“Aaron
Paul Calls Out Toys R Us for Pulling ‘Breaking Bad’ Figures”
By:
Christine D’zurilla
Source:
LA Times
On Wednesday, October twenty-two,
the famous toy company, Toys R Us, recalled its line of action figures of
characters from the acclaimed five season show ‘Breaking Bad’. This action was
taken as a result of a petition initiated by a Florida mom, Susan Shrijver. The
petition managed to collect an approximate ten-thousand signatures from people
who opposed Toys R Us’ "decision to sell a Breaking Bad doll, complete
with a detachable sack of cash and a bag of meth,” because it “alongside
children's toys, is a dangerous deviation from their family-friendly values"
(D’zurilla, 1). A new petition with nearly thirty-thousand signatures has
formed, but this one opposes the toy company’s recent action. Stars of the show
such as Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul voiced their enmity of the withdrawal,
the latter tweeting, “Wait, so @ToysRUs pulled all of the Breaking Bad figures
from their shelves and still sells Barbie? Hmmmm...I wonder what is more
damaging?” (D’zurilla, 1) . The opposition’s main argument centers around the
hypocrisy expressed by the company, as the company continues to carry toys that
promote violence and unrealistic beauty standards for children. Another argument
is that the Breaking Bad figures are marked as “15+” and are found in the adult
section of the store.
Though this is not the most
important of news, it should not be dismissed as trivial. Whether or not one
believes the toys should have been removed off of Toys R Us’ shelves, the
hypocritical nature of the company’s actions should be understood. Toy stores
should not be hypocritically selective in what they remove off their shelves.
If they exerted the efforts necessary to remove toys suggestive of drugs in the
adult section of the store, then they should not hesitate in removing toys that
involve guns or other promotions of violence. They are also warranted to wipe
their shelves clean of Barbies and other toys which promote unrealistic “beauty”
standards for young children, as these are highly detrimental to their psyche, as science has proven.
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