"Time for Teletubbies. Time for Teletubbies…."
At the sound of the familiar call, toddlers around the world
scamper to their television sets for 30 minutes of simple play,
enchantment, and learning. They smile with the baby-faced sun
rising in the sky and laugh at four chubby Teletubbies popping
out of their under-ground home. When the magic windmill spins
its sparkly beams, they share the excitement of a daily mystery:
Which tummy-screen will light up and broadcast a short TV clip?
This simple but captivating Teletubby world is full of pretty
flowers, lively rabbits, warm hugs, bumping tummies, and high
tech marvels – but glaringly devoid of parental love and
guidance. Instead, a mystical periscope (the Voice Trumpet) arises
from the ground to emit friendly directions when needed. A large
toaster makes tubby toast, while a tubby-sized machine spurts
tubby custard. A magic vacuum cleaner called Noo-Noo cleans up
the mess. And the Teletubbies are perfectly happy!
But who are these captivating, big-eyed creatures with television
screens on their tummies (that's why they are called Teletubbies)
and antennas on their heads? Why do toddlers love them so much?
"They are not human," argued their adult fans and
the mainstream media during last year’s controversy over
Tinky-Winky’s triangular antenna. "It’s absurd
to criticize their gender. They’re fantasy creatures, not
boys, girls, homosexuals, or toddlers."
That’s not what Anne Wood, their creator at BBC (British
Broadcasting Co.) tells us. "They are babies,"
she explains. "… technological babies…. Like children,
they also imitate what they hear, so they will attempt to speak
like the Narrator and sometimes like the Voice Trumpets."3
Others have likened the Teletubbies to aliens, to fetuses,
and to mythical half-human, half-animal creatures – albeit
a cuter, more modern version. But what counts is their message,
not their looks. What do they teach their little fans? What do
those four antennas on their heads symbolize? Why do they wear
television screens on their tummies? Why don't mommies and daddies
take care of these baby look-alikes? Why does the sun wear the
face of a baby? And finally, how does the teletubby program fit
into the global agenda for "lifelong learning"?
1. What do they teach?
"…children are the same the world over," says
scriptwriter Andy
Davenport. "They grow, they learn language, they learn
to talk, to think the same, wherever they grow up."4
If, as BBC (British Broadcasting Company) claims, small children
around the world watch this show, they certainly will learn "to
think the same" – a major goal of UNESCO’s program
for "lifelong
learning" [click also on "next
slide"]. This cradle
 |
Teletubby
costumes
|
to grave process of training
human resources for the global village needs and has the support
of America's PBS as well as BBC. Both help children to imitate
their idols – four soft, roly-poly creatures played by real
people. These actors have been trained to talk like toddlers,
run like toddlers, eat like toddlers, and swing to music like
toddlers. That’s to help real toddlers love them, follow
them, feel at home with them – and, don’t forget, learn
from them.
One of the lessons involves self-sufficiency (separation from
parents, but not from peers) within a high-tech world. If that's
hard to believe, hear it from PBS,
which has adapted the show for the American audience: "In
'Teletubbies,' the technological world becomes engaging, playful
and, most of all, manageable by the young child. The play technology
that hums through Teletubbyland also supplies the Teletubbies'
every need - Tubby Toast, Tubby Custard, and the conscientious
care and support of the comic vacuum cleaner, Noo-noo."5 No need for parents or grandparents!
This philosophy matches that of Professor John Goodlad, who
served on the governing board of UNESCO’s Institute for
Education before he joined Bill Clinton on the 1987 Study Commission
on Global Education. In his Preface to Schooling for a Global
Age, he wrote,
"Enlightened social engineering is required to face situations
that demand global action now. Education is a long-term solution....
The majority of our youth still hold the same values as their
parents and, if we don’t re-socialize, our system will decay."6
The Teletubbies may be fantasy creatures, romping in a fantasy
world. But toddlers pick up cues fairly indiscriminately from
both fantasy worlds and the real world. They don’t know
enough about reality to separate the two. So they are ready and
eager to believe and assimilate the cues they receive. There
are plenty of questionable messages. Take a look at some of them
from a child’s perspective.
 |
From Teletubby
toy Mega Bloks
|
2. What does the baby-faced sun tell toddlers?
The sun rises from behind the flowery green hills each morning,
and shines happily on the teletubby world all day. It sinks back
at the end of each day. Sounds a bit like the real sun, doesn’t
it?
