I am definitely using this video for the research paper I am currently writing on censorship in high school. Definitely gonna feel awesome for using a YouTube video on a paper. Especially a vlogbrothers video. Nerdfighter win.
So I live in near Depew and one of my friend's was in 11th grade when this happened. So because of this I read the book (mind you I was actually in 6th grade at the time) and thought it was awesome. To this day I still don't see how this book was pornographic. The most it really has is heavy kissing. Saddly my class wont read Alaska but would really love it if we would.
Gah, I'm in eleventh grade English and I would love to read Looking for Alaska, but instead we're reading The Reader, which is way more inappropriate than Alaska and I'm not totally sure why we're reading it. All I know, is presentations are going to be awkward.
@Maeglet Haha try doing Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber with a male, awkward, middle aged teacher. Presentations were hilarious. Good book though.
I'm reading Looking for Alaska and all of your other books right now before i crack open my copy of The Fault in Our Stars. i just got to the part that i know that you're talking about. i think that they go to that scene and stopped reading there and just decided to rage. It starts off somewhat erotic before going into full blown awkward and then consequential hilarity. Love the book so far. can't wait to read your others.
In my English class we're doing a banned book project where we have to choose and read and do various essays on a book that has been banned, and I was sooo going to do Looking for Alaska, but alas, my teacher said no young adult fiction (even though we are all teens).
... except that there's nothing wrong with physical interactions without emotional intimacy. As long as it's between two consenting adults, it is: a) fine, b) enjoyable, and c) *what they want*. It is not: moral bankruptcy.
Thank you John for having faith in teenagers of today. Its great to know someone does. Especially someone like you who has so much power into what we learn and do. dftba
omg i love looking for alaska ive had it for 2 days and nearly finished it i love the funny lines like on page 102 where alaska offering to come into his bed and cuddle in a babish way and he bluntly says if youre offering
I just don't understand parents like that. I read "Handmaid's Tale" in high school. My teacher was lucky to be at a wonderful public high school with a highly supportive administration and parental community. No one cared there was a sex scene. No one knew until we read it, because she had no worries about parents complaining. And while some students were immature about it, NONE mistook it for a validation of porn. Because the difference is obvious if you've actually read the book. >.< AAAARRGHH
I'm asking all fellow nerdfighter's to help out another. My name is Devin St.Clare and i have recently started making youtube video's. My videos deal with book reviews and just random things that have been on my mind. I am humbling myself and asking friends and family to help spread my channel because i believe i can make a difference, just like the Greens do for me every video. I'm asking from the bottom of my heart for you guys to click on my name and give me a chance. DFTBA- St. Clare
Yeah, I just finished Looking for Alaska. As stated, I did not find the scene titillating in the least. It just made me think back to being akward in high school and being unsure which boys I liked and which ones liked me and the now obvious pitfalls of displaying young love.
@thecrooksareinoffice which is ironic (keep in mind I went to a catholic jr high, thats how I know this) There is a lot of mischief in the bible. And prostitutes. So, theyll never be happy.
I literally just finished LfA 5 mins ago and the scene I think this is referring to is not that descriptive and as a freshman I have read worse at my English teachers recommended book list as well as we are supposed to read a book at the end of the year where a little kid gets raped in a lot of detail and they aren't even sending permission slips
I had a really good teacher last year who taught us Lord Of The Flies, Wilfred Owen and even The Pardoner's Tale (this is at least a year before we would normally be attempting it) and he didn't skip parts with "unsuitable" material, he explained it all frankly and simply, and didn't treat us like kids, but like young adults. This year, at my new school, we watched a film version of Dracula, because they didn't think we could handle the novel. -_-
I do think that emotionless sex scenes are more pornographic because porn itself is empty of emotion, but at the same time I think trying to deter teenagers in the 11th grade (what's that - age 17 or so?) from reading it is overprotective in a silly way.
Those parents would probably shoot someone if they knew that IB teaches The God of Small Things to its seventeen year old students. Child molestation and twincest, anyone?
I love your reasoning as to why your book is not pornography because it does not titillate. It reminds me of another frequently challenged book that I love, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Opponents of the book have called the rape scene "soft pornography," which deeply offends both me and the writer, because if you find anything arousing or titillating about the rape of a 13-year-old girl, then the problem lies with you, not the book.
Thank you, John Green, for not only being your insanely awesome self but for recognizing that the majority of teenagers are morally conscious. If these people ever had any faith in their own children, they would realize that very few of us would find the nauseatingly awkward sex scenes you speak of in any way appealing because we know that intimacy requires love. Don't they see that we can expand ourselves without rotting our sense of morality?
@Morrisonalwayssmiles "intimacy requires love" Uh, sorry, not always the case. I mean, i get in the book how he was contrasting emotional connections with lust, but one can exist without the other
I know I'm a bit late here, but... eleventh graders? Eleventh graders are 16 or 17? I read it when I was 15 and I didn't have any issues with it... Hell, my mom read it, and she loved it. I'm wondering if the people against it actually read the book, or just heard it has a "sex scene" and flipped their shit. Also, a lot of teens that age have looked at ACTUAL pornography, which is much worse...
actually no, when i read george orwells animal farm i didn't go out to an animal farm to kill all the pigs. I compared the horse, mollie, with my best friend, cried because i had to write an essay on it, got really confused as to why i was reading this book in the first place, annoyed my teacher with questions, felt like throwing the book out the window and wondered which animals i liked more (boxer is a babe) anyway yeah, my essay got handed in late.
@johnniewalker2222 FTW on the semantics issue--"Unless you're reading a porn novel, even arousing sex scenes in books are not inherently "designed" to arouse." As a novelist with a sex scene in my book that could be called "arousing," I was simply jumping to clarify that I am not a pornographer, either. :) My scene has a story based reason for existing and thus is not "designed" to titillate; like John's, it's designed to increase reader understanding of the character's emotional reality.
so i just read looking for alaska... i know im behind... and the library probably wont let me return it because it has my tear drops water staing various pages... incredibly deep and an over all amazing book . :)
What?! I am so mad right now, that in 2008, before I had ever read Looking for Alaska, before I had ever realized how awesome the vlogbrothers were and before I even knew what a nerd fighter was John Green was in Depew, 20 minutes away from my house. I WISH more than ANYTHING I could've gone to support this! Gosh this is so disappointing and awesome at the same time.
