Schools love to crush kids’ spirits when they’re all collectively hyperfixating on something, so it’s almost surprising that it took four months of pop culture dominance for an educational institution to try and ban KPop Demon Hunters from its hallways. Is it because the kids are too busy singing about the power of friendship to do their classwork? Nope! It’s because some folks at the school are apparently uncomfortable with children referencing something with demons in it.
The BBC reports that the Christian Lilliput Church of England Infant School in Poole, Dorset, sent an email to families on Friday, November 14, saying that some of the church’s Christian employees and students are “deeply uncomfortable” with the film’s references to demons, which include the songs the titular girl group performs. The email asked parents to tell their kids “not to sing these songs at school out of respect for those who find the themes at odds with their faith.”
In an update today, November 17, head teacher Lloyd Allington said that some parents had responded arguing that KPop Demon Hunters’ music had a positive impact on their children, with its songs prioritizing “teamwork, courage, and kindness.” Still, the school’s leadership seems unmoved in its decision.
“While we fully respect your right to make choices about the content your child engages with at home, we also want to be mindful of the diversity of beliefs within our school community,” Allington said in the email. “For some Christians, references to demons can feel deeply uncomfortable because they associate them with spiritual forces opposed to God and goodness.
“We are not asking parents to tell their children that there is anything wrong with enjoying the film or its songs if it aligns with your own views and beliefs…Our role will simply be to help children understand that some of their peers may hold different views and to explore how we can respect and support those peers in upholding their faith.”
When I was in elementary school, my teachers tried to put a blanket ban on Pokémon. It didn’t stick. These kinds of rulings never do because by the time that schools decide these cultural phenomena are a problem, they’re too ingrained in how kids connect with one another to just forcefully remove them from school grounds. Kids will find a way to talk about and enjoy the things they love, no matter how many times you try to smother them. Lock in for 2029, school teachers. Huntr/x will be back with new songs when KPop Demon Hunters 2 comes to Netflix.