But wait, this sun is also a living creature with a congenial
personality. Its pretty, blue-eyed baby face giggles when the
Teletubbies play happily together and do nice, expected things.
It often frowns when a teletubby is separated from the rest or
does something unexpected.
That sounds innocent enough. What could be wrong with a happy
face framed in the sun’s bright rays? Could this feel-good
image be anything more than simple, whimsical fantasy? Nobody
would take it seriously, would they?
Probably not. But that's part of the problem. Children fill
their minds with images that represent the new global paradigm,
and few take either message or the effects seriously. But leading
educators who call themselves "change agents" are dead
serious about the visual tactics they use to reach their goal.
They seek to mold minds that embrace the new global paradigm
(worldview) and
reject the old Christian paradigm. "The purpose of education
and the schools is to change the thoughts, feelings and actions
of students," admits Dr. Benjamin Bloom, the "Father
of Outcome-Based Education, in his book, All Our Children
Learning."7
Bloom and his followers have come a long way. Suddenly earth-centered
spirituality – with its sun-gods, nature spirits, and occult
rituals from around the world – has become the favored model
for the new sustainable communities.
This new ideology is reinforced through today's movies,
television, books, and schools.
As a result, most children face an irresistible array of pagan
images that support the new paradigm. Many already consider paganism
far more normal and acceptable than Christianity.
Our political, education, and media leaders want to introduce
these influences early -- before children become "indoctrinated"
with Biblical truths. (See "Clinton’s
War on Hate Bans Christian Values"). They know that
if parents follow God's command to "train up your child
in the way he should go," their children might not start
school with the "open-mindedness" needed to create
social solidarity. Biblical values would stand in the way. Therefore
"early childhood education" has moved to the forefront
of the "lifelong learning" agenda.
America's PBS and its British partner, BBC, fit right into
the international program for pre-school education. Their words
as well as their programs show their desire to introduce small
children to new images and "thinking skills so that [they]
will be ready for more formal training."8
In the context of the new education outcomes, that means
opening young minds to global beliefs and values. The Teletubby
world is their best attempt to touch pre-schoolers with the seeds
of the new ideology.
The envisioned global spirituality blends the world’s
earth-centered religions into a more universal belief system.
Both major and minor civilizations through history – Egyptian,
Hittite, Babylonian, Greek, Roman, Mayan, Celtic, etc. -- worshipped
sun gods that watched the earth and mingled with humans. These
man-made gods shared human characteristics and responded to human
activities with favor or anger, according to man’s compliance
with their self-centered standards. In other words, men and women
had created gods in their own image.9
Those old sun-gods have now been revised to fit today's demand
for kinder, more permissive gods -- gods that appeal to pre-
and grade-school children. Look at some of contemporary lessons:
Winter
Solstice: On December 19, 1991, a public elementary school
in Portland, Oregon, replaced the traditional Christmas party
with a Solstice festival. Their printed program, titled "Celebrate
the Return of the Light," pictured the Sun God and Moon
Goddess. Ponder the events listed in the program:
* Each [student] will partake of the sun and moon cake before
entering the auditorium where they will seat themselves according
to their astrological signs. Chanting will begin on entering
the auditorium.
* The Sun God and Moon Goddess will enter with attendants...
* Dancers and Drummers: [lists participants followed]
* Bar Code Children and Animal Spirits
* Dancing in a circle all together... [with] whooping and hugs
all around!
Summer Olympics in Atlanta,
1996: Those who watched the opening ceremony saw
five "Olympic spirits" wrapped in silvery cloth and
masked as sun gods rising out of the earth. Representing the
five regions and colors of the world, they writhed like serpents
while chanting mystical, incomprehensible invocations to "summon
the tribes" of the world. Moments later, five hundred tribes-people
streamed into the arena. After a frenzied dance to the beat of
a percussion arrangement by Mickey Hart, a "Grateful Dead"
drummer, the color-coded groups formed the five interlocking
rings of the Olympic symbol, welcoming the "the global family"
to celebrate the renewal of the Olympic dream.