I sure wish i could be studying this book rather than twilight. The twilight series is a good series, but not for 12th grade english class. Seriously?? WTF does twilight have to do with dracula?? *pulls hair out* i love Looking For Alaska..
@xrawrbrittanyx because of your comment I am currently reading the original Dracula by Bram Stoker (it's amazingly fun to read!) so I can tell you if there is any similarity. C:
@xrawrbrittanyx Oh my goodness, high school english classes are actually studying Twilight? I count myself very lucky then, I remember studying Holes (book) and watching Breaking Away over and over and never getting sick of it ♥
@xrawrbrittanyx I am so glad I am not in 12th grade yet.I hate twilight.I mean isn't breaking dawn enough all ready?( I haven't read the books) I feel sorry for you.
One time I was ordering an iced soy chai latte and the cashier did the one thing in this universe that will ever piss me off more than people saying Twillight is better than Harry Potter.
He said in a really slow, patronizing voice, "YOU. ARE. NUMBER. FIFTEEN. I. WILL. CALL. THAT. NUMBER. AND. THEN. YOU. WILL. COME. GET. IT. AND. PAY. FOR. IT. OKAAAAY?" Like I was some lost six year old. I was surprised he didn't ask me where my 'mommy' was. Thank you for not supporting people like that, John.
I'm performing the last passage of LfA for a forensics tournament. I'm very excited. I'm also writing a persuasive speech against book banning. This is so much fun.
I think this issue is stupid. Greens books portray physical intimacy that is REAL; awkward, imperfect kissing scenes. That is why we respect him as an author. Forever respecting the english teachers that are making high school students write papers on this book.
Thank you so much for your defense of teenagers. Hearing that just made up for all the suspicious glances from employees in pharmacies and the "you wouldn't understand"s.
I'm not even in america but I'm guessing that 11nth grade is 16-17 years old? pffffft at 13 we read a book about WW1, very graphic and could easily have caused depression. And at 15 we are reading a book where people are being hacked to death and a mother gets raped before her child's eyes. BTW I got to a catholic girls school so America needs to chill out, love from England.
John, just one issue with your definition of pornography as "designed to titillate"... Granted, your defense that your scenes are the opposite of that is succinct and well presented. However, there are sex scenes in other great, literary YA novels that are...well...hot. And that's okay. What's inherently wrong with arousal? For me, the issue is the context of the arousal. Is it designed to be emotionally empty, ie. gratuitous? Or is it crafted for a solid, meaningful, story-based reason?
@jagiwar The source of the problem was the explicit sexual descriptions. John argued the intention of the description was to show how vapid it was, and Depew people objected because they said it was designed to titillate. The problem is not whether it was arousing or not, the problem was that it was explicit.
Unless you're reading a porn novel, even arousing sex scenes in books are not inherently "designed" to arouse.
We're reading a book in my junior english class that could definitely be considered highly suggestive, but not at all titillating. And fancy that, no one even cares. Nobody! Because people are so familiar with it.
It always angered me when people who aren't affected by the result of a decision feel like they need to have it end their way. Now, with that negative statement aside, I have to say i love the way you think. We are mature adults who can carry an intellectual discussion. Thank you good sir, may your future be fruitful.
I'm 14 and I read the book, had no problems but I recommended it to a friend and her mum isn't so happy with what I warned her of the more intimate scenes, I told her to watch this video and I hope she'll see the light in it!
Honestly if people are retarded enough to take everything they read for granted (and no that is not as dependent on age as people think it is) they deserve it. Not that your book contains pornography, I've read it and it was the best fiction I ever read.
I adored the book, but I *can* understand why the book could be classed as innaproprite, however I feel it entirely depends on the reader. If the reader is too immature to read this book, then they shouldnt read any books. The book is great and has a beautiful message in it <3
god damn overreactive society.... pornographic my ass, theres a sex scene in 3/6 of the summer reading books ive read in the past 2 years. What the hell do those book banners think this is? Farenheit 451?
The sad thing about that is that those parents would probably not have had a problem with children reading "Romeo and Juliet", in which the main characters (17ish and 14 y.o) get married within a day of meeting, have sex, and commit suicide. Why? Because it's art, of course! My question is, what makes John's works so different?!
My school had us read Looking for Alaska to warn about drunk driving. Then again, my school is an alternative virtual school teaches us about the real world...and our parents aren't bigots like that. What are these parents going to do when their student grows up,knows nothing about the human body, the opposite sex and has no life experiences. They won't be prepared for life. If their kids are disturbed by one bit in Looking for Alaska, their kids need to stop hanging on mommy's apron stings.
I'm actually writing a paper about this right now, and I'm referencing this video. I am comparing Looking for Alaska's message to the message that the Twilight series teaches to young readers. It is amazing to me that Looking for Alaska was banned when Twilight isn't, because I think the message Meyer is trying to instill into young minds is far more dangerous than anything Mr. Green has written.
@painfullynerdy Whaaa? the lesson that all girls need a big strong sparkly sexy dead man whos much older then her is harmful to young girls? what planet you live on? (verbal Irony for those less smart readers)
@windowsforvista Not as far as i know (and I hope not) But it is not being banned from anyone to read, like the wannabe book banners from Depew wanted. And as John put it. "no body should be allowed to read the book" were the thoughts of the people who wanted to ban Looking for Alaska, not just that it should not be taught ;)
@Thelizzardcat I'm pretty sure the school board can't ban kids from reading a book, I think it's implied that they're banning the teaching of the book, or at most not letting it at school
@painfullynerdy the people are not complianing about the message, they are upset about the direct content and that's why these people shouldn't be judging what kind of books children read, granted they should have the right to decide what books their children read but they shouldn't be assuming that they know best trying to make that decision for others becuase they can't see past what is directly in front of them
@painfullynerdy I find it strange that Twilight seems to pass muster because it says "don't have sex" when the whole relationship is incredibly sexualised and sensualised. I think Twilight is far more deliberately titillating than an AWFUL lot of books that people might view as more sexual. It reads like Stephenie Meyer's wet dream about Edward for large chunks of the book. Ironic, no?
