The Forgotten Author- Uncle Remus- Joel Chandler Harris

[Angeejoe]

I found this article in The Toledo Blade very interesting, a backstory on where the Brer Stories come from (Splash Mountain, Song of The South). Just thought I'd share:

http://www.toledoblade.com/Books/2016/02/21/The-forgotten-author-Joel-Chandler-Harris.html

 

[Whatsthegoodword]

That's a great article! My mother and wife are both from Georgia. We've all visited the Wren's Nest and Harris' home in Eatonton. We read our children "Uncle Remus" stories along with others. It's not cool to be proud southerners these days, but we are. Maybe someday we can all appreciate history for what it is, and respect our collected heritage.

 

[Angeejoe]

That's a great article! My mother and wife are both from Georgia. We've all visited the Wren's Nest and Harris' home in Eatonton. We read our children "Uncle Remus" stories along with others. It's not cool to be proud southerners these days, but we are. Maybe someday we can all appreciate history for what it is, and respect our collected heritage.

I agree that it was a very interesting article, I feel like I learned a lot of the backstory. I've read how the Song of The South movie will not be publicly be seen again, but I didn't know the details of the controversy.

 

[loves to dive]

I'm a proud southerner, from Georgia, my whole family as far back as when the duke from Denmark landed in America have lived in Georgia. My mother read Uncle Remus to us, I read it to my son. His favorite thing to say when I threaten to do something I know he'll like, is oh please don't throw me in the briar patch. We were visiting Jekyll Island about a month ago, a small island on the coast here where the hoity toities spent their winters, and found an old copy of one of the original compilations of the stories. It came home with me.

 

[Whatsthegoodword]

I have a VCR copy of Song of the South. I should get it burned to DVD. We bought it ~15 years ago via the internet from Europe. It's not that Disney won't allow it to be seen - it's just that they won't allow it to be seen in America. I guess they know that we can't handle it yet.

 

[Angeejoe]

I have a VCR copy of Song of the South. I should get it burned to DVD. We bought it ~15 years ago via the internet from Europe. It's not that Disney won't allow it to be seen - it's just that they won't allow it to be seen in America. I guess they know that we can't handle it yet.

I remember only seeing this movie once I believe sometime in the 1980s as a child, I just remember the movie was live action with cartoons inserted.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Frankly I never believed the stories or the movie was racist. I see it as the celebration of black story telling, sometime to be praised and enjoyed.

AKK