Reach out!

You probably haven’t heard of the show Cbeebies. This is because of two reasons: 1. It’s British and 2. Most people reading this blog are 16-18 year olds and it’s a television network for children under the age of six. Why am I talking about it? I feel obligated to mention it because it was the centre of a large controversy in physical disabilities.

Meet Cerrie Burnell, a new host to the children’s network Cbeesies. What makes her so special from any other host on any children’s show is that Burnell only has one hand. This caused a lot of controversy throughout parents of children everywhere. They complained that the disability would scare their children. About 25 official complaints were filled about the issue. Of course, the people who filed complaints weren’t the only ones who had something to say. People logged on message boards and voiced their own opinions. But were these opinions over the edge? The Tart has an example of some of the parent’s complaints.

“One incensed parent ranted, ‘It’s a disgrace. I had to sit my 4 year old boy down and explain to him what a retard is. I’d only just explained to him why Jade Goody is bald and all.’
Another fumed, ‘I was watching CBeebies the other day with my 3 year old daughter, and this Burnell took about a bloody hour just to cut out a leaf shape from some paper. It’s offensive. I mean I’d only just got over Sachsgate and now I have to deal with this.’”

Ouch. Imagine you had a disability like Burnell and things like that were said about you. The fact is, they’re not just complaining about the fact that this might scare their children, they’re complaining about parenting. Oh no, you have to explain why some people have disabilities! Oh, the horror! Please, shouldn’t it be better that they’re being exposed to this at a young age? The parent’s complaints are poisoning the children’s minds into thinking they should discriminate against others different from them as well. Instead, they should teach them why people are like that, be glad to, and let them know that they are no different from any other human being or any less important. Let’s see what Burnell is like in an interview on BBC News:





Obviously she’s taking everything quite well. That’s very commendable. I don’t find anything wrong with her, do you? She can still make some children laugh, smile and learn things. She can also help children learn about disabilities and acceptance. What she said was true. Disabilities never scared me when I was little, but I was very inquisitive. Because I got the right explanation and people made sure I understood, I now know today that some people are the way they are, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Some parents might be scared of differences, but that doesn’t mean they should complain when they have the opportunity to teach their children to be more accepting then they are themselves. They should take a lesson from their children and Cerrie Burnell. Always stay open minded!





Morgan, James. Disabled Children's TV Host Faces Criticism from Parents. 27 Feb. 2009. 30 Mar. 2009 http://www.thetartpaper.com/articles/view/673

Copycat Diva

Recently in the media, there have been many problems with copyright infringement. There have been many issues, particularly in music. From Vanilla Ice and George Harrison to Coldplay and Avril Lavigne, it's clear that its getting more and more difficult to not make songs sound a lot like another one. Or maybe music artists these days are just lazy. Who knows? But there is a someone new getting introduced to the world of copyright infringement. You can always tell the first timers. "Bootylicious" Beyonce has now joined the growing list of people sued for copyright infringement.


What is the topic of this new lawsuit? Beyonce's song "Still in Love (Kissing You)" isn't Beyonce's song at all. The song was first co-written and sung by Des'ree in 1996. This song was called "I'm Kissing You" at that time and was used to the film "Romeo and Juliet" starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Personally, I think the song is way too laid back and calm for that Shakespearean swirling vortex of gunshots and explosions. But that's besides the point. What is the point, though, is just who is at fault here. Des'ree or Beyonce? Both similar sounding names, both have very similar sounding songs.


In fact, the songs are identical. This is because Beyonce did this song as a cover. One problem. Beyonce never even got permission to do the cover. This caused a lot of difficulties between agencies on both sides. Eventually Beyonce sent Des'ree a formal license request. Des'ree counter-proposed with three limitations. These were: no music video, United States distribution only and no changing the title. There was no reply and Beyonce ended up releasing the song on her "B-Day Deluxe Edition" CD on April 3rd, 2007. Obviously, Beyonce was in the wrong here. However, she wouldn't have gone through with this if she had known something that Des'ree didn't. She did, but Des'ree caught it just and time. "The day before the CD release, realizing that you need your work registered with Copyright Office before you can sue for copyright infringement, filed for an expedited copyright registration for the original song. Two weeks later, they filed a lawsuit against Beyonce. " [1] Let the cat fight begin!

Here's a video from Copyright Website!

The album is already out there, same with the music video and it's world wide. It is also under a new title. Uh oh. I can see why Des'ree is angry. I would be too. But it's too late because this case has been going on for 2 years and many people have the CD. Hopefully there will be some justice though. "The lawsuit seeks to stop distribution of the album and asks for damages in excess of 150-thousand dollars." [2] The 150, 000 would help, but Des'ree can't do much about the song and video being out there anymore. Beyonce is so guilty. Stuff like that should not happen. It's one thing to accidentally use something that sounds a lot alike another song in your own material, but when you do a cover and not get permission, that's just wrong. Let's hope Beyonce learns her lesson, and others will learn right along with her!


[1] Copyright Website. Beyonce and Des'ree.. 7 Mar. 2009 .

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[2] Access Hollywood. Des’ree Files Lawsuit Against Beyonce. 1 May 2007. 7 Mar. 2009 .