@flootzavut so true! The attraction that Bella has for Edward seems purely physical - his pale, hard marble skin, his topaz eyes etc The connection between them has no emotional depth!!
It has been nearly three years since this video was posted but I just found it.
I am 16, atheist, and living in Utah...also taking 15 credit hours in my second semester of college and I'm quite obviously just another stupid teenager that seems to be the only one in his grade (if not school) that is capable of spelling.
Wow. This guy is my Nerd God hero and hearing him stick up for teenagers like this made my week. I hate when adults talk down to me and make it excruciatingly obvious that they think I'm intellectually incompetent to them because of my age. I have even more admiration and respect for John Green than ever for not belittling us. It feels good to be acknowledged as capable of thinking critically despite being 16. Other adults should take example from this guy. =)
@insert1wittynamehere Did you purposely use bigger words to sound smarter? haha you could have put that much shorter by saying "I hate it when adults think they're smarter than me because of my age."
@fashionbug9880 Lol no it's just how I talk. If I feel strongly about something I try to articulate it the best I can so that I can express myself in a way that adequately reflects how I'm feeling. And being laconic isn't my thing either. For some reason it makes me feel like I'm not covering whats important. I dont think more words or "bigger" words are better, I just prefer detail. And I have a lot of flaws but being pretentious isn't one of them. I'm just awkward haha
I go to an all-girls Catholic school, and we read the "children's" poem The Goblin Market, which is about redemption from sin, and has overt incestuous lesbian undertones.
"Shut up and stop condescending to teenagers" WHAT AN AMAZING SENTENCE. Its weird to think that I came down here to comment that and I see that its already the top comment.
there are so many worse things that you hear about every damn day at school, about who's having sex with who and whatever sort of drama that those kinds of scenes in books are not at all something new to us - some parents are too ignorant and overprotective to see that.
i wish that we read looking for alaska in our english classes! i agree with this video so much & i feel that kids/teenagers in our generation would be more interesting in books/reading/doing something for themselves if we read books in english classes that are actually interesting (such as looking for alaska).
So I just finished reading Looking for Alaska and it was bloody fucking amazing. you are in my top 3 favourite writers now and I can't wait to read your other books!!!
I went to my school library today to ask if they had 'Looking for Alaska' and apparently its banned in my school.... so what did I do? I went to my local bookstore, bought it and walked back into school reading it.
damn you john green.. You've inspired me to try to write a novel, but i'm a horrible writer, so you've inspired me to fail myself and feel bad about it!
@EpicSqrl I totally agree, I'm twelve but whenever someone hears my voice they go off and mutter about how 12 yr olds are stupid idiots, when I know for a fact that whatever game I am playing I may just be better than them. Stereotypes in this world are highly unfair, and it just goes to show that we may as well just be the same person, because it would make no difference
I read one page of Safelibraries . com's review of LFA and I wanted to punch my computer. LFA is a great book and if they can't see that it's their own fault...
its sad that people can be so caught up in their backward sense of whats appropriate that they miss a genuinely touching piece of work. how out of touch with reality can you get? what do the parents against this book think occurs in a young adults life? its not a squeaky clean after school special, i really hate to break it to them. if anything, looking for alaska is tame in comparison
A very similar situation happened at my school last year where one parent tried to ban a few of books because she didn't find them appropriate for her daughter to read. She then proceeded to run for the school board to accomplish this task and get rid of our superintendent. A friend of mine wrote to our local editor and, because the students' points of view were the only that had not been heard, had a letter of our perspective published. The mother lost. Don't underestimate us. You will lose.
You know I can't think of a scene that's so inappropriate in looking for Alaska thats all that erotic...its a great book and nothing ever really goes into detail. I head there's the Pudge/Lara bj scene and the Alaska/Pudge part when they make out but you know, in school I've seen a lit worse.
I'm using this video tomorrow as a part of a presentation on banning/challenging books. I read your book a few years ago and learning that people don't want kids reading it was shocking. Some people really need to learn that kids are not as ignorant as they think they are.
the kids of those parents that dont want your novel to be read in school will buy it online with their extension credit cards, will receive it at home, read it, enjoy it and they will never know it because they were trying to organize everything so the kids can not read it at school. is that a paradox or am i wrong?
I am definitely using this video for the research paper I am currently writing on censorship in high school. Definitely gonna feel awesome for using a YouTube video on a paper. Especially a vlogbrothers video. Nerdfighter win.
christiantheatregal 1 hour ago
this video was posted on my 18th birthday! i feel so special
1234tche 1 day ago in playlist 20 Essential Vlogbrothers Videos
@1234tche Happy early 22nd Birthday!
megusta535 9 hours ago
@megusta535 why thank you very much.
1234tche 6 hours ago
I wish I could read one of your books for my English class :(
xxorganizedmess 1 day ago 2
My English teacher actually showed this video to us last year when we were reading LFA. It made me happy. :)
prettymonst3r 2 days ago in playlist 20 Essential Vlogbrothers Videos
Excuse me?
Parents are insane. >.< I read that book in 7th grade. And then my mom read it too.
ClaudariaMostri 3 days ago
@ClaudariaMostri haha, me in 6th.
Redwhiteblue8 2 days ago
lool our english class is reading animal farm right now and i'm sooo not into it
i would love to read your book for class :
BrianaBananaSundae 3 days ago
Apparently, the character Kitty Farmer from Donnie Darko exists and has a lot of relatives.
Juurai 3 days ago
Why did i think you were Hank till about 1 and 1/2 minutes in? xD
xAmaStarx 4 days ago
@xAmaStarx Must be the glasses xD I guess this stands proof of how much a person could change in a matter of 4 years, eh?
