Going too far with inappropriate images

The popularity of the name Ariel for baby girls
in the United Sates (#1113 out of 4276).

The 1989 Disney movie, The Little Mermaid, responsible for a spiked interest in the early 90's for naming children Ariel, also caught attention for explicit sexual references and hidden, slightly inappropriate images.  Look closely at the clip below, it will slow down for emphasis: the priest has a bouncing boner.

 Yummy.

After last week's first experience with animation, I can understand how the process could turn tedious, and I suppose, too, the temptation to add a little inside joke.  The problem, as we've come to find, people are always paying attention.  They want to catch the hidden things -- and they usually will.

Here are a few examples:

 In The Lion King image -- where Simba has plopped down on the edge of a cliff -- the dust that's knocked into the sky seems to spell out the word "sex."  The next clip is from The Little Mermaid's original cover; in the center of the castle stands a penis.  Just one of the sexual clips from Roger Rabbit, when Jessica Rabbit and Eddie are thrown out of the cab, there are a few frames where Jessica's vagina shows.  Lastly, there's an image from The Rescuers where it appears that Miss Bianca is handling Bernard's "penis."  

However, what I'm more interested in this week, is how this ties to the current issue dealing with the New York Public Library.  As it goes, "cannot prevent adult patrons from accessing adult content that is legal." 

I first saw the story on CNN, yesterday.  What it boils down to, from what I understood, it's a First Amendment issue-- freedom of speech.  The question is, should people be allowed to watch porn at the library next to researching children?

This issue has come up before, for example, with the Washington Public Library.  The issue was taken to the Supreme Court:  should libraries be allowed to install a program that will "fliter," what's viewed?

What's wrong ... she's
not even naked?

Personally, while porn may be a form of expression and art, there are certain boundaries people have a right to uphold.  And really, I'm not sure I see the appeal to watching something like that in public.  Unless, of course, that the kind of thing you're into.

Solicitor General Theodore Olson, the Bush's administration's top lawyer before the Supreme Court, argued that libraries routinely choose which reading material they keep on hand. "The government says libraries should be allowed to make the same decisions about the Internet they have voluntarily made over the years with books," he said. "This law does not regulate speech."

Honestly though, if people want to watch porn, and this becomes an even bigger issue, perhaps the libraries could include an "adult" section.  Though, with the way things are in the world, and  this country -- with libraries already struggling to stay open -- I don't think this is what we should  spend our money on.