse point of views, whether they're their own diversities or other people's just that they respect in these communities that they respect. Specifically the issues of non-white people or people who are part of the LGBTQ plus community, those have huge controversies around them and they tend to be based off of people's own biases and they're from people's own personal experiences. Maybe they had one bad experience with somebody who was a gay person, so now they just completely feel that all gay people are the same when that doesn't even work for anybody. Like, oh, if I met somebody who's left-handed, writes with their left hand and they were mean to me, do I hate all left-handed people or am I just biasing and categorizing them? I also was, I saw this ticked off the other day, if I can find the creator's ad, I'll put it in the citations, but she was just stitched a video of somebody who was very proud and outgoing about being lesbian or gay or transgender, I'm not sure exactly which one it was, and the lady had stitched it and said, we work so hard to be normal and fit in and be able to have the rights to get married and just live our normal lives without flaunting it and rubbing it in everybody's face. I feel like that's also another thing with social media and everything where people get the unwarranted opinions and just a lot of backlash and back and forth, and it creates tension in communities between everybody. People a lot of times feel the need to express their opinions on people's opinions just because it's something that they see online. You don't have to always see something, say something. Right, that's what I was thinking about. I was in Glasgow yesterday, and I just made me think, I don't know if it's, yeah, it must just be because of social media and we can express everything, that people think that other people care what other people think, and most of the time we don't. Like, I don't care what you think about X, Y, Z. It was like, this guy was in Costco wearing this shirt that said, like, unmasked, unvaccinated, Republican something else, and I was just like, I don't know, it's too much. I'm like, nobody gives a fuck. Why do you care? You're just trying to cause problems, it seems like. Yeah, I can see why. People feel like they're important and their ideas matter more than they do, I think. Right, I can see why some people have that flaunting personality, because for some people they were very, very hidden, whether it was in their culture or specifically more like LGBT community. A lot of people, whether it's, again, different cultures get suppressed or you suppress your gender identity, your sexual identity, and so when they finally are more accepting of it and disregard other people's opinions, they kind of go all out and they are for the drama. And sometimes it's like, okay, you're kind of trying to reclaim that part of you, but then other times it's like, okay, not everybody cares. Some people might encourage it and be like, wow, I'm so proud of you, good for you, you're able to accept it. And then it just gets to a point where it's like, okay, what else? Like, what's new? Right. Right, my therapist was just actually explaining this to me, I think two weeks ago, about how that can sometimes be somebody's shell or the way that they're protecting themselves is by being so like, almost passive-aggressive, is what it is. Yeah, some people are jealous that they're not able to accept a certain part of themselves, again, whether it's their culture, whether it's their identity. Some people just never get past that shame. And so they kind of, it's reflected on other people. And I feel like that was kind of something that I noticed when people were talking about the book Genderqueer. Some people, it was really funny, it made me google, they would say things like, oh, everybody has those thoughts. Everybody has those thoughts a couple times, once or twice, thinks about doing those things or thinks about feeling that way. And it's like, well, I don't think everybody, just the people that it might apply to, maybe look a little inward. Well, also, so I just thought maybe it would be interesting to just kind of get everyone's opinions on who's like, who do you feel like has the right to censor books? Or do, is it the parents? Is it the schools? Is it the teachers? Is it anybody? What are your thoughts on that? I think that for general, generally speaking, I don't think really anybody should be able to say, oh, this book can't be allowed anywhere. Because again, there is a book for everybody. Like there's some kind of, like, I would never want to pick up like a gym book, but some people, they like reading, that's a topic they like, that's a topic they're interested in, or want to learn about. So they're going to gravitate towards that. But in terms of more individual, I think it could be more up to the parents. If they really don't want their kid reading that, I hope that they at least have a conversation as to why. If it's more just like, if it boils down to the parent being uncomfortable with that kind of topic, or they just personally don't like it, I feel like that ends up just being a little bit more harmful, especially if it's kids wanting to read more about their culture. I know that there are a lot of reasons and factors for families kind of, you know, tossing their culture under the rug and hiding it and hiding that part of themselves. You know, some people see it as a safety reason, especially being in