SEEING THE WOOD FOR THE TREES
- Paul Hansbury
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
Dozens of British MPs got exercised about a Russian cartoon recently. Masha and the Bear, they argued, is propaganda and should not be shown to British viewers on Netflix and ITVX.* More than 50 MPs signed a letter expressing concern that Russian propaganda is reaching British children. They called for a review of Netflix and ITV's streaming licences for the programme, implying that the licences should be 'revoked or suspended'.
Masha and the Bear, a popular series and one of Russia's biggest contemporary cultural exports, revolves round the misadventures of a young girl living in the forest and a friendly bear. Cartoons certainly can convey political messages, acting as wolves in sheep's clothing, and I would not usually hurry to downplay concerns about propaganda or soft power (see this blog). But the idea that Masha and the Bear is a corrosive influence on British children is tenuous. I suspect that the MPs, invited to sign the letter, saw an opportunity to burnish their credentials as being tough on Russia. I somehow doubt that many of them knew anything about the series beforehand.
