Friday, April 30, 2004
Sent : Friday, April 30, 2004 9:00 PM
CC : "robert register"
Subject : Re: Disney's Most Heinous Crime: Making the Movie, Song of the South, in 1946
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I would love to have somebody point out to me any untruths in Ms. Turner's brilliant assessment.
More half-truths and insinuations.
Disney's 20th century re-creation of Harris's frame (?) story is much more heinous than the original. The days on the plantation located in "the United States of Georgia" begin and end with unsupervised Blacks (Why would they need supervision if they were free?) singing songs about their wonderful home (They were thankful they didn't live in Boston) as they march to and from the fields. Disney and company made no attempt to to render the music in the style of the spirituals and work songs that would have been sung during this era (Which Disney movie features authentic period music? Davy Crocket? Ol' Yeller?). They provided no indication regarding the status of the Blacks on the plantation (Why is this relevant to the story?) . Joel Chandler Harris set his stories in the post-slavery era, but Disney's version seems to take place during a surreal time when Blacks lived on slave quarters on a plantation (Didn't sharecroppers contiue to live in slave quarters?), worked diligently for no visible reward (They were fed, clothed, and sheltered) and considered Atlanta a viable place for an old Black man to set out for (If he was free, why not? This sentence ends with a preposition.)
Kind old Uncle Remus caters to the needs of the young white boy whose father has inexplicably left him and his mother at the plantation (I think his father said he was going to the city on business, probably something to do with carpetbaggers, tar, and feathers). An obviously ill-kept Black child (Johnny would rather have been dressed like him) of the same age named Toby (I think he grew up to be in a mini-series) is assigned to look after the white boy, Johnny. Although Toby makes one reference to his "ma," his parents are nowhere to be seen (Why is this relevant to the story? Is Ms. Turner insinuating that he was sold away from them?). The African-American adults in the film pay attention to him only when he neglects his responsibilities as Johnny's playmate-keeper. He is up before Johnny in the morning in order to bring his white charge water to wash with and keep him entertained (Maybe those were his assigned chores. I had chores when I was a child, didn't you?).
The boys befriend a little blond girl, Ginny, whose family clearly represents the neighborhood's white trash (Where's the compassion for them? Didn't Hattie McDaniel commit a hate crime when she called them "trash"?). Although Johnny coaxes his mother into inviting Ginny to his fancy birthday party at the big house, Toby is curiously absent from the party scenes. Toby is good enough to catch frogs with, but not good enough to have birthday cake with (Social events were seldom integrated before 1970. Aren't we looking for realism here? This sentence ends with a preposition.). When Toby and Johnny are with Uncle Remus, the gray-haired Black man directs most of his attention to the white child (He was a fresh audience, the black kids had already heard all his stories). Thus Blacks on the plantation are seen as willingly subservient to the whites to the extent that they overlook the needs of their own children (That's a real stretch). When Johnny's mother threatens to keep her son away from the old gentleman's cabin, Uncle Remus is so hurt that he starts to run away (Walk away, remeber, he was free). In the world that Disney made, the Blacks sublimate their own lives in order to be better servants to the white family (That was their job. Employees typically "sublimate their own lives" to their employers for part of the day). If Disney had truly understood the message of the tales he animated so delightfully, he would have realized the extent of! distortion of the frame story .
Wednesday, April 28, 2004
Dr. Mason:
Please feel free to forward this email to a Marketing professor who might be able to get his students to convince Disney to rerelease Song of the South. http://www.songofthesouth.net
Here's a real healthy dose of multiculturalism/diversity/reconciliation dished out by a professor from UC- Davis. Get ready Bama!- This new Office of Multiculturalism will be importing these "visiting professors" (a.k.a. alien enemies of the South) by the handful each year. These knuckleheads like Patricia Turner will make Rose Sanders look like Captain Kangaroo!
Folklorist Patricia A. Turner writes in Ceramic Uncles and Celluloid Mammies:
Disney's 20th century re-creation of Harris's frame story is much more heinous than the original. The days on the plantation located in "the United States of Georgia" begin and end with unsupervised Blacks singing songs about their wonderful home as they march to and from the fields. Disney and company made no attempt to to render the music in the style of the spirituals and work songs that would have been sung during this era. They provided no indication regarding the status of the Blacks on the plantation. Joel Chandler Harris set his stories in the post-slavery era, but Disney's version seems to take place during a surreal time when Blacks lived on slave quarters on a plantation, worked diligently for no visible reward and considered Atlanta a viable place for an old Black man to set out for.
