Neither did I, but it’s pretty clear that tht is what it represents. Like the Golly Wogs in Britain. They don’t really look like black people but that is what they are meant to represent.
That’s one way to read it. Another way to see it, is as a young boy learning lessons not from his emotionally distant family but from the slaves who despite their hardship carry on and find happiness in each other.
And since when is Canada, where song of the south is fairly easy to get, overseas?
How about the monkeys in The Jungle Book and the crows in Dumbo?
I’ll dispute it. Tar is black, darn it, and was black in the original Uncle Remus story. Interestingly, in the african stories this derives from, the “tar baby” isn’t necessarily black. But tar was the analogue in the New World. I dispute the assertion.
Don’t know anything about Golly Wogs.
First I’ve heard that it’s available in Canada. Is it?
But Disney isn’t concerned about how it could be read, but rather how a lot of people *will[/i[ see it. They think it’s asking for trouble, and I suspect they’re right.
Disney’s trying to avoid unnecessary bad publicity and unintentionally giving offense. That’s why you can’t get der Fuehrer’s face anymore (and it doesn’t even appear excerpted in specials on wartime cartoons) – they want to asvoid the caricatures of German, Italian, and Japanese that appear in the cartoon.
Mind you, I’d like to see the unadulterated fantasia myself. I’ve seen recent (bootleg) copies of Der Fuehrer’s Face and Song of the South, not to mention “censored” Warner Bothers cartoons.
Not true. Der Fuehrer’s Face was included in the Walt Disney Treasures “On The Front Lines” collection with the other WWII cartoons. In fact, it’s the only reason I bought that set, as the copy of it I had previously was in horrible shape and almost unwatchable.
Cal, I’m not arguing that there isn’t anything sketchy at all with Song of the South. I totally understand why Disney doesn’t release it state side.
Rumor has it that Song of the South IS being released here soon, which is credible since Disney is happily releasing all of their classic racist cartoons (which are few, compared to WB) in their “Treasures” collectors sets. That doubly makes Mickey’s position in the latest Drawn Together episode inapt. Not only are Disney’s hands much cleaner compared to Warner Bros. in regards to racist cartoons, but they aren’t even trying to hide that history anymore. Disney (and the Mouse that represents it) just has a deeper reputation of being an evil, fascist organization that’s going to take them a long time to dissolve.
I don’t get it. America was a racist society in the 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, etc. Of course the literature and the arts of the time will reflect that. My gut feeling is, if anyone complains about it, tell them to lighten the fuck up, that was then, this is now. Assuming that I wanted to be a little politer than my gut, I’d tell them that yes, many of the animated characters do represent stereotypes, isn’t it great that we’ve moved beyond that now? Remembering where we’ve been as a lesson against the future is much more important than whitewashing unpleasant things that happened a generation ago just because they were unpleasant. A person (or society) has to admit exactly where they went wrong as a part of the process of growing and making sure not to repeat those mistakes.
Which is pretty much the point Spanky Ham made at the end of the episode. We’ve come full circle!
It’s just wrong, Dave. WRONG.
I have no problem with TW and Disney not running this type of show on Cartoon Network or Kid Disney.
But I think they should be available for pop culture historians to demonstrate the changes in society.
I don’t think these types of characters reflect poorly on the companies, but rather society itself.
But showing them to modern kids, I agree, could be harmful. The shows themselves do not have the proper context to explain that those types of stereotypes are insensitive.
Typical modern America. Good idea taken too far.
Hey, people have tried to start boycotts and recalls because they thought they saw penis shapes in The Little Mermaid—just imagine what’d happen if they aired Donald Duck dressed as a brownshirt quacking “HEIL HITLER!” right after Kim Possible. :eek: :smack:
I never trusted that duck.
does that make us sick?
Donald served his country and served it well. His supposed Nazi experiences were actually a dream he was paid to have in a motion picture. In actuality, Donald served his country both in motion pictures and real life, and was named a honorary sergeant of the U.S. Army in 1984 for his 60th anniversary. However, despite his service record, I would not vote him for public office. Based on his agressive behavior, he would somehow mistakenly declare war on the entire world- although perhaps not, since nobody can really tell what he is saying.
I’d go with Foxxy, but I’d be thinking of Clara.
That and the fact that he’s easily duped by his nephews.
Nah, I don’t think Clara is underage or anything. She’s pretty racist though, but in an amusing way!
i wasn’t referencing her age…
(pssst:she’s a CARTOON)
Eh, I got over feeling bad about cartoon lust during my “King Of The Hill” Luanne crush days.
I’m a Toot man, myself.