School
Assignment: A fourth grader brought home a worksheet
with this story titled "When The Sun Went Away." It
told about a Japanese sun goddess and her brother, the god of
night. The people loved the goddess who made the crops grow and
the trees bloom. But they feared the god of night, who "brought
evil spirits to harm the land." Naturally, he began to envy
his sister.
"One day when the sun goddess was sitting in her temple,
the god of night crept in with a big bag. When he opened the
bag, a huge snake crawled out and coiled itself around the sun
goddess' chair. She was so frightened that she ran into a cave
and would not come out at all. Now the earth was always dark.
….
"So the people gathered at the cave. They beat drums,
rang bells, and sang. The goddess heard the noise and became
curious. Finally she crept to the mouth of the cave…. The
earth became bright again, and the people danced for joy. When
the god of night saw how happy the people were, he felt bad for
having frightened his sister. And he promised never to do it
again."
Celebrating
the Sacred Feminine: The above story was also told at
a conference on feminist spirituality at the Grace [Episcopal]
Cathedral in San Francisco. But the ending had changed. Harmony
between the sun goddess and the evil male god would have been
inappropriate. The new story fit the feminist demand for self-esteem
and self-deification. So this time the sun goddess won over her
own fear by looking into a mirror and delighting in her own glorious
image.
Look again at the picture on the far right. This mirror was
pictured in a Time Magazine article about the Harry Potter
books. In the photograph, Ms. Rowling sat next to a large gray
gargoyle with her back to the mirror. It's possible that she
didn't attach any spiritual significance to this representation
of the sun -- one that would carry the image of whoever gazed
at it. But whether she was consciously aware or not, her mirror
fits today's feminist quest to "re-imagine God" in
one's own image. No one illustrates this pursuit better than
Patricia Lynn Reilly who told me she was "born again"
as a Christian. Her book title says it all: A God that
Looks Like Me -- Discovering a Woman's Self-Affirming Spirituality.
Even toddlers can absorb the subtle message behind a transcendent
god-like sun that sees, giggles and smiles -- just like them.
In today’s climate, any cultural myth is open game for
expedient revisions. Since few children now learn the old foundational
facts of history, most will never know what is true or false.
They won't even know whether the myths they read represent the
original culture or have been adapted for today's agenda. A child's
primary mental filter will be his or her feelings. Those emotions
are being molded and trained through stories and images they
learn to love -- or hate. The Teletubbies, Pokemon, Harry Potter
books, and countless other politically correct myths, games,
and films support the global program for universal behavior modification.
(See Mind Control)
3. What do those antennas on the four teletubby heads
symbolize?
First, look at these official descriptions, for each teletubby's
character fits his or her antenna:
"Po
is the smallest Teletubby. She often jumps up and down to express
her feelings of joy, enthusiasm, and surprise. The natural place
for Po is to be on her scooter zipping around the hills. She
makes the noise 'quickly, quickly, quickly' or 'slowly, slowly,
slowly' when riding her scooter. Po spends a lot of time on her
own. Next to riding her scooter, Po likes to keep an eye on the
panel switches and controls on the central column inside the
Teletubbies' house."
"Laa-Laa
is the second smallest Teletubby. She is the happiest and most
smiley of the Teletubbies. She too loves to sing and dance. Her
favorite word is 'nice'. Laa-Laa loves the way her ball bounces
and wobbles and grows bigger and smaller. Laa-Laa always likes
to know where all of the Teletubbies are. She has her own special
La-la-la-la-la song."
"Dipsy
is the second biggest Teletubby. He is known for his distinctive
steps and ways of saying 'hello'. He loves his hat very much.
Dipsy sings a song with a reggae beat and when he is feeling
'especially cool' will go for a walk by himself, wearing his
hat and singing the song."
"Tinky
Winky is the biggest Teletubby. He is the gentlest of the
Teletubbies. His favorite thing is his bag, which he likes to
take out with him for walks. He usually sings his song 'Tinky
Winky'. He loves to dance and fall over on his back. Tinky Winky
loves all of the Teletubbies, and his best friend is Po, the
smallest one."
