Song of The South

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Disney Frenhines

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Aug 28, 2013
I'm not sure if this the right place to post this, but, it's on the news that Disney are going to place warnings about racial stereotypes at the beginning of movies such as Peter Pan and Dumbo, the original animation.
Now, this is fair enough, but, how about reissuing Song Of The South with this warning as, to be honest, the racial stereotyping in this is less offensive than the way Native Americans are depicted in Peter Pan. Plus it would be lovely for everyone to see the wonderful performances of the black actors including James Baskett and Hattie McDaniels too.
 
Yes there is a pop up text warning message on some movies and shows on Disney+ where racial stereotypes and depictions have not aged well. Dumbo and Aladdin are two popular examples.

I would be shocked if Disney hosted SOTS on D+ though. Simply too much of a lightening rod given the current climate.

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I understand all the warnings about this but what surprises me more than anything is that fact that nobody was offended by these movies until they were told to be.

really? I've had quite a few conversations about these filems as far as the offensive parts - particularly the "red man" in Peter Pan and the crows in Dumbo. I don't see this as anything new.
 


I'm not sure if this the right place to post this, but, it's on the news that Disney are going to place warnings about racial stereotypes at the beginning of movies such as Peter Pan and Dumbo, the original animation.
Now, this is fair enough, but, how about reissuing Song Of The South with this warning as, to be honest, the racial stereotyping in this is less offensive than the way Native Americans are depicted in Peter Pan. Plus it would be lovely for everyone to see the wonderful performances of the black actors including James Baskett and Hattie McDaniels too.

I agree that the Native American depiction in Peter Pan is really bad ... I think the difference (and not that this excuses that/makes it ok) is that it is a small scene with side characters - not the main plot or structure of the movies. Whereas for SOTS the entire things is problematic being that it is based on stories from a white man who adapted African Folklore tales and depicts a black man happy with his situation in reconstruction south and taking care of a white boy, etc.

Rather than just release it with just a warning I think if they had a live streaming of a panel discussing it - why it is offensive, what we can learn from it, what we can do better as a society, etc. and then show it - but that you have to watch the entire panel first - would be better if they really want to show it
 
Disney has made a point to distance themselves from Song of the South, and they have been doing so for decades, not just within the past year or 2. Based on that, I really don’t think Disney will release it to Disney+ even with the new warning they’ve added to the beginning of movies.
 
This is an amazing step! I've always thought that this stuff should be left alone and used as teachable moments rather than trying to pretend they never existed. Trying to do that is a different kind of ignorance. With Disney doing this first, I hope they will set the example and lead the way. I feel like they sat down and said, "If we don't make a move here, we're not going to have anything left, we're going to have to pull half of our archives." For the first time in a LONG time, I'm actually proud of a decision Disney has made. Good on them.
 


I still think we give too much power to things like this. I really do understand the sentiment, but sometimes I think we worry more about an unflattering cartoon than we do addressing the issues that halped create it in the first place. I'm not saying that we shouldn't discuss concerns, but I sometimes thing the outrage could be better spent elsewhere. I would prefer this over ouutright censorship though as I do believe that there are lessons to be learned from it. It's not really an easy thing to answer.
 
I understand all the warnings about this but what surprises me more than anything is that fact that nobody was offended by these movies until they were told to be.

Maybe not offended, but I sure felt embarrassed when I watched Peter Pan again recently. I actually cringed during the Native American scene. It's hard to imagine that people thought that depiction was okay...
 
I understand all the warnings about this but what surprises me more than anything is that fact that nobody was offended by these movies until they were told to be.

People were protesting against SoTS while it was in development in the early 1940's and the protests and boycotts continued and were quite visible when the film opened nationwide, so, people finding the film offensive, almost 80 years later, is nothing new.
 
I still think we give too much power to things like this. I really do understand the sentiment, but sometimes I think we worry more about an unflattering cartoon than we do addressing the issues that halped create it in the first place. I'm not saying that we shouldn't discuss concerns, but I sometimes thing the outrage could be better spent elsewhere. I would prefer this over ouutright censorship though as I do believe that there are lessons to be learned from it. It's not really an easy thing to answer.

I think it would take a college level, full semester course to fully address the issues that helped create SoTS. You need to delve into the history of slavery in this country, minstrel shows, the Civil War, Reconstruction, the Jim Crow era and even how the massive popularity of Gone with the Wind influenced Disney's decision to make the movie in the first place.
 
I had a college course on films in 1999 and even then SotS history of protests, that reach clear back to filming and original release, were well known and discussed. We also discussed Peter Pan and even Aladdin as a more modern example, though Disney films were far from the majority of the course. This was over 20 years ago, so people who claim this is a new thing just weren't paying attention. Sure it wasn't as prevalent back then, but the issues have been known and discussed for a very long time.
 
really? I've had quite a few conversations about these filems as far as the offensive parts - particularly the "red man" in Peter Pan and the crows in Dumbo. I don't see this as anything new.

And with Aladdin they were trying to fix some of the most racist stuff pretty soon after the movie came out, changing the lyrics in "Arabian Nights". We still have a cassette tape of the soundtrack with the original lyrics, but they wiped those out really fast.
 
I was cringing so hard while watching the Aristocats a while back. I had to pause it and explain to my kid how wrong some of it was.

I don’t know who owns the rights to Breakfast at Tiffany’s, but it’s bad, too. It’s a shame.
 
I understand all the warnings about this but what surprises me more than anything is that fact that nobody was offended by these movies until they were told to be.
The Native Americans in Peter Pan and the Crows in Dumbo are pretty bad. I think this has been known for quite a while.
 
I’ve seen Song of the South. There really isn't a need to bring it back.
I posted about this movie several months ago on a different forum. I too have seen this movie recently, a friend obtained a bootleg copy for me. The acting is very bad, the story quite frankly is not any good. The only redeemable portion of the movie is Uncle Remis character telling the stories to the kids and the antimated scenes. My problem is with censorship of any kind. Call me old fashion but I am not in favor of censorship (which is why I wanted to see the movie in the first place). People need to see it for themselves and make up their own minds.
 
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