Corrupting Youth: Themes of Oppression in Teletubbies and The Time Machine

By Mitch Walrath

Having seen the trailer for the remake of H. G. Wells’ The Time Machine, I am spurred to lay to paper my theory on the subtext of oppression in the Teletubbies. This might sound strange to you, but in fact, it is not. I always spout this theory as advice to parents who think it’s okay to show their kids Disney films. This will all come together, trust me.

I don’t know what this new version of The Time Machine will be like, but something tells me it will be nothing like the original or the book. Probably some beefed-up revisionist crap with a lot of action that’s connected to the book only by the meager threads of one scene.

Anyway, for those of you who haven’t seen the original or read the book, it’s about a guy who goes so far forward in time that humans have divided into two species. First, you have the Eloi, who are sweet, innocent, stupid people. They’ve lost all sense of culture, history, and science. All they do is eat, sleep, and fuck. They’re basically animals in loincloths. Then you have the Morlocks, who are cannibalistic mutants that live underground. They run the show. If it weren’t for them, the Eloi would have died out a long fuckin’ time ago. Every so often, the Morlocks crank these big radio tower-lookin’ things out of the ground and activate a loud siren. This siren turns the Eloi into zombies and they walk blindly toward the nearest opening leading underground. Then they’re eaten. Now, this is thousands and thousands of years in the future, after wars and natural disasters and shit, sort of a foreboding message on Wells’ part.

Now, the Teletubbies. Why is a grown man without children watching it, you might ask? Research! If you’ve never seen it, the Teletubbies have, like, zero responsibility. They sleep and run around and play with big rubber balls and the letter ‘E.’ At the end of the show, these big megaphone things come up out of the ground and this female voice says, “Time for tubby bye-bye. Time for tubby bye-bye.” They’re reluctant at first. They hem and haw and drag their feet, like a kid who has to come in and eat lunch. Then they hide. Now, a somewhat sterner male voice repeats the demand that they must go in. They smile and wave and hop down their hole like rabbits until tomorrow. Coincidentally, there are large, concrete holes (like a standpipe for a sewer) leading underground in The Time Machine. However, only the main character uses these for entry to and escape from the underground. If memory serves me, the Morlocks fear the light and they come topside only at night.

Do you see where this is going? This is about oppression, man. Upper class and lower class. Big government, big brother, bourgeois and proletariat, if you will. The teletubbies, just like the Eloi, dogs, and inmates, only want to stay out and play. They don’t give a shit about anything else. What’s that sound like? A kid. This is propaganda. It’s telling kids to mindlessly do what they’re told and not question anything.

Why did I mention Disney earlier? Urban legend or not, through the years, they’ve constantly been accused of inserting subliminal messages in their films. Granted, if true, this is more overt than subtext or themes, but the result is the same. Basically, my point is that you have to be careful about what you show your kid. Remember, kids’ shows are made by adults and adults think they’re artists, so they’re gonna make it their duty to insert some kind of serious message. For Christ’s sake, if I had a kid, I’d let him watch Robocop before the Teletubbies or anything Disney.

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