Song of the South Revisited
Song of the South Revisited
#1Song of the South Revisited
Posted: 4/28/08 at 2:13pm
Some interesting thoughts on the film ...
http://youtube.com/watch?v=UopUDYUG9nA
#2re: Song of the South Revisited
Posted: 4/28/08 at 2:36pm
http://www.songofthesouth.net/home.html
Website devoted to the movie. From what I've gathered, many in the Black community are ok with the release of the movie as long as the movie makes clear it's place in history and the misinformation within it. Disney is the one that drags it feet on releasing the movie. Seems they don't like this idea.
I agree this movie could be a great teachable moment. I'd love to have a commentary available for the movie that talks about discrimination on the movie set, the special Oscar, etc.
#2re: Song of the South Revisited
Posted: 4/28/08 at 2:48pm
I totally agree, soag25. There are so many ways Disney could turn this into a positive.
Entertain and educate all at the same time. And I'll bet it would be a big seller. Imagine how many people they could reach with understanding the historical context, as you say.
Plus, it's not like Disney hasn't released racist material on DVD before. And they've handled it with class and almost always with an on-screen host disclaimer, not just a text card that people can fast-forward through.
Hopefully they will rise to the occasion on this, rather than try clumsily to keep it swept under the carpet.
Bring it out and talk about it! Or just continue to look like a guilty party who's hiding a dirty little secret.
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
Roscoe
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#3re: Song of the South Revisited
Posted: 4/28/08 at 2:53pm
Disney censors when they want to. They released a censored version of THREE LITTLE PIGS on DVD, and they reframed a specific shot in FANTASIA to remove an unfortunately offensive character.
I don't remember anything particularly awful about SONG OF THE SOUTH, the offense comes in the picture of happy black folks happily serving their white masters. It's not like anyone watches the live action parts anyway, the animation and the great song Zip A Dee Doo Dah is the only parts worth seeing.
JohnBoy2
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/21/06
#4re: Song of the South Revisited
Posted: 4/28/08 at 5:16pmThat black women are portrayed as whores and black men as thugs and pimps, virtually 24 hours/day, 7 days/week, 365 days/year on television and in movies doesn't seem to bother anyone's sensibilities (other than Bill Cosby's), so I would hope that no one finds Song of the South offensive!
george95
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/1/08
#5re: Song of the South Revisited
Posted: 4/28/08 at 5:18pmIt should definitely be released for its teachable moments.
#6re: Song of the South Revisited
Posted: 4/28/08 at 5:48pm
Whoopi Goldberg said in an interview that Song of the South was her favorite movie. I never understood how this film was considered more racist than say Gone with the Wind? Has anyone seen some of the old Tom and Jerry cartoons?
Mr Roxy
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/17/03
#7re: Song of the South Revisited
Posted: 4/28/08 at 6:41pm
We have gone PC crazy.
This film is part of history as is Birth Of A Nation & Gone With The Wind. Start censoring them & free speech takes a hit. If you find SOTS offensive, do not buy the DVD
#8re: Song of the South Revisited
Posted: 4/28/08 at 8:16pm
romantico, there's a funny thing about those old Tom & Jerry cartoons.
They actually did a half-assed job of trying to censor out the mammy owner character. You'll notice in several cartoons, Tom's owner (still seen by the waist down only) appears to be more of a stereotypical 50s housewife: hose, heels and a June Foray voice. Those actually were duped in to get rid of instances of the mammy character's appearance.
However, they didn't quite complete the task. So there are a few cartoons in which they've drawn in the June Foray feet but left the mammy voice, and a few others in which they've left the mammy feet but added in the June Foray voice.
#9re: Song of the South Revisited
Posted: 4/28/08 at 8:25pmCalvin, are you serious?! Dear God! Why not just go back and CGI the Al Jolson version of the Jazz Singer while they are at it? Thats just terrible! I saw those cartoons as a kid and I never once gave the lady a second thought and I doubt most kids today do either.I loved her baggy socks and her southern accent. As for Song of the South, I grew up watching it on a Japanese laser disc and I just loved Uncle Remus. I saw him as a loveable old mentor or friend. We all know how much Disney will do anything to make a buck. They MUST know that they would make a killing if they released SOTS on dvd or blu ray. What reason could they have to just ignore the demand and sit on it?
#10re: Song of the South Revisited
Posted: 4/28/08 at 8:28pm
Believe it or not, I was googling to make sure I was remembering correctly, and there's a whole Web page set up for the Tom & Jerry mammy character.
Link
#11re: Song of the South Revisited
Posted: 4/28/08 at 8:29pmLOL! I love it! Thanks Calvin. I always wondered why we never saw her face, but I think in a way it was better leaving it up to my imagination.
#12re: Song of the South Revisited
Posted: 4/28/08 at 9:44pm
Personally, I'm not fond of the film. I have real problems with it.