In fact, Tinky Winky loves wearing a lacy white ballet skirt
when he dances. Dipsy, the slightly smaller male, does not. When
pressured to wear the same skirt, he tears it off and runs away.
Dipsy's hat has no top, otherwise it wouldn't fit over his
antenna. But Dipsy really loves that hat. You can tell by the
song he made up: Hat, hat haaat,Hat, hat haaat, Hat, hat haaat
hat.(repeat)
The symbols in the show, like the letters in the alphabet,
have meanings. They communicate a message. Familiar symbols may
summarize and send messages more quickly and effectively than
words. And since visual images tend to bypass the critical scrutiny
that words provoke, they serve as tools for transformation in
the hands of today’s change agents.
"There is growing excitement
among educators about old myths and symbols, oral history, earth
festivals, primitive rites of passage and customs, extraordinary
abilities documented in cultures less linear than our own,"
wrote Marilyn Ferguson in her 1980 blueprint for change, The
Aquarian Conspiracy. She had already explained how tomorrow’s
children must learn a new perception of reality. In fact, their
minds must be so steeped in this new paradigm that their intuitive
response to the old ways would be instant rejection.
"The dictionary defines intuition as ‘quick perception
of truth without conscious attention or reasoning," Ferguson
explains. Training the intuition to fit the new paradigm is simple.
Make symbols and their evolving and politically correct meanings
more fun and familiar than the home taught words, values, and
meanings. To speed the process, children would be surrounded
by symbols that send the right message and affirm the new way
of thinking.
|
Po's antenna is a CIRCLE: An ancient and universal symbol
of unity, wholeness, infinity, and the goddess, it also represents
the feminine spirit or force, a spiritualized Mother Earth, and
a sacred space. To contemporary pagans and radical feminists,
it is "one of the primary feminine signs, as opposed to
the line or phallic shaft representing the masculine spirit."1 |
 |
Dipsy's antenna is a ROD: Earth-centered cultures around
the world have worshipped a phallic rod or pillar as symbol of
male power to bring the seed of new life to the earth. Hindu
worshippers called it a "lingam," Egyptians called
it an obelisk. According to 2 Kings 17:9-10, God’s people
"set up for themselves sacred pillars and wooden images
on every high hill…." In the old Celtic fertility rituals
called Beltane or May Day (Walpurgisnacht to the Teutons) --
which is now being revived and adapted for modern times by contemporary
pagans -- the May pole symbolized male power and fertility. |
|
. Laa Laa's antenna
is a SPIRAL (see also a circle) and ROD: Ancient symbol
of the goddess, the womb, fertility, feminine serpent force,
continual change, and the evolution of the universe. Notice how
the spiral (female) and the rod (male) are combined in La-La’s
antenna. (Because the spiral has become such
a popluar symbol, we plan provide a link to a page full of interesting
spirals.) |
 |
Tinky-Winky's antenna is a TRIANGLE pointing down: The
triangle in its multiple forms has been pictured in symbols and
rituals around the world, from European alchemy to the sexual
rites of Tantric Buddhism. Pointing up, it has represented the
Trinity to Christians. Pointing down it has represented the female
womb. More recently, many members of the homosexual community
has claimed this symbol -- along with the color purple -- as
their own. However, lesbians generally identify with a pink rather
than purple triangle. |
Of course, all these symbols -- the circle, rod, spiral, and
triangle pointing down -- are simple shapes that occur in nature
as well as in the minds and beliefs of people. Apart from a particular
ideology, they have little cultural significance. But when shown
in the context of the global education agenda, they are no longer
neutral. Many of today's influential leaders have embraced these
symbols as wordless representations that point to certain beliefs.
They have given them meanings that match the new global spirituality
and promote an anti-Christian global ethic. In our pluralistic
society, this process of communicating visual messages through
symbols, images, and impressions has been replacing the factual
and logical communication using the alphabet. It makes school
easier and more fun. Few realize the consequence of eroding the
old foundations for truth, history, science and progress. (See
symbols)
4. How do the teletubbies fit into the global agenda for
lifelong learning?
UNESCO introduced the concept of "lifelong learning"
back in 1973. This lifelong process of socialization would start
soon after birth with community training sessions for parents.
