It might be hard to imagine a family-friendly musical adventure like KPop Demon Hunters offending anyone, but it seems the lyrics in some of the songs from Netflix's animated phenomenon are cause for concern for one particular school in England.
According to The BBC, Lilliput Church of England Infant School in Poole, Dorset has prohibited its students from singing the original songs from the movie due to concerns over certain song lyrics not being in line with its “Christian ethos.”
The school reportedly "sent a message to parents on Friday saying some members of the community are ‘deeply uncomfortable’ with references to demons. It said this was because they ‘associate them with spiritual forces opposed to God and goodness.’ In an update on Monday, acting head teacher Lloyd Allington said he had since received feedback from parents, highlighting positive messages from the songs, but said the school was seeking to support those who found the themes ‘challenging.'”
The school originally asked students to refrain from singing the songs out of respect for those "who find the themes at odds with their faith,” but they were met with backlash from parents who pointed out that certain songs contained positive messages.
“While we fully respect your right to make choices about the content your child engages with at home, we also want to be mindful of the diversity of beliefs within our school community,” head teacher Lloyd Allington responded. “For some Christians, references to demons can feel deeply uncomfortable because they associate them with spiritual forces opposed to God and goodness. We are not asking parents to tell their children that there is anything wrong with enjoying the film or its songs if it aligns with your own views and beliefs. Our role will simply be to help children understand that some of their peers may hold different views and to explore how we can respect and support those peers in upholding their faith.”
Back in August, Kpop pushed past Red Notice to claim first place on Netflix’s all-time rankings for English-language films. Despite a mostly negative reception from critics, the action comedy, which stars Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot, has held the No. 1 spot for the last three years. Demon Hunters, on the other hand, is sitting at a near-perfect 97% on Rotten Tomatoes.
KPop Demon Hunters introduced Rumi (Arden Cho), Mira (May Hong), and Zoey (Ji-young Yoo) as members of HUNTR/X, an internationally recognized K-pop girl group that secretly moonlight as demon hunters.