I can't imagine showing it to children.
TheatreDiva90016
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/10/04
#13re: Song of the South Revisited
Posted: 4/28/08 at 9:47pm
You CAN get it on DVD...
How they've been doing this without Disney shutting them down is beyond me.
Unofficial/Official DVD
#14re: Song of the South Revisited
Posted: 4/28/08 at 10:09pmDisney MUST know... how could they not?
Mekroth
Broadway Star Joined: 2/23/08
#15re: Song of the South Revisited
Posted: 4/29/08 at 1:08amIt's funny that Disney will not release SOTS on DVD because it portrays black people in an offensive light, yet they have no problem releasing Peter Pan (among other cartoons, which remain uncensored,) with its highly stereotyped images of Native Americans.
#16re: Song of the South Revisited
Posted: 4/29/08 at 8:33am
Please... Warner Bros. released all those old Looney Tunes DVD sets, filled with images of things like characters that explode and turn into pickaninnies. And those Golden Collection box sets are huge sellers. Yes, they have disclaimers about the racism, and about them being products of their time.
NOTHING in Song of the South comes remotely close to what they do in those cartoons. Not even close.
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
#17re: Song of the South Revisited
Posted: 4/29/08 at 1:01pm
Having watched this last week, I found that censoring this movie is not helping the controversy that surrounds it.
If anything, Song of the South is the perfect film that can open up the discussion of racism in our country's history.
I also agree with Mekroth about Peter Pan. Racism does not pertain to only one group, it's universal hatred.
ShbrtAlley44
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/1/03
#18re: Song of the South Revisited
Posted: 4/29/08 at 1:14pm
I own SOTS on DVD - got it at a sci-fi convention awhile back.
Total agreement about Peter Pan. "What makes the red man red?"?? "Squaw get-um firewood"??? Good Lord.
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#19re: Song of the South Revisited
Posted: 4/29/08 at 1:24pm
I'm sure if Disney releases this movie in the US, there will be an outcry from the racebaiters and whites suffering from liberal guilt. Obviously Disney doesn't want to deal with that. The movie has been released in Japan and that's how I got my copy.
But let's look at the movie from a child's viewpoint. If all you have to do all day is hang around with your stuffy grandmother and edgy, divorced mother, who wouldn't want to escape and go listen to a great storyteller? It's a great adventure and thrilling sense of freedom.
#20re: Song of the South Revisited
Posted: 4/29/08 at 1:38pm
Well it that all depends on which child's point of view you decide to focus on.
Tough as it might be to live in comfort with with a stuffy Grandmother and divorced Mother... you don't get the same "thrilling sense of freedom" if you are the child sleeping on a dirt floor, wearing rags, living in slavery and most likely to to get violently whipped because of something the white kid did.
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#21re: Song of the South Revisited
Posted: 4/29/08 at 1:52pm
"Well it that all depends on which child's point of view you decide to focus on."
I don't think anyone ever took Disney films to be reality or even historically accurate. It's not necessary to know that Mary Poppins and Bert were born into a severe class system which they will never escape. The movie is about jumping into sidewalk paintings. Disney isn't in the business of presenting every point of view in the world, nor should they be.
#22re: Song of the South Revisited
Posted: 4/29/08 at 2:11pm
I suppose If I wasn't aware of the horrors of slavery.. as a child might be.. or if I was someone who chooses to dismiss the horrors of slavery, I wouldn't find the film to be problematic. But as I am neither, I do find the film to be problematic.
As for Poppins, if I was more aware of the horrors of the English class system and if Mary Poppins had a backdrop of nationwide class warfare.. I might have the same unease watching it as I do Song of the South.
I know too much about legacy of white supremacy to block it out with when I see the film. The film, to me, is too tinged with disturbing moments - however slight they might be - to get the full effect of pure joy that I believe creators intended.
#23re: Song of the South Revisited
Posted: 4/29/08 at 2:16pm
you don't get the same "thrilling sense of freedom" if you are the child sleeping on a dirt floor, wearing rags, living in slavery and most likely to to get violently whipped because of something the white kid did.
Thats a pretty broad generalization, isn't it? Is that particular subtext actually supported by the film or is it a generalized view of all black slaves and their relationships with their white masters that you are imposing on the film?
#24re: Song of the South Revisited
Posted: 4/29/08 at 2:33pm
Oh.. no.. my stuff completely...
Sub-textually the film supports a world of happy slaves, satisfied in in their living conditions and perfectly content in their forced servitude. That is what the video I posted points out.
Where I have problems is when my 2008 understanding of the history of slavery and cultural sensibility clashes with the films presentation of slavery and its cultural sensibilities. It stops me from getting the joy that the I believe the creators intended.
As I said before, to enjoy it again - as I did as a child - I would have be a child again OR to somehow dismiss my knowledge of history.
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