IImoonifyII 1 day ago
Juxtaposition.(:
xHannahxLoux09 4 days ago
Book banning or burning is not gay, it is so not gay.
KittenKoder 5 days ago
@KittenKoder what?
milesdgill 5 days ago
So I live in near Depew and one of my friend's was in 11th grade when this happened. So because of this I read the book (mind you I was actually in 6th grade at the time) and thought it was awesome. To this day I still don't see how this book was pornographic. The most it really has is heavy kissing. Saddly my class wont read Alaska but would really love it if we would.
ecogeek234 5 days ago
If I was still in High School and my class was reading this class, this video would have written my essay.
mvr0cks 5 days ago
"When they read Waiting for Godot do they think it's cool to just sit around and do nothing?"
I lol'd.
DrUberAwesome 5 days ago
I've read worse things than the BJ in Looking For Alaska
3cs101 6 days ago
We're reading Alaska for book club right now, the vice principal is the adviser for it, we haven't gotten to the Lara and Pudge scene
tihejora 1 week ago
Gah, I'm in eleventh grade English and I would love to read Looking for Alaska, but instead we're reading The Reader, which is way more inappropriate than Alaska and I'm not totally sure why we're reading it. All I know, is presentations are going to be awkward.
Maeglet 1 week ago
@Maeglet Haha try doing Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber with a male, awkward, middle aged teacher. Presentations were hilarious. Good book though.
friekazoid092 6 days ago
Banning a book is a great way to stop teenagers wanting to read it. Oh wait.
phoenixfeathered 1 week ago 77
My sister read Looking For Alaska in her english class.
redbarron718 1 week ago in playlist More videos from vlogbrothers
I'm reading Looking for Alaska and all of your other books right now before i crack open my copy of The Fault in Our Stars. i just got to the part that i know that you're talking about. i think that they go to that scene and stopped reading there and just decided to rage. It starts off somewhat erotic before going into full blown awkward and then consequential hilarity. Love the book so far. can't wait to read your others.
Craftybonds 1 week ago
The porn didn't arouse me... Other stuff, yeaahhhhh
th3h3artship 1 week ago
Wow. Those glasses.
Archerthief00 1 week ago 3
its the porn
quote win
MrRedneckfishgitter 1 week ago
I remember watching this when it came out. I don't remember ever liking these glasses.
Vitalitron 1 week ago
In my English class we're doing a banned book project where we have to choose and read and do various essays on a book that has been banned, and I was sooo going to do Looking for Alaska, but alas, my teacher said no young adult fiction (even though we are all teens).
vidkid42 1 week ago in playlist More videos from vlogbrothers
... except that there's nothing wrong with physical interactions without emotional intimacy. As long as it's between two consenting adults, it is: a) fine, b) enjoyable, and c) *what they want*. It is not: moral bankruptcy.
ninaaaRT 1 week ago
I like that if u serch john green on youtube this is the first video that shows up
booknerd12345511 2 weeks ago
Thank you John for having faith in teenagers of today. Its great to know someone does. Especially someone like you who has so much power into what we learn and do. dftba
rosephoeniix 2 weeks ago in playlist 20 Essential Vlogbrothers Videos
i pre-ordered your book a few months ago and its still not here, i know u are keeping it Hank, GIVE IT TO MEH!!
cornrows1978 2 weeks ago
omg i love looking for alaska ive had it for 2 days and nearly finished it i love the funny lines like on page 102 where alaska offering to come into his bed and cuddle in a babish way and he bluntly says if youre offering
HorseLoverRetard 2 weeks ago
I've read all your books but I still think that Looking for Alaska is your best.
msnhao 2 weeks ago
I was aroused... that's awkward
egggs532 2 weeks ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Being some one who has worked in the "Adult Industry" Photographer, Editor, Webmaster, Writer (yes we DO have writers).
I think I may be one of the few people watching who can officially say,
"No you are not a Pornographer, nor is your work pornography or even erotica"
Also great that your book will be read by so many young people that will then discuss it and hopefully learn something
less that they will hate that book for the rest of there life (due to Teenage law around school books)
Unknownboi88 3 weeks ago
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Unknownboi88 3 weeks ago
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Unknownboi88 3 weeks ago
I know what he was talking about, Fail blowjob for the win! DFTBA!
TheMCRedStoner 3 weeks ago in playlist More videos from vlogbrothers
I read The Color Purple in eleventh grade, and not only understood but deeply appreciated it. What are these parents complaining about?
DreamerElusive 3 weeks ago in playlist 20 Essential Vlogbrothers Videos
I just don't understand parents like that. I read "Handmaid's Tale" in high school. My teacher was lucky to be at a wonderful public high school with a highly supportive administration and parental community. No one cared there was a sex scene. No one knew until we read it, because she had no worries about parents complaining. And while some students were immature about it, NONE mistook it for a validation of porn. Because the difference is obvious if you've actually read the book. >.< AAAARRGHH
hmol257 3 weeks ago
"I am not a pornographer." would be a great T-shirt.
I really loved your book John, Thanks for giving it to all of us.
private1eyes 3 weeks ago
I'm asking all fellow nerdfighter's to help out another. My name is Devin St.Clare and i have recently started making youtube video's. My videos deal with book reviews and just random things that have been on my mind. I am humbling myself and asking friends and family to help spread my channel because i believe i can make a difference, just like the Greens do for me every video. I'm asking from the bottom of my heart for you guys to click on my name and give me a chance. DFTBA- St. Clare
BookandBits 3 weeks ago
Im Going to Buy it :)
HorseLoverRetard 3 weeks ago
Yeah, I just finished Looking for Alaska. As stated, I did not find the scene titillating in the least. It just made me think back to being akward in high school and being unsure which boys I liked and which ones liked me and the now obvious pitfalls of displaying young love.
littlemaridee 3 weeks ago
Some adults tried to stop kids reading of mice and men because it contains the word "nigger"
TheRaygunTribe 3 weeks ago
Wow, vlogbrothers has changed so much o_O
crackersareyellow 3 weeks ago
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zeeroasian 3 weeks ago
i'm crying because i thought about the said scene): that book was gold
taylorisneato 3 weeks ago in playlist 20 Essential Vlogbrothers Videos 2
I've seen this video like four times already, but I'm making myself be consistent in watching all of the 2008 and 2009 videos!
