Song of The South

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I posted about this movie several months ago on a different forum. I too have seen this movie recently, a friend obtained a bootleg copy for me. The acting is very bad, the story quite frankly is not any good. The only redeemable portion of the movie is Uncle Remis character telling the stories to the kids and the antimated scenes. My problem is with censorship of any kind. Call me old fashion but I am not in favor of censorship (which is why I wanted to see the movie in the first place). People need to see it for themselves and make up their own minds.
This isn't really censorship. The government isn't saying you can't watch it. This is a private company deciding not to release any further copies of a movie. It's their right to make that decision.
 
The thing with the crows in Dumbo though... you don't have to make that leap. You could, theoretically, just be watching singing crows. Yes, most people know what the crows are based on, but still... they're crows.

The "Indians" in Peter Pan are another story. Ya can't avoid that one.
 
I watched SotS in the theater, I'm guessing maybe the 1980 release? I was pretty young. I remember the songs, the cartoons and being terrified of bulls for a long period of time. I do own a bootleg copy but haven't watched it.
 
This isn't really censorship. The government isn't saying you can't watch it. This is a private company deciding not to release any further copies of a movie. It's their right to make that decision.
Yes, this censorship. It does not have to be a government entity to have censorship--see current news cycle with Facebook and Twitter censoring news items regarding the current election. Disney has the right not to re issue the movie, that is their right--but it is still censorship.
 
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I watched it recently, it's a movie and not a documentary and I would like to think we have the intelligence to understand that.
There are no derogatory racial slurs, no racial caricatures and I think there is far worse out there that no one is bothered about.
But, as I have a copy that I can watch when I choose I can enjoy the beautiful performance by James Baskett and not consign him to a vault where he is forgotten today.
 
It will never, ever be released, as there would be a huge controversy involving protests, boycotts, the lot. Peter Pan and Dumbo were released because not releasing those movies would also have caused a massive kerfuffle.
 
Would love to see a different vehicle used to bring forth the messages contained in the movie, to mean the fabled experiences of Brer Rabbit, Brer Bear and Brer Fox. Perhaps a project for Pixar, to make the whole movie animated. Messages like using your head, not running from troubles, from having personal mental imagery of a laughing place are timeless. James Baskett asking "Now where is that bluebird?" as a cut out could fly, if given the right vehicle.
 


Would love to see a different vehicle used to bring forth the messages contained in the movie, to mean the fabled experiences of Brer Rabbit, Brer Bear and Brer Fox. Perhaps a project for Pixar, to make the whole movie animated. Messages like using your head, not running from troubles, from having personal mental imagery of a laughing place are timeless. James Baskett asking "Now where is that bluebird?" as a cut out could fly, if given the right vehicle.
It would still be considered offensive... fruit of the poisonous tree. Same reason that Splash Mountain must go even though its connection to the film is only the animated characters.
 
The "Indians" in Peter Pan are another story. Ya can't avoid that one.

That's a lot of westerns. I'm sure they were depicting them the way people saw in westerns released during that period of time.

The reality is that media is timely. Try watching MASH now. The jokes don't work as well today as they did when it first aired.
 
This isn't really censorship. The government isn't saying you can't watch it. This is a private company deciding not to release any further copies of a movie. It's their right to make that decision.

Legally, yes, you are correct. But in practical terms, no. George Orwell actually wrote about this kind of thing and made the point that it doesn't matter if it is government censorship or a "tacit agreement" among the major media outlets to censor a topic or discussion it doesn't like. In the end, it's still censorship.
 
Legally, yes, you are correct. But in practical terms, no. George Orwell actually wrote about this kind of thing and made the point that it doesn't matter if it is government censorship or a "tacit agreement" among the major media outlets to censor a topic or discussion it doesn't like. In the end, it's still censorship.

Look at how long it took the WWII doc on PTSD to be released. Censorship is a part of American life.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_T...— known to the U.S.,Corps during World War II.
 
