Current Events > as a young child I watched Disney's Song of the South many times

(+) Yeah! (+)

Used to borrow it from the local library most months. I did not grow up to be a racist.

Find it so strange that it's not available in the USA, any of you watched it?

I saw it when they rereleased it to theaters in 1986. I only remember the cartoon parts.
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zip-a-dee-doo-da was one of the songs on the disney sing-a-long vhs I had, outside that I never really watched it
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I watched it years ago on YouTube before Disney flagged it.

The animated portions are the highlight. The overall film is actually slightly less racist than your average 1940s movie.

I still have a VHS copy of it somewhere.

I don't get what all the fuss is about.

"It's racist!"
"How is it racist?"
"IT HAS A BLACK GUY IN IT!"
"So?"
"....It's set after the civil war!"
"So?"
".... People working at a plantation seem HAPPY!"
"It's a children's disney movie. Everyone is happy."
"IT@S RACIST!"

I don't get it.

I think it's like the Mass Effect Sex Scene thing where the people who are offended have never even seen the movie
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I've seen it. Yeah, it had some racist elements in it, but then again, alot of Disney film have it too. (ie Dumbo, Brother Bear, and tons of others)
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For the record, I'm not in the habit of watching unauthorized presentations of copyright films. But seeing as Disney has not release the film stateside in any format, I watched it by the only means available.

It's odd that a movie which has never been released on home video is the focus of one of Disney World's best rides, but that's the way it is. Watching the movie won't help you to understand what's going on though. The story being told on the ride itself does not match up with the events of the motion picture.

YukihoHagiwara posted...

zip-a-dee-doo-da was one of the songs on the disney sing-a-long vhs I had, outside that I never really watched it

That was my only exposure to it too.
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VideoboysaysCube posted...

YukihoHagiwara posted...

zip-a-dee-doo-da was one of the songs on the disney sing-a-long vhs I had, outside that I never really watched it

That was my only exposure to it too.

to be fair though I'm pretty sure I watched that + the super mario bros 3 cartoon (mind your mummy + the episode that not so subtley deals with racism) vhs more than any video I've seen in my life period. pretty clear to me that the anti-racism moral in the one episode canceled out any racism I would've picked up from song of the south
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Theres nothing racist about a movie that thinks black people look like tar is my new favorite UR pointlessly-contrarian arguement
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UnfairRepresent posted...

I still have a VHS copy of it somewhere.

I don't get what all the fuss is about.

"It's racist!"
"How is it racist?"
"IT HAS A BLACK GUY IN IT!"
"So?"
"....It's set after the civil war!"
"So?"
".... People working at a plantation seem HAPPY!"
"It's a children's disney movie. Everyone is happy."
"IT@S RACIST!"

I don't get it.

I think it's like the Mass Effect Sex Scene thing where the people who are offended have never even seen the movie

It's just the concept.

Taken at face value, it's the story of a wise and respected servant who is happy with place in life and eager to share his knowledge through the fine art of storytelling. But the implication is one of better days gone by in which there existed a social arrangement between white plantation owners and black servants which was unequal, yet still beneficial to both parties. And that is a whitewashing of history.

The message is unwelcome, but there are no real flaws in the delivery. The most racist moment is Uncle Remus's exaggerated reaction to a hummingbird landing on his finger and that can be seen in musical recreations of the zip-a-dee-doo-da number that are available to all.

King_Hellebuyck posted...

Theres nothing racist about a movie that thinks black people look like tar is my new favorite UR pointlessly-contrarian arguement

The Tar Baby is a story from African folklore. In the case of the film, I don't think this was meant to resemble a human being:



It appears to have fur and a muzzle.

Skye Reynolds posted...

King_Hellebuyck posted...

Theres nothing racist about a movie that thinks black people look like tar is my new favorite UR pointlessly-contrarian arguement

The Tar Baby is a story from African folklore. In the case of the film, I don't think this was meant to resemble a human being:



It appears to have fur and a muzzle.

Well fuck me, I guess its a been a while
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Skye Reynolds posted...

UnfairRepresent posted...

I still have a VHS copy of it somewhere.

I don't get what all the fuss is about.

"It's racist!"
"How is it racist?"
"IT HAS A BLACK GUY IN IT!"
"So?"
"....It's set after the civil war!"
"So?"
".... People working at a plantation seem HAPPY!"
"It's a children's disney movie. Everyone is happy."
"IT@S RACIST!"

I don't get it.

I think it's like the Mass Effect Sex Scene thing where the people who are offended have never even seen the movie

It's just the concept.

Taken at face value, it's the story of a wise and respected servant who is happy with place in life and eager to share his knowledge through the fine art of storytelling. But the implication is one of better days gone by in which there existed a social arrangement between white plantation owners and black servants which was unequal, yet still beneficial to both parties. And that is a whitewashing of history.

The message is unwelcome, but there are no real flaws in the delivery. The most racist moment is Uncle Remus's exaggerated reaction to a hummingbird landing on his finger and that can be seen in musical recreations of the zip-a-dee-doo-da number that are available to all.

And he was never seen again
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It's really one of those things that should be released with maybe either a note at the beginning, or a 5 minute intro discussing the era in which the movie was made and the context of what makes those ideas wrong. It's dumb to fully try to hide the past in cases like this. It can be both an enjoyable movie for some and a learning experience.

Ive never heard of it before
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King_Hellebuyck posted...

Well fuck me, I guess its a been a while

Case and point

All the people "offended" never saw the damn thing.

Skye Reynolds posted...

Taken at face value, it's the story of a wise and respected servant who is happy with place in life and eager to share his knowledge through the fine art of storytelling. But the implication is one of better days gone by in which there existed a social arrangement between white plantation owners and black servants which was unequal, yet still beneficial to both parties. And that is a whitewashing of history.

The message is unwelcome, but there are no real flaws in the delivery. The most racist moment is Uncle Remus's exaggerated reaction to a hummingbird landing on his finger and that can be seen in musical recreations of the zip-a-dee-doo-da number that are available to all.

There is no point in the movie where they make any sort of claim about a "Good old social arrangement" nor attempt to whitewash history.

That's complete nonsense.

Character's are happy because it's a childrens disney movie.

In Mulan characters are happy when they are soldiers being invaded by Mongolians.
In beauty and the beast, people who have been turned into motherfucking teapots and trapped inside a house sing happily.

It's such a dumb complaint. The movie wouldn't work and would confuse kids if Remus was angry and grumpy and spent the entire movie bitching about unequal society instead of singing.

Mulan wouldn't work if the soldiers were angry and stoic and then discovered she was a chick and raped her.

Half of Beauty and the beast's objects would have had a mental breakdown and commited suicide. Especially the toilet.

You're grasping at straws for reasons to be offended.
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UnfairRepresent posted...

You're grasping at straws for reasons to be offended.

I'm not offended by the movie.

I've got it on DVD.
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