LMNOP1214 3 weeks ago
They won't be happy until you offer the Bible as a substitute.
thecrooksareinoffice 3 weeks ago
@thecrooksareinoffice which is ironic (keep in mind I went to a catholic jr high, thats how I know this) There is a lot of mischief in the bible. And prostitutes. So, theyll never be happy.
randobanana 3 weeks ago in playlist 20 Essential Vlogbrothers Videos
This has been flagged as spam show
A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.
dftbawolf 4 weeks ago in playlist More videos from vlogbrothers
I literally just finished LfA 5 mins ago and the scene I think this is referring to is not that descriptive and as a freshman I have read worse at my English teachers recommended book list as well as we are supposed to read a book at the end of the year where a little kid gets raped in a lot of detail and they aren't even sending permission slips
disneygal10 4 weeks ago
Oh, god, I can't wait for TFioS!
1TheStuffChannel1 4 weeks ago in playlist 20 Essential Vlogbrothers Videos
I had a really good teacher last year who taught us Lord Of The Flies, Wilfred Owen and even The Pardoner's Tale (this is at least a year before we would normally be attempting it) and he didn't skip parts with "unsuitable" material, he explained it all frankly and simply, and didn't treat us like kids, but like young adults. This year, at my new school, we watched a film version of Dracula, because they didn't think we could handle the novel. -_-
QueenOfTheAubergines 4 weeks ago
Wow. I really dislike John's old glasses. I'm glad he changed them.
thespianwaffles 1 month ago
john, you've lost weight. well done.
Johnjy2 1 month ago
whenever people get me really down i listen to the bit at 2:42 sec
toshie534 1 month ago
I wish that I would get to read looking for alaska at my school
taggrey 1 month ago
I do think that emotionless sex scenes are more pornographic because porn itself is empty of emotion, but at the same time I think trying to deter teenagers in the 11th grade (what's that - age 17 or so?) from reading it is overprotective in a silly way.
BecomingAdrian 1 month ago
Heh, and this video just gave some student their English paper.
tant12 1 month ago 12
I WENT TO SCHOOL NEAR THERE!!!!!!!!!!
emeister75 1 month ago
"shut up and stop condenscending the teenagers." I LOVE YOU JOHN GREEN.
spontaneouslyME71 1 month ago 21
Those parents would probably shoot someone if they knew that IB teaches The God of Small Things to its seventeen year old students. Child molestation and twincest, anyone?
Without a consent form! O:
HalfMaskedMisfit 1 month ago 3
I miss those glasses...
TheBisonpatrol 1 month ago 3
Oof its the old school vlogbrothers XD
KAPOLLO101 1 month ago
I love your reasoning as to why your book is not pornography because it does not titillate. It reminds me of another frequently challenged book that I love, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Opponents of the book have called the rape scene "soft pornography," which deeply offends both me and the writer, because if you find anything arousing or titillating about the rape of a 13-year-old girl, then the problem lies with you, not the book.
justcommenting817 1 month ago 4
I read it when I was 12. Come on. Seriously? People make me laugh. :)
GoodNightMoon19511 1 month ago
Thank you, John Green, for not only being your insanely awesome self but for recognizing that the majority of teenagers are morally conscious. If these people ever had any faith in their own children, they would realize that very few of us would find the nauseatingly awkward sex scenes you speak of in any way appealing because we know that intimacy requires love. Don't they see that we can expand ourselves without rotting our sense of morality?
Their ignorance isn't offensive, just pitiable.
Morrisonalwayssmiles 1 month ago 306
@Morrisonalwayssmiles "intimacy requires love" Uh, sorry, not always the case. I mean, i get in the book how he was contrasting emotional connections with lust, but one can exist without the other
milkyway531 3 weeks ago
I know I'm a bit late here, but... eleventh graders? Eleventh graders are 16 or 17? I read it when I was 15 and I didn't have any issues with it... Hell, my mom read it, and she loved it. I'm wondering if the people against it actually read the book, or just heard it has a "sex scene" and flipped their shit. Also, a lot of teens that age have looked at ACTUAL pornography, which is much worse...
Brooke32123 1 month ago 2
actually no, when i read george orwells animal farm i didn't go out to an animal farm to kill all the pigs. I compared the horse, mollie, with my best friend, cried because i had to write an essay on it, got really confused as to why i was reading this book in the first place, annoyed my teacher with questions, felt like throwing the book out the window and wondered which animals i liked more (boxer is a babe) anyway yeah, my essay got handed in late.
Georgiamilne1 1 month ago in playlist 20 Essential Vlogbrothers Videos
Comment removed
garthtater41 1 month ago in playlist 20 Essential Vlogbrothers Videos
I thoroughly agree with you.
The book is excellent, they won't stop us from reading it :D
ElDuderinoxD 1 month ago in playlist 20 Essential Vlogbrothers Videos
@johnniewalker2222 FTW on the semantics issue--"Unless you're reading a porn novel, even arousing sex scenes in books are not inherently "designed" to arouse." As a novelist with a sex scene in my book that could be called "arousing," I was simply jumping to clarify that I am not a pornographer, either. :) My scene has a story based reason for existing and thus is not "designed" to titillate; like John's, it's designed to increase reader understanding of the character's emotional reality.
jagiwar 1 month ago
I read looking for alaska when i was 14 and got the message of that scene. So shut the fuck up you book-banning idiots.
milkyway531 1 month ago 3
so i just read looking for alaska... i know im behind... and the library probably wont let me return it because it has my tear drops water staing various pages... incredibly deep and an over all amazing book . :)
geeze96 1 month ago
What?! I am so mad right now, that in 2008, before I had ever read Looking for Alaska, before I had ever realized how awesome the vlogbrothers were and before I even knew what a nerd fighter was John Green was in Depew, 20 minutes away from my house. I WISH more than ANYTHING I could've gone to support this! Gosh this is so disappointing and awesome at the same time.
