I heard that Song of the South was considered racist and is banned in the States. Does anyone know why? Why are other movies and shows with slaves in them okay to show? What made this movie different?
2007-10-20 21:49:18 · 6 answers · asked by Rachel M 4 in Entertainment & Music ➔ Movies
It's not banned, it's been released on videotape. The NAACP is very much against this and Amos and Andy being released, but Ebert and other critics (Leonard Maltin being the exception as he's the one who does the intros) seem to want to keep it in a non-release status. Walt Disney's only agenda was to make a movie based on the Brer Rabbit books which took place right after the Civil War. If anything, Warner Brothers have a lot more offensive cartoons. Disney's release "On The Front Lines" has a few controversial cartoons.
Bottom line: Disney doesn't want to upset the NAACP and have protests at its amusement parks and telling people not to buy the cartoons. At the same time, trying to bury a piece of history for the sake of political correctness is wrong on so many levels.
You never see "Gone With the Wind" being banned, and they just gave "The Jazz Singer" the 3 DVD treatment.
Which is a shame because the main character is black and it's the first live action mixed with animation that Disney did.
Disney is trying to find a proper way to release it, but every year it comes up, they vote not to.
The movie is 60 years old and the Reconstruction was not a good time in American history, but there's more than enough factual info that anyone can read up on. The bottom line about the movie is that it's about a rabbit and has a lot of music.
2007-10-20 22:14:02 · answer #1 · answered by nightdogg 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I truly have no idea why there was such an outcry over this film. I have never heard of any film about slaves being banned, and there are some R-rated ones that people should fuss about but don't!
The film is based on the Uncle Remus stories written by Joel Chandler Harris, but it has been decided that the stories, which are charming, are somehow objectionable. I'm sure that a lot of people recall Brer Rabbit and Brer Bear, with the rabbit clever enough to ask not to be thrown in the briar patch, where he actually knows he'll be safe.
If you're curious about this film, which might be available for purchase various places (perhaps VHS), here's some information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_of_the_South
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038969/
These sites list VHS and DVD:
http://www.jdvds1994.com/song.html
http://search.ebay.com/song-of-the-south-movie_W0QQfnuZ1QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ3
2007-10-20 21:54:12 · answer #2 · answered by MystMoonstruck 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It wasn't so much hated for being racist, but rather making it appear as though slavery was pleasant if non existent. The NAACP strongly objected to the notion that slavery was a happy union of slave and master. The movie was never "banned" Disney chose to re-release it in the theaters several times. Just never distributing in on home video in the US, for fear that the NAACP would start a boycott of Disney products. The NAACP has no currant argument against this film and hopefully it will be released some day son on DVD. After all it was one of the first Disney movies to employ a Live Actor, James Baskett. Who could not attend the premier because he was colored.
2007-10-21 15:06:47 · answer #3 · answered by Kat412 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't think it was banned...it just wasn't released on home video. The reason is that Disney, which is supposed to be a very family-oriented, blah blah blah company, felt that the movie had some aspects that would be viewed as racially insensitive to African Americans...some people saw a controversial portrayal of a master-slave relationship in this movie...basically, Disney wanted to avoid any controversery or other negative attention that they might possibly receive, since that kind of accusation could be a huge dealbreaker for such a reputable company. For example: there is one part in the movie about a "tar-baby." Don't ask me why they thought that was a good idea to include, but anyway. So pretty much Disney didn't want to deal with anything that might damage their squeaky-clean, wholesome reputation.
2007-10-20 22:06:56 · answer #4 · answered by Amanda 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The 1946 Disney Film " Song Of The South" was banned in the USA due to concerns over stereotyping African Americans. They cut the now famous classic song Zippity Do Da when it was shown on screen across the world.
2007-10-20 22:05:50 · answer #5 · answered by Frau 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Song of the south was on the screen here in Arizona! not racist??? had veiws that would make it today in films labeled and uncle Tom movie??? seemed funny when it first came out??? A mixed of live action and animation...kinda like Mary Poppins..
2007-10-20 22:29:23 · answer #6 · answered by ? 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