Of course we all know Disney's predilection for racism, re: Dumbo or Song of the South:
Then there's Walt's passive antisemitism, but like a racist grandpa, it was a different time, right? That's a convenient way to dismiss or condone shockingly dickish behavior. Divorce your racist grandparents, kids, they grew up through the Civil Rights era and should know better.
We all love Looney Tunes, right? I mean, where would we be as a society if we didn't have Space Jam? How could they be racist, I mean, Daffy is a black duck, right? Oh, right, this is how:
Yeah, I don't care if it was "a different time," by the time animation was around, black face was known to be a sinister means of demeaning an entire people.
You love Dr. Seuss, don't you? Oh the imagination. Oh the heartwarming tales. Oh the life lessons. Oh the blatant racism?
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Yikes.
That's pretty disappointing from the "Star Bellied Sneetches" guy.
Now, that's not to say he couldn't have learned from his mistakes and grown as a person. Mel Gibson could take anger management classes taught by Rabbi's, but unfortunately the stank of racist remains.
The same goes for Babar. What could be sinister about Babar you ask, he's just an elephant king. Well, king's are generally imperialist a**holes. And Babar was no exception. Here's a panel from a Babar book and you see if you can tell me what's horrifyingly racist about it.
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The Smurfs! Surely a group of blue people are accepting of other cultures, especially since they are menaced by a giant, oppressive white guy named Gargamel...oh, wait, is Gargamel a Jewish caricature? Even if that's debatable, this panel from the original Smurfs comic leaves no doubt:
What from my youth can I trust? And what of our modern day child entertainers? Has Sesame Street extolled the virtues of Eugenics? For all I know the Wiggles probably beat Aborigines for sport.
The moral of this story is that a lot of popular culture was (and still is) made by staggeringly racist people, but that doesn't mean you can't like the good art they generate that's not racist, it's okay to separate the art from the artist.
Whoa, did I just impart a moral? Uh, quick, someone make a fart sound!
Ah, lovely. Most of those I knew about, but the smurfs? Come on!
ReplyDeleteSigh. UNCOOL, cartoons. UNCOOL.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea the smurfs whew little blue supremacists!
ReplyDeleteFart sound done.
ReplyDeleteAhhhh......Song of the South. Golly, it made slavery look just swell!
I really, really wonder what it would feel like to see some of these things through the eyes of someone other than a middle-aged white guy. I'm positive I wouldn't think Bugs Bunny in black face was hysterical.
Even if all I ever learned about classical music came from Looney Tunes.
Last year, I was watching cartoons on Boomerang before I went to sleep.
ReplyDeleteThose Hanna Barbera cartoons were pretty awful, racially speaking! "Hong Kong Phooey"? The theme song includes "ching chong" phrases and Scatman Crothers does the lead voice.
And don't even get me started on "The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan"!
In fact, I oughta be a little concerned that I watched the things every night flast eyar.
But I have a black friend, and he tells me it's okay, so I figure I'm in the clear.
Wow it is quite rare, very rare actually, for you to have a moral. This isn't right. There is a ton of racism in old things, and really it was just the style at the time. Some of it still persists today. You shouldn't let it stop you from enjoying something though.
ReplyDeleteUgh to all of this (the cartoons, not your post).
ReplyDeleteAs far as racist grandpas and being 'from a different time'.. that's no excuse. There's a saying, you can't teach an old dog new tricks. You know what the problem with that is? PEOPLE AREN'T DOGS.
That Smurfs panel is hilarious. Out of context it seems extremely racist. However, it could also been seen as a comment on how ridiculous and reactionary racist people really are. Perhaps this is intended as biting satire which will strike at the heart of our children and teach them not to be sensationalised bigot.
ReplyDeleteWho am I kidding, it's the Smurfs. Blue power.
YES! One more reason for me to detest those horrible Smurfs. I think this stuff is deplorable but I love a movie with a really horrible Asian caricature in it, so I can't really say anything meaningful about it. I guess I'm not as sensitive as I should be. Until I see someone being racist while I'm out and about. Then people's teeth somehow fall from their mouths. I swear it has nothing to do with me hitting them in that mouth.
ReplyDeleteDang thats a lot of racist stuff! And thats the tip of the iceburg, I've seen other stuff in Superman comics and Tintin comics!
ReplyDeleteI sure hope people are smartening up to not being racists, though I don't condone it I think alot of people came from areas where everyone else was racist so they just fell in line. People have a tendency to fall in line. But I hope thats changing now and people are realizing that stuff is just dumb!
Though I think the Smurf one is just an accident. I think the writer was just in the mind set of black magic black smurf with out thinking about the fact theres black people and it could be mistaken. But then again your right, they are wearing white hoods so how knows!
Right on! Everyone should divorse there racist grandparents! Heck, racists are sub-human! Lets treat racists like they treat other races!!
oh by the way: PPPPpppppppttttttttttttttttt!!
Oh man. You are cramping a chunk of my adolescent years by telling me that Dr. Seuss was a racist bigot. I still read his stuff today to my little girl. The Smurf thing has always befuddled me. I always equated Papa Smurf as a "Grand Dragon" because of his red suit and leadership of a bunch of mindless animals dawned in white hoods. It reminds me of a song that Grand Puba did called "Proper Education".
ReplyDeleteIs nothing from my childhood sacred?
ReplyDeleteOver at Mamapop (great little pop culture site) there was a whole list of movies from my childhood that I watched that have clearly lead to my demented state.
But you know what, I still don't like how PC the world has become. I'm no fan of labels, segregation or inequality in any forms, but oh my lord people need to lighten the fuck up.
It is instructive to look at these old animations. It shows just how deeply embedded racism is in the culture and why it's so difficult to eradicate. So if someone's grandparents thought this was acceptable then they would have spoken freely around their kids and grandchildren about how the white man is superior.
ReplyDeleteFor us it's the division between Catholics and Protestants and every time I think we're past it and the fighting is over forever, there's violence. The riots in Belfast on July 12th show how parents and grandparents pass the hatred down from generation to generation. And the rest of my country hangs it's head with the shame of it all. I'm so very tired of it.
The Smurfs were the biggest racists EVER! All blue. No other colors. Not to mention there was only 1 girl...
ReplyDeleteJerks.
Hugs!
Valerie
Divorce your racist grandparents, kids.. You know that's wishful thinking, right, but I admire you for trying anyway. I hate racists, though I'm sure all of us are racists one way or another, and I wonder which is worse: racists who know they are or the clueless type? What I do know is saying 'I've got a black friend' won't cut it in court. ;)
ReplyDeleteImaginary Pickleope answering: Unless that court happens to be somewhere in the south, right?
ReplyDeleteRight.
ReplyDeleteBy the way.... I'm Blue Bat.
DeleteI read the title of the post, and thought there was no way you could ruin my childhood because I already lived through it, but I was wrong. How could you? I never expected something so horrible from the Smurfs. Also, I will ignore that anything Disney was included.
ReplyDeleteDisney is/was racist? You don't say?
ReplyDelete"Why does the black licorice taste the worse?"
ReplyDelete"Why does the black jelly bean taste the worse?"
"Why do the bad guy's always wear black?"
"Why is it bad luck when you see a black cat?"
Just in case you don't want to look it up. Grand Puba song from back in the day.
Sorry, I have a ton of time on my hands.
ReplyDeleteWhat was the deal with purple smurfs? Were they 'good' or 'bad'?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I hate to tarnish beloved comic book characters...but, the Spiderman symbiote is black...but, Batman wears black and he's kind of 'bad for the greater good', right? Sometimes they get it (kind of) right?