MCbofing 1 month ago
I sure wish i could be studying this book rather than twilight. The twilight series is a good series, but not for 12th grade english class. Seriously?? WTF does twilight have to do with dracula?? *pulls hair out* i love Looking For Alaska..
xrawrbrittanyx 1 month ago 172
@xrawrbrittanyx because of your comment I am currently reading the original Dracula by Bram Stoker (it's amazingly fun to read!) so I can tell you if there is any similarity. C:
Snippett95 1 month ago
@xrawrbrittanyx They made you read Twilight? Oh... my... god...
R4d1c4lAcc3pt4nc3 3 weeks ago
@xrawrbrittanyx Oh my goodness, high school english classes are actually studying Twilight? I count myself very lucky then, I remember studying Holes (book) and watching Breaking Away over and over and never getting sick of it ♥
zeedentist 1 week ago
@xrawrbrittanyx I am so glad I am not in 12th grade yet.I hate twilight.I mean isn't breaking dawn enough all ready?( I haven't read the books) I feel sorry for you.
ThatPotterTribute7 1 week ago
@xrawrbrittanyx What the hell. They get mad at this book but not twilight? Twilight is way worse for kids. ahaha,.
Allfound12 6 days ago
One time I was ordering an iced soy chai latte and the cashier did the one thing in this universe that will ever piss me off more than people saying Twillight is better than Harry Potter.
He said in a really slow, patronizing voice, "YOU. ARE. NUMBER. FIFTEEN. I. WILL. CALL. THAT. NUMBER. AND. THEN. YOU. WILL. COME. GET. IT. AND. PAY. FOR. IT. OKAAAAY?" Like I was some lost six year old. I was surprised he didn't ask me where my 'mommy' was. Thank you for not supporting people like that, John.
MegaBookWormGirl 1 month ago in playlist 20 Essential Vlogbrothers Videos
I'm performing the last passage of LfA for a forensics tournament. I'm very excited. I'm also writing a persuasive speech against book banning. This is so much fun.
insertnamehereftw 1 month ago
I think this issue is stupid. Greens books portray physical intimacy that is REAL; awkward, imperfect kissing scenes. That is why we respect him as an author. Forever respecting the english teachers that are making high school students write papers on this book.
16mockingbirds 2 months ago
Thought you might like this
check failblog (dot) org /2011/11/18/epic-fail-win-doing-your-part-saving-one-reader-at-a-time/
StrayVagabond 2 months ago
To any nerdfighters reading this: Does anyone remember the title of the video where John Green talks critically about Looking for Alaska?
supersingerevan 2 months ago
Wait.... Your not a pornographer...... Disregard all emails I have sent you.
Phlurpit 2 months ago 3
Thank you so much for your defense of teenagers. Hearing that just made up for all the suspicious glances from employees in pharmacies and the "you wouldn't understand"s.
fathomitthrice 2 months ago 2
I'm not even in america but I'm guessing that 11nth grade is 16-17 years old? pffffft at 13 we read a book about WW1, very graphic and could easily have caused depression. And at 15 we are reading a book where people are being hacked to death and a mother gets raped before her child's eyes. BTW I got to a catholic girls school so America needs to chill out, love from England.
nicollahTsekete1 2 months ago
john are you speaking about the scene between Miles and Lara on pages 154-5 becuase that's about as far as i've gotten
chaosbringer82 2 months ago
John, just one issue with your definition of pornography as "designed to titillate"... Granted, your defense that your scenes are the opposite of that is succinct and well presented. However, there are sex scenes in other great, literary YA novels that are...well...hot. And that's okay. What's inherently wrong with arousal? For me, the issue is the context of the arousal. Is it designed to be emotionally empty, ie. gratuitous? Or is it crafted for a solid, meaningful, story-based reason?
jagiwar 2 months ago
@jagiwar The source of the problem was the explicit sexual descriptions. John argued the intention of the description was to show how vapid it was, and Depew people objected because they said it was designed to titillate. The problem is not whether it was arousing or not, the problem was that it was explicit.
Unless you're reading a porn novel, even arousing sex scenes in books are not inherently "designed" to arouse.
johnniewalker2222 2 months ago
Sidebar? What is this sidebar you speak of?
mushroomshrub 2 months ago 2
@mushroomshrub Youmustbenewhere.jpg
johnniewalker2222 2 months ago
Godot actually made me want to go out and do something; you can't just wait for life to come to you!
YouveBeenTerrorized 2 months ago
The Giver was banned at my school, because some kid went home complaining to their parents that it was inappropriate....
blucheeze4u 2 months ago
We're reading a book in my junior english class that could definitely be considered highly suggestive, but not at all titillating. And fancy that, no one even cares. Nobody! Because people are so familiar with it.
Shocker, parents, sex happens sometimes!
rissehx3 2 months ago 4
well even shakespeare had some.....questionable scenes(lines)....... hehehehe
suparlolipop 2 months ago
I only just bought Looking for Alaska, but I'm waiting until I'm 15 or 16 to read it because of the sex scene.
Magstarcutie 2 months ago
It always angered me when people who aren't affected by the result of a decision feel like they need to have it end their way. Now, with that negative statement aside, I have to say i love the way you think. We are mature adults who can carry an intellectual discussion. Thank you good sir, may your future be fruitful.
andtheducksaysmoo 2 months ago
That hilarious moment when I wasn't paying much attention and I thought it was Hank because his puff level was so low. And then he started to talk.
hello2656 2 months ago
Wow, the USA is truly a fucked up place. Bookbanning? Really?
ktqueen 2 months ago
@ktqueen EXACTLY. Us literate Americans are sick of it.
uiruu 2 months ago
@uiruu Us are indeed sick.
noirtierdevillefort 2 months ago
@noirtierdevillefort I said literate, not grammatically correct.
uiruu 2 months ago
"Shut up, and stop condescending to teenagers." YES.
larrydobleX 2 months ago 4
Oh John you look so young :D
OhSooRandommOriginal 2 months ago
"it's no secret that I like for things to be about me, but this really isn't" I say that way too much now.