From cradle to grave, human resources would be trained and conformed
to the new global society, then assessed for their worth to the
global community and monitored for compliance with the new pluralistic
beliefs and values. (See The
UN Plan for Your Mental Health)
As you have seen, early childhood education is essential to
this plan. Children must be raised in an environment that encourages
them to absorb multicultural attitudes, including a broader view
of sex and gender issues, before parents and pastors "close"
their minds with Biblical views of right and wrong. Otherwise
home-taught Christian values could encourage resistance to the
consensus process and to the planned solidarity.
At the 1995 UN Conference on Women in Beijing, the liberal
delegations from Canada, the U.S., and European Union sought
approval of their concept of gender. Many saw five distinct
kinds: male and female heterosexuals, male and female homosexuals,
and trans- or bisexuals. Gone was God's view of gender: "He
who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female.'"
(Matthew 19:4)
At the Beijing Conference, traditional values were equated
with hate and violence. "We strive to eliminate economic,
political, domestic, cultural, environmental, religious and sexual
violence against women,"16
announced the Anglican Women's Network.
This hostility toward traditional values seethed through the
many discussions of sex, gender, and reproductive rights. It
shut out the more pressing and global concerns: hunger, illness,
drought and violence. Yet, Western delegates seemed focused on
their feminist issues. Why?
"We intend to fight like mad for all we want," said
Donna Shalala, the leader of the U.S. delegation and the Secretary
of Health and Human Services. "There is extensive opposition
to sexual orientation . . . we have had opposition on other issues.
. . but we shall overcome them."17
Feminist leaders had planned their offensive long before they
came to Beijing. At the "PrepCom" (Preparatory Committee
meeting) they discussed the meaning of the word "gender."
Mentioned 216 times in the pre-conference Platform for Action
adopted at their meeting, it was defined as a "socially
constructed" role, not a biological fact. "Gender,"
they said, "indicates that sex roles and behaviors are artificially
constructed and freely chosen."18
Do you see how this reasoning fits feminist goals? Lesbians
win sympathy for their cause by blaming those "socially
constructed" gender roles on male oppression. This frees
them to spread their message through public education (formal
and informal, such as public television) and increase their number.
The larger their number, the greater their political strength.
No wonder they have been fighting hard to gain access to the
world's children through sex education and "gender-sensitive"
classroom lessons.
"We will not be forced back to the 'biology is destiny'
concept," thundered Bella Abzug, the late "feminist
warhorse" who, for decades, led the global sisterhood of
feminist activist. It's not surprising that she also promoted
goddess worship in place of the hated "patriarchal"
church culture.19
Mandatory lifelong learning is the planned solution to this
gender controversy. The Teletubbies provide a good start.
5. Why do they wear television screens on the tummies?
Part of the answer lies in this statement from the PBS
teletubby website:
"If we can show children at an early age that television
isn't something that should just wash over them, but something
you should question, play with, challenge, have fun with - then
we're preparing them for the interactive use of media that will
be their world when they grow up."
BBC has big plans for interactive digitized television programs
that will be integrated into home computers. A large number of
global interactive education programs are preparing programs
that will teach, assess, monitor, and remediate human resources
around the world. 20 Everyone will
be part of the new global tracking system.21
The positive spin on this new technology is presented by BBC
in its report on The
Changing World. For the real purpose of visually oriented
interactive learning programs, read The
UN Plan for Your Mental Health.
When each child is linked to his or her individual computer
program, the dissemination of politically correct "information"
and the gathering of personal data for individual personality
profiles can be accelerated and controlled. Dustin Heuston of
Utah's World Institute for Computer-Assisted Teaching (WICAT)
shares his delight in the power of this interactive technology:
"We've been absolutely staggered by realizing that the
computer has the capability to act as if it were ten of the top
psychologists working with one student. You've seen the tip of
the iceberg. Won't it be wonderful when the child in the smallest
county in the most distant area or in the most confused urban
setting can have the equivalent of the finest school in the world
on that terminal and no one can get between that child and that
computer?"22
"But what does all this have to do with a simple teletubby
show?" you might ask. A lot, actually! And the goal is to
accomplish the cultural shift with the consent of the people.
