The tyranny of Thomas the Tank Engine

Back in film school my professors taught me how to deconstruct films. Deconstruction is the art of finding the real meaning, the hidden subtext. Or what you'd like the meaning of the film to be. Armed with that skill you can embark on a career of never again enjoying a film because instead of watching it you're just sitting there scrutinizing it for what you believe to be the hidden political/religious/social message.

Armed with this skill I was able to craft a paper that deconstructed the James Dean film Rebel Without a Cause. My paper concluded that because the character Plato had mismatched socks he was sexually conflicted.

I got better. I no longer believe that Empire State building is an oppressive phallic symbol that promotes a patriarchal worldview. That's why there's still hope for Jessica Roake over at Slate. She suggests that the TV series Thomas the Tank Engine is nothing more than right wing drivel.