Jezebel: horton hears a who

Horton Hears A Poo

Maria — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:20:00 EST

Elephant dung is so hot right now: press releases for the upcoming DVD release of Horton Hears A Who! are all printed on paper made from recycled elephant poop. (The paper is meant to impart economic value to Sri Lankan elephants, which are often killed because they compete with local farmers for space.) But it's not just press releases: the dung is also selling like hot cakes in India, where it is used as a cheap mosquito repellent. If only we could find a way to turn the shit slung by the modern GOP into a force for good. [Outside Blog, Hindustan Times]

Horton Hears A Tale Of Gender Inequality

Dodai — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 12:45:00 EDT

NPR's Peter Sagal took his wife and three "excited and happy" daughters to see Horton Hears A Who and left super pissed. The number one-grossing film of the year so far caused Sagal to be "irritated by something even more annoying than Jim Carrey's tics." See, the filmmakers added a subplot to the Dr. Seuss story. Now the mayor of Whoville has 96 daughters and one son. Says Sagal: "Guess who gets all his attention? Guess who saves the day?" Ugh, yeah, it's the son, of course. Sagal's commentary (as a father with daughters) is only three minutes long but so full of ire and rage it's totally worth listening to. [NPR]

"Pro-Life" Group Uses Dr. Seuss To Push Its Case

Slut Machine — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 18:00:00 EST

A pro-life group in Colorado has adopted the line "a person's a person, no matter how small" from Horton Hears a Who — which was turned into a song for the Broadway production Seussical the Musical — as a way to petition for a measure recognizing conception as the start of a human life. Such groups have been quoting this passage for years, despite the fact that both Dr. Seuss and his wife made it publicly clear they were not okay with that. (And rightly so: It's being used out of context and is about as inappropriate as Planned Parenthood taking on "Last Caress" — "I got something to say/ I killed your baby today/ And it doesn't matter much to me/ As long as its dead" — by the Misfits as a theme song.)

But it got me to thinking: What other songs could be used as ridiculous pro-choice anthems? The Smiths' "I Started Something I Couldn't Finish"? Or maybe Black Sheep's "The Choice Is Yours"? Earnest no-brainers: Aretha Franklin "Think (Freedom)" Bobby Brown "My Prerogative"

How about these:
Britney Spears "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman"

I'm not a girl,
Not yet a woman.
All I need is time,
A moment that is mine,
While I'm in between.

Janet Jackson "Control"

Got my own mind
I wanna make my own decisions
When it has to
do with my life,
my life
I wanna be the one in control

Not so literal:
Lil' Kim "Big Momma Thang"

And oh
Don't cha like the way I roll
And play wit my bushy
Tell me what's on your mind when your tongues in the pussy
Is it marriage?
Baby carriage?
Shit no, on a dime shit is mine

My abortion song, by title alone, would be:
Belle & Sebastian "Is it Wicked Not to Care?"

But actually, when I was undergoing an abortion about seven years ago, the radio was on, and, as they were prepping me for the anesthetic, the song that came on was "Sexual Healing." I remember staring up at the water stain on the drop-ceiling thinking, "You have got to be kidding me."

Anti-Abortion Group Using Horton's Message [UPI]