A lot of WW2-era cartoons are seriously racist, but this one is so far over the top it can't even see the top, and the subject matter is not the usual racist portrayals of the Japanese, but rather offensive characterizations of African-Americans (who were distinguishing themselves fighting in our own army at the time!) I ain't exactly Mr Sensitive, but I couldn't watch it for more than a minute.Many consider it a masterpiece. Wikipedia says: "Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs (working title: So White and de Sebben Dwarfs) is a Merrie Melodies animated cartoon directed by Bob Clampett, produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions, and released to theatres on January 16, 1943 by Warner Bros. Pictures and The Vitaphone Corporation. The film is notable for being an all-black parody of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale Snow-White, known to its audience from the popular 1937 Walt Disney animated feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The stylistic portrayal of the characters, however, is an example of classic racist darky iconography (see blackface), which was widely accepted in white American society at the time. As such, it is one of the most controversial cartoons in the classic Warner Bros. library, has been rarely seen on television, and has never been officially released on home video. However, it is often named as one of the best cartoons ever made, in part for its African-American-inspired jazz and swing music, and is considered one of Clampett's masterpieces."
Monday, April 28, 2008
YouTube - Coal Black ...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Juan over at Highbrid Nation did a nice piece on these racist cartoon showing up on the net which made me go looking to see what others have said. My opinion on the whole thing is that these cartoons need to be soon and should not be sweeped under a rug or locked in a vault. They are part of our history. Our society (Whites and blacks alike) seem to want to hide or "ban" anything viewed as racist. Whats the end goal? To say "look. no racism". We need to look at things such as these cartoons so we can understand how deep rooted racism is and was. Only then can we move forward. Pretending like they don't exist doesn't help.
ReplyDelete