Kind old Uncle Remus caters to the needs of the young white boy whose father has inexplicably left him and his mother at the plantation. An obviously ill-kept Black child of the same age named Toby is assigned to look after the white boy, Johnny. Although Toby makes one reference to his "ma," his parents are nowhere to be seen. The African-American adults in the film pay attention to him only when he neglects his responsibilities as Johnny's playmate-keeper. He is up before Johnny in the morning in order to bring his white charge water to wash with and keep him entertained.
The boys befriend a little blond girl, Ginny, whose family clearly represents the neighborhood's white trash. Although Johnny coaxes his mother into inviting Ginny to his fancy birthday party at the big house, Toby is curiously absent from the party scenes. Toby is good enough to catch frogs with, but not good enough to have birthday cake with. When Toby and Johnny are with Uncle Remus, the gray-haired Black man directs most of his attention to the white child. Thus Blacks on the plantation are seen as willingly subservient to the whites to the extent that they overlook the needs of their own children. When Johnny's mother threatens to keep her son away from the old gentleman's cabin, Uncle Remus is so hurt that he starts to run away. In the world that Disney made, the Blacks sublimate their own lives in order to be better servants to the white family. If Disney had truly understood the message of the tales he animated so delightfully, he would have realized the extent of distortion of the frame story.
Please feel free to forward this email to a Marketing professor who might be able to get his students to convince Disney to rerelease Song of the South. http://www.songofthesouth.net
Here's a real healthy dose of multiculturalism/diversity/reconciliation dished out by a professor from UC- Davis. Get ready Bama!- This new Office of Multiculturalism will be importing these "visiting professors" (a.k.a. alien enemies of the South) by the handful each year. These knuckleheads like Patricia Turner will make Rose Sanders look like Captain Kangaroo!
Folklorist Patricia A. Turner writes in Ceramic Uncles and Celluloid Mammies:
Disney's 20th century re-creation of Harris's frame story is much more heinous than the original. The days on the plantation located in "the United States of Georgia" begin and end with unsupervised Blacks singing songs about their wonderful home as they march to and from the fields. Disney and company made no attempt to to render the music in the style of the spirituals and work songs that would have been sung during this era. They provided no indication regarding the status of the Blacks on the plantation. Joel Chandler Harris set his stories in the post-slavery era, but Disney's version seems to take place during a surreal time when Blacks lived on slave quarters on a plantation, worked diligently for no visible reward and considered Atlanta a viable place for an old Black man to set out for.
Kind old Uncle Remus caters to the needs of the young white boy whose father has inexplicably left him and his mother at the plantation. An obviously ill-kept Black child of the same age named Toby is assigned to look after the white boy, Johnny. Although Toby makes one reference to his "ma," his parents are nowhere to be seen. The African-American adults in the film pay attention to him only when he neglects his responsibilities as Johnny's playmate-keeper. He is up before Johnny in the morning in order to bring his white charge water to wash with and keep him entertained.
The boys befriend a little blond girl, Ginny, whose family clearly represents the neighborhood's white trash. Although Johnny coaxes his mother into inviting Ginny to his fancy birthday party at the big house, Toby is curiously absent from the party scenes. Toby is good enough to catch frogs with, but not good enough to have birthday cake with. When Toby and Johnny are with Uncle Remus, the gray-haired Black man directs most of his attention to the white child. Thus Blacks on the plantation are seen as willingly subservient to the whites to the extent that they overlook the needs of their own children. When Johnny's mother threatens to keep her son away from the old gentleman's cabin, Uncle Remus is so hurt that he starts to run away. In the world that Disney made, the Blacks sublimate their own lives in order to be better servants to the white family. If Disney had truly understood the message of the tales he animated so delightfully, he would have realized the extent of distortion of the frame story.
Sunday, April 25, 2004
To : robertoreg@hotmail.com
Subject : Tuscaloosa News Opinion Poll
Date: 04/20/2004 - 04/21/2004
Should the UA faculty senate have passed a resolution apologizing for slavery?
Subject : Tuscaloosa News Opinion Poll
Date: 04/20/2004 - 04/21/2004
Should the UA faculty senate have passed a resolution apologizing for slavery?
