【天线宝宝】4X forever讨论L(≧?≦)（禁dyz）

On March 31, 1997,?Teletubbies?made it’s public debut on England’s BBC Television. Before long, the show’s purple character began to fall under scrutiny.

It began in July, with a letter to British popular culture magazine,?The Face. “Tinky Winky,”wrote?Sussex University lecturer Andy Medhurst, “may be the first queer role model for toddlers.” A few days later,?The Guardian,?trumpeted?the purple Teletubby as “a gay icon who prances around in a particularly campy way” (“campy” being British?slang?for “blatantly homosexual”). The British media opened its floodgates: Over the ensuing months, dozens of talk shows, radio programs, and newspapers hotly debated the sexuality of the children’s show character. As Thompson’s firing became public information, the media gave it a sensational spin: The actor had been let go for “acting too gay.”

At the same time, the show’s popularity soared. By the end of the first season, nearly?$800 million?in merchandise -- pajamas, toys, and videos -- had been sold, garnering the interest of networks across the world. Distributor PBS recognized its potential, bought the American rights, and, in the Spring of 1998, began airing the program in the United States. Soon enough, the Tinky Winky controversy crossed international lines.

With news of the Teletubbies’ US arrival,?The Washington Post?swiftly?declared?that “the gay Tinky Winky” was the “new Ellen Degeneres” (implying that Degeneres’ time as the “chief national gay symbol” was over, and that the Teletubby was taking her place). “Tinky Winky comes across as a big fabulous fag,” declared LGBT magazine,?The Advocate. “He’s become as gay icon…[and] the same fundamentalists that boycott Disney are going to flip when they see him.”