No Omelets From The BBC
In what would appear to be a pitch to protect Britain’s children from the cruel realities of existence, the BBC has modified a line to the Humpty Dumpty rhyme, one of the most famous in the UK.
The CBeebies TV show Something Special changed one line; instead of the age old “couldn’t put Humpty together again”, now kids watching the program will learn “made Humpty happy again”.
The broadcaster defended its decision to end the nursery rhyme in a more positive note by explaining it was altered purely for creative reasons and not as an attempt to cushion the lives of little ones.
But the nursery rhyme is one that all of Britain learns while growing up, and it is part of eth nation’s cultural heritage.
Tom Harris, Labour MP for Glasgow South, said he occasionally watches the show with his kids and added that normally, everyone including children would find the ending of Humpty a sad thing. It’s part of life. According to Mr Harris, this move on the part of the BBC is a type of over protection. He added that adults are mismanaging this issue.
The MP also talked about another BBC alteration. He said he saw that the network changed Little Miss Muffet: she befriends the spider instead of running away.
Writer and language expert Lynne Truss, author of ‘Eats, Shoots and Leaves’, said the network is trying to shield young ones from feeling normal emotions.
The writer said that when she was a child, she was afraid of such things but she soon realised they didn’t hurt her. Nick Seaton, the chairman of the Campaign for Real Education agrees with Miss Truss, adding that nursery rhymes are a gentle way to introduce children to the harsh realities of life.
The famous nursery rhyme is believed to date back to 1648, which would have been used as a cannon recited at the siege of Colchester .