Ban on Action Figures: Breaking Bad for Toys' R' Us
mis à jour le 5 November 2014 à 00:00Would you purchase a drug-carrying action figure from one of America's hit television series, Breaking Bad?
You would have heard about Breaking Bad, the famous American crime drama series created by Vince Gilligan that also recently entered into the Guinness Book of World Records as the highest rated show of all time.
If you haven't, know it's centered around drugs, money and violence but it's also a family drama and carries a surprising sense of humor - all the necessary ingredients for a hit series.
The real success of this show pushed the international kids store, Toys' R' Us, to create action figures of the main actors, Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul). The Walter figure comes with a detachable bag of cash and a plastic bag of methamphetamines, while the Jessie figure comes with a gas mask and a tray of meth crystals.
Due to the attached accessories, the figures shocked many families. Susan Schrivjer, a mom in Florida, launched a petition to get Toys’ R’ Us to cease sales of the Breaking Bad collection in their stores and on their website. She said, "while the show may be compelling viewing for adults, its violent content and celebration of the drug trade makes this collection unsuitable to be sold alongside Barbie dolls and Disney characters."
The store’s representatives answered that the action figures targeted collector customers and were carried in very limited quantities in the adult action figure section. But the 9000 petitioners caused the brand to remove the toys from its stores and to issue the following statement, "Let's just say, the action figures have taken an indefinite sabbatical".
Even if we loved this series, we don't really want our children putting those meth-dealing Breaking Bad toys on their wish list. The opinion on the pieces may not be entirely universal though. In fact, Bryan Cranston, the actor who played Walter, responded with sarcasm in a tweet addressing the petition, "I'm so mad. I am burning my Florida mom action figure in protest."
Lindsay POUI-DI