America. If you're not from America, or you don't quote unquote look like you're from America, expressing any form of culture, it just, it's seen as, it seems way too foreign to a lot of people, and it scares them. So they backlash, they kind of fire at them for expressing that part of themselves. And it's literally something that they cannot change. Right. And like generational trauma is real. Sometimes you need to know, like, if you're trying to move forward with things and like deal with stuff, you need to know, like, the history or whatever. Exactly. Like, I think that the schools though, should honestly like, I don't ever remember being a kid and like, coming across any of the types of banned books that we read today. Like, I really enjoyed reading as a kid. I like, of course, read the whole Twilight series, you know what I mean? Like, Lovely Bones, I remember was a really good book that I have the notebook, like, really good books, but I just don't ever remember like the book, or even hearing about really books like we read, you know, in our class, like, Out of Darkness one was definitely one of my favorites. And I think that that's something that should be, you know, accessible to high school students, but I just think that there could be some sort of organization more as far as like, more as far as like, a genderqueer being in the shelf of like, you know, elementary schools or on the teacher's desk, like, just things like that. But I mean, you can't micromanage and control every little thing, it gets a little difficult. So I feel like that's where like, what is it like the PTO meeting, like, should come into play, you know, if like, that's something that you want to advocate for, or you notice is in the school library, like, you know, the community can come and help how it is set up now. I agree. Oh, sorry. Um, no, I was just saying, I agree with Brittany. I don't necessarily think that they should ban books, but more so put like, age restrictions on some of them, like genderqueer, maybe for like high school and Out of Darkness too. Because I feel like banning books is like, it's very controlling, in my opinion. And like me, personally, I love reading books. And so hearing about like, all these books getting banned, it just like, makes me want to read them even more. And I don't know, I just like, I don't like the fact that they're being banned. So I feel like restrictions is like, probably something that would work. But that's just my opinion. I agree. And I think it can be kind of tricky, because like Michaela said, like, everyone likes different things, you know, I agree that there's a book out there for everybody. So I don't think that all these books should necessarily be banned. But I also agree with Brittany about how there should probably be some type of restrictions, you know, because I can remember being back in elementary school, and I've always been really into history. But in the history books, they don't talk much about, you know, African American culture or African culture and these things. And I would search through the library for hours, looking for a book cover with a person who looked just like me. And it's been so hard all through my life to find those things, even at public libraries. And I think it's very concerning. So having authors now who are brave enough to, you know, come out with these type of books, and then just be shunned away by, you know, the school districts or parents or anything like that, for mainly personal reasons. I think that's a problem. But I don't know, I just, it can be tricky because race and, you know, diversity and all those things play into it. But I know for me, I would have been such a happy little girl to find a book like Out of Darkness, you know, through middle school or high school, because I'm an avid reader. And still to this day, it's been hard to find things like that. And I think that, you know, your own experience with that is why I truly, truly believe that representation is so important, especially with, you know, racial issues and how intense it is in society and how ridiculed it is to talk about it, because people bring up the history and the past, and they bring up so many things, but it's like, listen to the person that is telling you how they feel, and listen to the person right now in this present moment that is telling you about their experiences, their feelings, their issues that their family is facing, they're personally facing, or their community as a whole is facing, instead of trying to dismiss it and belittle it, because this is, you know, racial issues across all different kinds of races, that's what I'm looking for, different kinds of races, and again, cultures, they're still present today. There are still racist, disgusting people who are stuck in old, old-ass ways, and it truly is something that keeps repeating itself, because there's lack of representation. People fail to be empathetic in those kinds of ways. Preach, Mikayla. They fail to be empathetic. Oh my gosh, I'm like, I'm getting chills right now, this is so good, you guys. Yeah, I agree with you. I do think that representation does matter, because I feel like as, like, a little kid, like, I'm Mexican and stuff, so growing up, I didn't really see any books like that, and see, like, any, like, people that look like me on books, but I'm pretty sure if I was little, and I was, like, able to see that, I feel like I would be able to, I guess, like, express myself