InFlameProductions 2 months ago
@Dreamer00 I COMPLETELY agree! John's books are in no way worse than that of the classics.
DFTBA, my friend. DFTBA
lulo354 2 months ago
I'm 14 and I read the book, had no problems but I recommended it to a friend and her mum isn't so happy with what I warned her of the more intimate scenes, I told her to watch this video and I hope she'll see the light in it!
TotallyEmmazing 3 months ago
Honestly if people are retarded enough to take everything they read for granted (and no that is not as dependent on age as people think it is) they deserve it. Not that your book contains pornography, I've read it and it was the best fiction I ever read.
ForYeensSake 3 months ago
I adored the book, but I *can* understand why the book could be classed as innaproprite, however I feel it entirely depends on the reader. If the reader is too immature to read this book, then they shouldnt read any books. The book is great and has a beautiful message in it <3
MidnightTriptych 3 months ago
i really like the intro!
pbjellybeanful 3 months ago
hehehe titilate
aansuh1 3 months ago
i searched your name in youtube and this was the first thing to show up lol
pbjellybeanful 3 months ago
Easily best Nerdfighterian video there is, which is pretty awesome because there's like... 850.
They're all awesome, guys.
jimijimi1029 3 months ago
It's not the ography that bothers me. IT'S THE PORN.
MusicByTheMoon 3 months ago 4
I LOVE YOU! THANKYOU!
StrawberryJungle 3 months ago
god damn overreactive society.... pornographic my ass, theres a sex scene in 3/6 of the summer reading books ive read in the past 2 years. What the hell do those book banners think this is? Farenheit 451?
sandstorm49 3 months ago
@sandstorm49 ? haha
lilbluehersheykiss 3 months ago
The sad thing about that is that those parents would probably not have had a problem with children reading "Romeo and Juliet", in which the main characters (17ish and 14 y.o) get married within a day of meeting, have sex, and commit suicide. Why? Because it's art, of course! My question is, what makes John's works so different?!
Dreamer00 3 months ago 4
he never blinkks!!1111!!!!!1!!11
skluck11 3 months ago
I got the book today for my birthday :)
Money101Hogs 3 months ago
My school had us read Looking for Alaska to warn about drunk driving. Then again, my school is an alternative virtual school teaches us about the real world...and our parents aren't bigots like that. What are these parents going to do when their student grows up,knows nothing about the human body, the opposite sex and has no life experiences. They won't be prepared for life. If their kids are disturbed by one bit in Looking for Alaska, their kids need to stop hanging on mommy's apron stings.
heyitsrissa 3 months ago
I'm actually writing a paper about this right now, and I'm referencing this video. I am comparing Looking for Alaska's message to the message that the Twilight series teaches to young readers. It is amazing to me that Looking for Alaska was banned when Twilight isn't, because I think the message Meyer is trying to instill into young minds is far more dangerous than anything Mr. Green has written.
painfullynerdy 3 months ago 178
@painfullynerdy Whaaa? the lesson that all girls need a big strong sparkly sexy dead man whos much older then her is harmful to young girls? what planet you live on? (verbal Irony for those less smart readers)
stude444 3 months ago 3
@painfullynerdy Twilight is being taught in schools???
windowsforvista 3 months ago
@windowsforvista Not as far as i know (and I hope not) But it is not being banned from anyone to read, like the wannabe book banners from Depew wanted. And as John put it. "no body should be allowed to read the book" were the thoughts of the people who wanted to ban Looking for Alaska, not just that it should not be taught ;)
Thelizzardcat 2 months ago
@Thelizzardcat I'm pretty sure the school board can't ban kids from reading a book, I think it's implied that they're banning the teaching of the book, or at most not letting it at school
windowsforvista 2 months ago
@painfullynerdy looking for Alaska was taught in the school in the end.
jony1710 2 months ago
@painfullynerdy the people are not complianing about the message, they are upset about the direct content and that's why these people shouldn't be judging what kind of books children read, granted they should have the right to decide what books their children read but they shouldn't be assuming that they know best trying to make that decision for others becuase they can't see past what is directly in front of them
chaosbringer82 2 months ago
@painfullynerdy I find it strange that Twilight seems to pass muster because it says "don't have sex" when the whole relationship is incredibly sexualised and sensualised. I think Twilight is far more deliberately titillating than an AWFUL lot of books that people might view as more sexual. It reads like Stephenie Meyer's wet dream about Edward for large chunks of the book. Ironic, no?
flootzavut 1 month ago
@flootzavut so true! The attraction that Bella has for Edward seems purely physical - his pale, hard marble skin, his topaz eyes etc The connection between them has no emotional depth!!
xxdemi101 1 month ago
It has been nearly three years since this video was posted but I just found it.
I am 16, atheist, and living in Utah...also taking 15 credit hours in my second semester of college and I'm quite obviously just another stupid teenager that seems to be the only one in his grade (if not school) that is capable of spelling.
Oh yeah, I also just hit the subscribe button.
theD4rkestPhoenix 3 months ago
I GO TO LANCASTER DEPEW IS OUR RIVAL> THE RIVAL FOOTBALL GAME IS TONIGHT! DOWN WITH DEPEW!!!!!!!
