A few weeks ago, I joined about 40 other souls in the Carbon Arc Theatre in Halifax to watch a screening of an independent film called “The Librarians”.
Not to be confused with the action packed television series of the same name, the documentary was no less compelling. It told the story of how in recent months, a new type of hero has emerged in the battle for control of America’s cultural conscience. Mild mannered librarians, who once could lay claim to only possessing enough authority to enact a well timed “Shush!” have been dragged, rather unceremoniously, into the culture war fray.
The film documents how, starting in 2021, librarians and the collections they curate came under tremendous public scrutiny. That year a list of 850 books was sent to Texas school superintendents by a state legislator named Matt Krause. The list was accompanied by a directive that superintendents provide information about how many copies the districts had of each book and how much money had been spent on purchasing them. The impetus for the letter, it seems, was that many jurisdictions in Texas had already been removing certain books from school libraries in response to “parent and tax payers” complaints..
There was no rationale provided for why these books, in particular, were targeted, nor, indeed, what organization had put the list together. Regardless, “The Krause List”, as it became known, soon became a rallying point for groups that wished to remove “pornographic” or “unamerican” literature from library shelves. These included any books documenting the Roe v Wade decision, dozens of titles dealing with teen sexual health, multiple #BlackLivesMatter texts and at least one text on the K.K.K., found problematic for referring to that particular group as an American terrorist organization.
It wasn’t long before the list of book was expanded, due in large part to the efforts of exceptionally well funded right wing groups like Moms for Liberty. Children’s books like Maurice Sendak’s In The Night Kitchen (nudity), and Maus, a holocaust memoir told from the perspective of a cartoon mouse (nudity, albeit mouse nudity), were added alongside books like And Tango Makes Three, a story about two male penguins adopting an orphan egg and raising it as their own, which was based on an actual event at a New York Zoo.
The pressure to remove these books from library quickly reached frightening proportions. Librarians who questioned the validity of the list were disciplined, and in some cases fired. Some librarians were threatened with jail time, accused of distributing pornographic materials to minors. At heated town hall meetings, librarians were loudly and often aggressively labeled as “groomers” and “pedophiles” for fighting to keep some of these books on library shelves.
In fairness, of course, removing books from libraries is nothing new, nor is it the sole purview of those who may hold conservative beliefs. A great many texts, including familiar titles like To Kill a Mockingbird and The Lord of the Flies have been embroiled in controversies of their own over the years. The difference in my mind, however, is that the calls for the removal of those books came from members of a particular community who were concerned about how they, themselves, were being portrayed.
In the current battle for our libraries, the concern seems to be that specific communities are being portrayed at all.
The film was a stark reminder of the extent to which the American culture wars are raging in the most unlikely of places. It was also a not so gentle nudge to us Canadians that in our current political climate, once steadfast public institutions are being rattled, rather violently by a sudden surge in the “Me, not we! Us, not them!” ideology.
Back in February, the CBC’s The Fifth Estate documented what it has called a “shadow war” on public libraries. Centered around the small town of Valleyview, Alberta, the documentary told the story of how the town council voted to move the local library into a soon to be built school complex. Although presumptively about saving money, concerns were raised that the actual intent was to restrict access by youth to literature from the 2SLGBTQ+ community.
As with their American counterparts, much of the debate about libraries in that particular case seems centered around gender and gender identity. Recent controversial decisions by the United Conservative Party would seem to lend credence to the view that the queer community in Alberta is under some fairly serious scrutiny, if not under outright attack. That topic, however, is well beyond the scope of this article.
Yet, as I watch the current political maelstrom unfold on both sides of the border, it’s hard to not see some uncomfortable parallels.
These parallels also create some rather poignant cautionary tales. One such is the extent to which big business is involved in that conflict raging stateside, and the extent to which they are not simply promoting their own political views, but impacting the democratic process itself.
According to The Librarians, one of the key players in the push to ban books is a company called Patriot Mobile, a wireless telecom company that advertises itself as “America’s only Christian Conservative Wireless Provider”. The company proudly boasts of its affiliation to the Republican party, and donates a portion of its profits to supporting political candidates in a variety of election races, including those for local school board positions. Their activism platform, Patriot Mobile Action, declared almost one million dollars in contributions in 2022, which went to those efforts.
In essence, the company uses Christianity to solicit customers, then supports political candidates with that money; candidates who are then beholden to Patriot Mobile.
One may very well ask why a company that claims Christianity as its guiding light doesn’t spend that money on, say, feeding the hungry, but I digress.
The Librarians effectively paints a rather dystopian picture of the state of affairs in modern day America. It would be hard to describe the current American administrative mindset as particularly empathetic. Indeed, if you are anything other than a white, straight, Christian, Republican man you are seemingly viewed as being “less than”.
The Librarians does a good job demonstrating what it is currently like to be part of that other.
The film is currently running in select Canadian theatres, and will soon be available on most major streaming platforms.
frostededucation 