I have to toss in my mea culpa here, because I'm the first guy to try and
forget that any of this ever came down the pike. Even when I was a kifd
watching these, I wouold ge tup and leave the room so as not to have to face
this.
Shame on me.
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Amazing, but not surprising. I've seen all these. We've had this
conversation before about other 'toons. When you're my age (over 40), your
childhood memories are full of racist cartoons. Off the top of my head:.
Remember the cartoon about Little Sambo, an African child with coal black skin
and big lips, a bone in his hair, who spends every episode trying to catch the
slow moving, arrogant bird? I grew up watching that 'toon all the time as part
of the Merrie Melodies shown in Fort Worth.
How about all the Looney Tunes where characters would have dynamite or
something blow up in their face, to be transformed into blackface characters?
Often they'd then speak in a gruff voice like Rochester from the Jack Benny
show: "My oh my! Tattletale gray!" one exclaimed.
Then there's the famous Bugs Bunny ep when Bugs goes down South looking for
food and is accosted by Civil War vet Yosemite Sam. At one point Bugs disguises
himself as a slow-moving, slow-talking slave. Sam says, "Hmm, one of our boys.
Hey boy! Play a song", to which Bugs drawls "Yowsah" and starts singing "Yankee
Doodle Dandy". When Sam is outraged, Bugs places a whip in his hand, then
grovels on the ground begging, "Don't whoop me Master!"
And lets not forget the big black mammy character from the old Tom and Jerry
cartoons? You never saw her face, only her big legs, underwear hanging down
from under her dress, big black arms, all topped off with a voice performance
straight from "Gone With the Wind".
Watch Turner Classic Movies during Christmas season. they do a block of really
old (1920's and '30s) cartoons, many of which have Sambo characters. The host
always has to warn people that the images may be offensive.
As offensive as the above is, I still don't want to forget. I get editing these
films for modern audiences to buy for their kids, but I'd like to own all of
them in their original, unedited form. In fact, I make a point of seeking out
such fare to collect. I've had several black people tell me I'm crazy for
wanting to collect racist postures, figurines, and media products, but I never
want to forget where we've come from, what we've had to overcome. It's the type
of stuff I'd show my children some day, as a type of history lesson, so
they--and I--always remember the struggles we've had, and never be fooled into
thinking those days couldn't come again. Even my wife doesn't get this one,but
the last thing I want is for black people in future generations to be lulled
into some kind of false memory of how times used to be.
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http://www.cracked.com/article_15677_9-most-racist-disney-characters.html
These old Disney movies are a little bit like your aging Uncle Frank. Honestly,
he means well when he points out that Will Smith is "well-spoken." It's just
that he, like the assemblage of clips below, dates from a time when people were
unfairly characterized by their ethnic background (the acceptable methods are,
of course, religion, geography, sexual preference and income)...
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"There is no reason Good can't triumph over Evil, if only angels will get
organized along the lines of the Mafia." -Kurt Vonnegut, "A Man Without A
Country"
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