ButtxTardius 3 months ago
the 8th grade reading classes has been reading paper towns as part of a ciriculum for 2 years and it's one of the greatest book i have read
potterismylife110 3 months ago
OOOH WEEEE OOHHH you look just like Buddy Holly. In this video anyway. :D
SongsAboutBirds 3 months ago
eleventh graders aren't children
leighia1 3 months ago
Wow. This guy is my Nerd God hero and hearing him stick up for teenagers like this made my week. I hate when adults talk down to me and make it excruciatingly obvious that they think I'm intellectually incompetent to them because of my age. I have even more admiration and respect for John Green than ever for not belittling us. It feels good to be acknowledged as capable of thinking critically despite being 16. Other adults should take example from this guy. =)
insert1wittynamehere 3 months ago 63
@insert1wittynamehere Did you purposely use bigger words to sound smarter? haha you could have put that much shorter by saying "I hate it when adults think they're smarter than me because of my age."
fashionbug9880 2 months ago
@fashionbug9880 Lol no it's just how I talk. If I feel strongly about something I try to articulate it the best I can so that I can express myself in a way that adequately reflects how I'm feeling. And being laconic isn't my thing either. For some reason it makes me feel like I'm not covering whats important. I dont think more words or "bigger" words are better, I just prefer detail. And I have a lot of flaws but being pretentious isn't one of them. I'm just awkward haha
insert1wittynamehere 2 months ago
I go to an all-girls Catholic school, and we read the "children's" poem The Goblin Market, which is about redemption from sin, and has overt incestuous lesbian undertones.
Most hilarious day in English ever.
getalife768 3 months ago
"Shut up and stop condescending to teenagers" WHAT AN AMAZING SENTENCE. Its weird to think that I came down here to comment that and I see that its already the top comment.
oh9ah6 3 months ago
also, to add to my previous comment -
there are so many worse things that you hear about every damn day at school, about who's having sex with who and whatever sort of drama that those kinds of scenes in books are not at all something new to us - some parents are too ignorant and overprotective to see that.
haxxxee 3 months ago 2
i wish that we read looking for alaska in our english classes! i agree with this video so much & i feel that kids/teenagers in our generation would be more interesting in books/reading/doing something for themselves if we read books in english classes that are actually interesting (such as looking for alaska).
haxxxee 3 months ago 2
the depew volleyball team sucks. JS
derexl 3 months ago
So I just finished reading Looking for Alaska and it was bloody fucking amazing. you are in my top 3 favourite writers now and I can't wait to read your other books!!!
Flytheshapeshifter 3 months ago
I went to my school library today to ask if they had 'Looking for Alaska' and apparently its banned in my school.... so what did I do? I went to my local bookstore, bought it and walked back into school reading it.
Flytheshapeshifter 3 months ago 5
@Flytheshapeshifter i did the same but with about 7 of my class mates but we got told to stop
plantlife1212 3 months ago in playlist 20 essental vlog brothers videos
I already started watching porn when I was 13 :)
megamanbnw1 3 months ago
damn you john green.. You've inspired me to try to write a novel, but i'm a horrible writer, so you've inspired me to fail myself and feel bad about it!
a7xffdp 3 months ago
i really like the intro. i think you should do another like it
pbjellybeanful 3 months ago
Now to get Will Grayson Will Grayson in the school systems.....maybe in Baltimore.
stude444 3 months ago
@EpicSqrl I totally agree, I'm twelve but whenever someone hears my voice they go off and mutter about how 12 yr olds are stupid idiots, when I know for a fact that whatever game I am playing I may just be better than them. Stereotypes in this world are highly unfair, and it just goes to show that we may as well just be the same person, because it would make no difference
AlmostAnyGame 3 months ago in playlist 20 Essential Vlogbrothers Videos
1:16 moments like this will later be replaced by an "aaaaahhhh, HEADDESK!!!"
shayyflower 4 months ago
@rainabraina the fault is not in our stars but in our stupid parents group.
theadorable1205 4 months ago
I read one page of Safelibraries . com's review of LFA and I wanted to punch my computer. LFA is a great book and if they can't see that it's their own fault...
rainabraina 4 months ago
its sad that people can be so caught up in their backward sense of whats appropriate that they miss a genuinely touching piece of work. how out of touch with reality can you get? what do the parents against this book think occurs in a young adults life? its not a squeaky clean after school special, i really hate to break it to them. if anything, looking for alaska is tame in comparison
sansdeity420 4 months ago
A very similar situation happened at my school last year where one parent tried to ban a few of books because she didn't find them appropriate for her daughter to read. She then proceeded to run for the school board to accomplish this task and get rid of our superintendent. A friend of mine wrote to our local editor and, because the students' points of view were the only that had not been heard, had a letter of our perspective published. The mother lost. Don't underestimate us. You will lose.
McMillanNo4 4 months ago 91
@McMillanNo4 All I have to say is . . . YOU GO GLEN COCO!
eeli1 3 months ago in playlist More videos from vlogbrothers 4
Your opponents are dumb. Where is it their buisness what other people learn?
PKHaxorz 4 months ago
I LOVE ANIMAL FARM :D
junglefowl96 4 months ago
You know I can't think of a scene that's so inappropriate in looking for Alaska thats all that erotic...its a great book and nothing ever really goes into detail. I head there's the Pudge/Lara bj scene and the Alaska/Pudge part when they make out but you know, in school I've seen a lit worse.
MissMeggie2804 4 months ago
@charoarles I like paper towns, but looking for Alaska is also good, I haven't read an abundance of katherines yet though :P
zaxifro 4 months ago
I'm using this video tomorrow as a part of a presentation on banning/challenging books. I read your book a few years ago and learning that people don't want kids reading it was shocking. Some people really need to learn that kids are not as ignorant as they think they are.
wanderer715 4 months ago
@StuckInTheFourWalls Yeah, I read it when I was 12. I giggled a bit, then showed it to my friend and she giggled a bit. Thats about it...
JulesUnderwater 4 months ago
the kids of those parents that dont want your novel to be read in school will buy it online with their extension credit cards, will receive it at home, read it, enjoy it and they will never know it because they were trying to organize everything so the kids can not read it at school. is that a paradox or am i wrong?
thegirlofthelibrary 4 months ago 4
I think when my cousin is older, she's going to go to Depew High School. No joke. Me = Excited for her.
BLAHBLOT 4 months ago
Books burn at 451 Fahrenheit. I hope Ray Bradbury doesn't end up right. Banning books isn't right, it's just as bad as burning.
writersblockreliever 4 months ago