among, like, against, like, my other friends and all that, like, I'd just be more comfortable in my own skin, so, like, I do think that representation does matter, especially as a little kid growing up and all that. Right, and I kept thinking, like, when we were writing the reports, like, imagining that I'm a parent of a young child, you know, in that context, and, like, how would I explain to my child why I think that out of darkness shouldn't be on the shelf, or even, whatever, genderqueer, and it's, like, I don't think that I could explain that in a way that didn't, wouldn't be, like, making me look bad or feel bad, or, like, we're teaching our children to not accept other people for what they are or what their culture is, and it's, like, I don't know, like, I just couldn't imagine, like, trying to break or have that conversation with my child, let alone a bunch of children. So, speaking about the banned books, I would say that my favorite one was, I think, Brittany said the same thing, Out of Darkness. I just think the story and the rawness, the realness, it, it was unlike any book that I had ever read before. I had never heard of a book, which, honestly, it's sad to even have to say that, because, like, we were just talking about representation. I don't think I've ever would have gotten that kind of perspective, and it was a gruesome book, and it was so sad and so many emotions, but then I just, that's what I loved about it, because it is a kind of book that needs to be on the shelves. It needs to be talked about more. I never heard about it until this class. And how there was so many different, like, stories within that story. Like, you literally couldn't put it down. Like, it was, like, just, like, you know what I mean? Like, whoa, this is crazy, like, to think that these things happened, and people can still, like, behave this way today, because it does still happen today. Like, it's just sad. So, definitely agree with the Out of Darkness. Perks of Being a Wallflower was also another good one, probably second best for me. Yeah, I would say Out of Darkness and The Perks of Being a Wallflower are my two, my top two book, favorite books that I've read. Just like how Michaela said, how it is such a sad and, like, gruesome story, and, and, like, there's not a lot of books, like, about that topic. And I just feel like it needs more representation. And I was reading it, even though it was really sad. And as well as The Perks of Being a Wallflower, I enjoyed reading that as well. And I feel like it was written so well that it would be perfect for, like, high school students, since I am a high school student. So I feel like it was just, like, a really good book to read right now. I agree with everyone else. Out of Darkness was definitely my favorite. This may sound weird, but it became my favorite because of how sad and gruesome the ending was. I know I keep saying this, but as a Black girl, you know, I feel sometimes when stories like this are, are brought up, like, racism can be kind of fabricated and kind of sugarcoated, like, oh, yeah, this happened, but in the end, they were still suffering, but they moved on. Like, no, there's no happy ending here. Like, this was set in the 30s. This is not a happy ending, you know, with the amount of racism and things that they were going through. And The Perks of Being a Wallflower was my second favorite, simply because I can, I could really relate to his, like, what is the word? His, I don't know, his problem with, like, opening up to people and just kind of being very, very shy and to himself and, you know, all the trauma that we ended up finding out he was going through and, like, all these things. I feel like, like Amy said, this is perfect for high school students and middle school students, because for me, that was the time that was the hardest. So those are my two favorites. I think that, like, my favorite book, like, along with everyone else is, like, the Out of Darkness book. I think that was just my favorite, just because, again, the representation, I think, like, meant a lot for me while I was reading the book. And then also, like, is that, like, while I was reading it, like, I could, like, feel the emotion, like, they're feeling, like, all, like, the sadness and, like, it's the gruesomeness stuff. It was kind of, like, I guess, like, triggering in a way, to the point, like, like, every story, like, that I was reading, like, that was in that book, just kept, like, I could, I don't know, it was just very, like, you could feel, I guess, like, just how it was back then, especially with, like, racism going around, because it wasn't, like, the 1930s or something like that. So it just shows how, like, real it was and everything that they had to, like, go through, especially back then. Any other thoughts, opinions, feelings? I think maybe the last thought is, this is America, and we have freedom to speak and freedom to read and freedom to say what we want to say. And I don't think that we should be banning books or teaching our children to ban books or to not, you know, to ban cultures or whatever things we don't like just to, we can't just get rid of them. We can't, you have to learn to tolerate and to adapt and to accept people. Representation matters. Empathy saves and changes lives. And the past happened, we have to learn about it so that it doesn't repeat. Well, I think this went well. I thank you guys for your time and for being here, having such a good discussion, as always.