That means cloaking the tactics for change in normal, pleasant
activities that few would dare criticize. If this is hard to
believe, read about "edutainment" and other aspects
of the worldwide plans for synthetic learning environments.
As Professor Raymond Houghton wrote in an NEA publication in
the seventies:
"The critical point of behavior control, in effect, is
sneaking up on mankind without his self-conscious realization
that a crisis is at hand. Man will not even know that it is about
to happen." 23
Not only do parents need to see how a global children's program
fits into the big picture and long-term plan. They need to realize
how our children's minds are being manipulated through "fun"
images and strategic imaginary experiences, then resist the process
with love, truth and logic. God’s Word provides some helpful
guidelines:
Know the Truth: Colossians 3:16
Don’t be deceived: Colossians 2:8
Follow the Shepherd: Psalm 23
Don’t be conformed to the world: Romans 12:2
Be prepared to face persecution:
John 15:20-21
Don’t heed ungodly counsel: Psalm 1:1-2
Trust God to be your guide: Psalm 25:4-5
"Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph
in Christ...." (2 Corinthians 2:14)
Endnotes:
1. The BBC education
page: http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/teletubbies/information/pressrelease/childsplay.shtml
2.Our Creative
Diversity, UNESCO, 1995, p.11.
3. The BBC education
page: http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/teletubbies/information/faq/q6.shtml
4. The BBC education
page: http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/teletubbies/information/faq/q1.shtml
5. The PBS Teletubbies
page: http://www.pbs.org/teletubbies
6.John Goodlad,
Preface to Schooling for a Global Age, edited by James
Becker (New York: McGraw Hill, 1979). Goodlad was a member of
the Board of Directors of Global Perspectives in Education, Inc.,
based in NY. According to Dr. Dennis Cuddy, Schooling for a
Global Age is part of a series of books published under the
auspices of the Institute for Development of Educational Activities
(IDEA) and supported by the National Institute of Education, the
U.S. Office of Education, the Rockefeller Foundation. For more
information about the education partnership between UNESCO and
the U.S., read Brave New Schools.
7. Benjamin Bloom,
All Our Children Learning (New York: McGraw- Hill, 1981);
180.
8. The BBC education
page: http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/teletubbies/information/pressrelease/childsplay.shtml
9. See Psalm 50:21.
10. James Wasserman,
Art and Symbols of the Occult (Rochester, Vermont: Destiny
Books, 1993), page 112.
11. Ibid.,
page 44.
12. David Fontana,
The Secret Language of Symbols (San Francisco: Chronicle
Books, 1993), page 148.
13. Ancient
Wisdom and Secret Sects (Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books,
1989), page 88.
14. Mystic Trader
Catalog.
15. Paul Gray,
"Wild About Harry," Time (September 20, 1999);
page 72.
16. Diane Knippers,
"Power!" (November/December 1995); 10.
17. Donna Shalala's
answer to a question posed by a reporter from the San Francisco
Chronicle, September 11, 1995. She was referring to item #48 in
the Platform for Action. Cited by Family Concerns Representative
Nancy Shaefer in her conference report, page 12. For a more complete
report on the UN Conference in Beijing, read chapter 9 in A Twist of Faith.
18. Frederica Mathewes-Green,
"The Gender Agenda," 1995 Religion News Service,
August 22, 1995.
19. Ibid.
20.Websites that
promote interactive classroom technology: http://www.worldbank.org/worldlinks/english/html/m-e.html
* http://www.usq.edu.au/users/campbede/globaled.html
* http://www.iste.org/ * http://www.sri.com/policy/ctl/html/world.htm
(See also an unfinished report
on human resource development)
21.See * http://mediafilter.org/CAQ/CAQ59GLOBALSNOOP.HTML
* http://www.worldnetdaily.com/bluesky_btl/19990831_xcbtl_the_latest.shtml
* http://www.farshore.force9.co.uk/listen.htm
* No Place to Hide * Human
Capital for the Global Village.
22. Dustin H. Heuston,
"Discussion--Developing the Potential of an Amazing Tool,"
Schooling and Technology, Vol. 3, Planning for the Future: A Collaborative
Model (Southeastern Regional Council for Educational Improvement),
p. 8.