Bright excitement in Upper Swabia. The Ravensburger publishing house based there is withdrawing two accompanying media that it brought to the expanded book market for the launch of the cinema youth film “The Young Chief Winnetou”. This is due to violent social media attacks. There, the (developed) original material by Karl-May is assumed to have “colonialist” and “racist” passages. The whole thing is also a bad “cultural appropriation”.
In the wake of the books from Ravensburg, the mainstream movie that has been running since the beginning of August is also under suspicion. The organization responsible for children and youth issues German Film and Media Rating (FBW) is divided in its own committees. The BW awards ratings such as “particularly valuable”, also as a guide for insecure parents.
The FBW website reads: “After viewing the film, the very long discussion showed that the jury was absolutely divided in the overall assessment of the film – between vehement rejection on the one hand and great approval on the other. This is also reflected in the vote for or against the granting of a rating.”
The funding institution “FilmFernsehFonds Bayern” supported the production of the lively Apache story with a maximum sum of 950,000 euros. “The adventure film ‘The Young Chief Winnetou’ is the adaptation of the musical theater piece ‘Little Chief Winnetou’,” says the explanatory statement, referring to the successful stage tradition of the material. The attacked film can still be seen in cinemas.
In the book evaluation, on the other hand, the smoldering controversy has had its first consequences. As part of a recall campaign, the titles will be stopped for technical reasons or removed from bookstore shelves. The Ravensburgers announced on their own account via Instagram:
“Today we decided to stop the delivery of the titles and to withdraw them from the program. We thank you for your criticism. Your feedback made it clear to us that we hurt people’s feelings with the Winnetou titles. That was never our intention and it is also not compatible with our Ravensburger values. We sincerely apologize for this.”
It’s about a sticker book for young Winnetou fans and a puzzle; the supreme discipline of the publishing house for a long time. The “native american” subject is now being dealt with in an unusually self-critical manner. “We made a mistake at the time and we can assure you: We’re learning from it!” It continues.
In a trench warfare that is also being waged by regional and national titles, it is about “racist stereotypes” and the “romanticization of genocide”.
“A publisher who puts it this way has not only lost control of the German language or drunk too much firewater.”@Steinhoefelabove #Ravensburger and #Winnetou in his new @image Column. https://t.co/NrBTsA1xEQ
— Johannes Boie (@johannesboie) August 22, 2022
Twitter comments indulged in insults and gossip about the “Woke madness”, and the “Bild” was also involved in the fight for Winnetou.
“One wonders where our generation didn’t see all the problems. The attention today – or should I say ridiculous, petty, fussy, touchy idiocy – is remarkable,” said one Twitter voice. There were also calls for a boycott of Ravensburger Verlag. A more level-headed father had the last word so far: “(Today’s) adults shouldn’t tell their children about the fairy tales of their childhood, which they liked as a child or which costumes they wore at the carnival – it could turn out that it was racist.”