I watched it recently, it's a movie and not a documentary and I would like to think we have the intelligence to understand that.
There are no derogatory racial slurs, no racial caricatures and I think there is far worse out there that no one is bothered about.
But, as I have a copy that I can watch when I choose I can enjoy the beautiful performance by James Baskett and not consign him to a vault where he is forgotten today.
I'm pretty sure B'rer Fox and B'rer Bear are obvious racial stereotypes. There's also the tar baby. It's not a big loss to not have the movie on Disney+
 
I'm pretty sure B'rer Fox and B'rer Bear are obvious racial stereotypes. There's also the tar baby. It's not a big loss to not have the movie on Disney+

No, they aren't racial stereotypes. They actually come from southern African American folklore. And the use of tar baby wasn't racist in this movie. It represents a problem that is only made worse with attempts to solve it. People just want to destroy anything that is in any way associated with the old south. Critics claim it glorified slavery, which it didn't. The setting was after the civil war during Reconstruction.

Just like Gone with the Wind, SotS is a great movie and a classic that should be available for anyone to watch or not watch, based on their own personal decision. A prologue that gives historical context is the perfect way to handle it.
 
Back when the Princess and the Frog redo of Splash Mountain was announced that entire thread became a debate on SotS. This debate is endless. Disney isn’t going to release the film. Their stance on that is firm. I’m not sure what else there is to discuss other than endless arguing.
 
I find that the majority of people wanting Song of the South buried haven't actually watched the movie but are simply told by the media that it's terrible. Instead of finding it racist, I thought it was a good message that a white boy can learn from a black man. I think it's a good thing to show hope of racial reconciliation rather than spread the message that blacks and whites must continue to hate each other for what happened in the past. Plus, the movie really helped African American representation in film in an authentic way. In my opinion, developing African American characters like this is far better than the virtue signalling race swaps that Disney loves to do now.

As others have already said, there are far more problematic scenes in other movies such as Peter Pan that don't get the Song of the South treatment. Even if it could be argued that some depictions in Song of the South aren't the best, I think that a disclaimer is far better than hiding it away from the public. I really don't agree with taking political correctness to the extreme so that nothing can ever be said for fear of offending someone. Disney has even gone to the point of cutting Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah from the Grizzly Gulch Welcome Show in Hong Kong Disneyland. In the show, the characters used to say that when people in Grizzly Gulch find gold, they like to say Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah. I'd be hard to argue that African Americans who can't even see the show right now because of COVID entry restrictions would be offended by the song used in that context.
 
Back when the Princess and the Frog redo of Splash Mountain was announced that entire thread became a debate on SotS. This debate is endless. Disney isn’t going to release the film. Their stance on that is firm. I’m not sure what else there is to discuss other than endless arguing.
Why does everyone call it "arguing" when it comes to discussing their thoughts on a hot button issue? No one is getting heated, just chatting about their own personal thoughts and feelings. Even THAT is being censored? No one ever learns a thing if you're not allowed to even have civil conversations simply because it's a subject with strong opposing views. Everyone is never ever going to agree on every single thing. I hate this new thing of "unless everyone thinks the same way, we can't talk about it." If things turn ugly then that's a different story and I get putting a stop to it. I like to hear different opinions and often learn to see things in a different light because of discussions like these.
 
No, they aren't racial stereotypes. They actually come from southern African American folklore. And the use of tar baby wasn't racist in this movie. It represents a problem that is only made worse with attempts to solve it. People just want to destroy anything that is in any way associated with the old south. Critics claim it glorified slavery, which it didn't. The setting was after the civil war during Reconstruction.

Just like Gone with the Wind, SotS is a great movie and a classic that should be available for anyone to watch or not watch, based on their own personal decision. A prologue that gives historical context is the perfect way to handle it.


Please do yourself a favor and read up on Reconstruction.
 
I find that the majority of people wanting Song of the South buried haven't actually watched the movie but are simply told by the media that it's terrible. Instead of finding it racist, I thought it was a good message that a white boy can learn from a black man. I think it's a good thing to show hope of racial reconciliation rather than spread the message that blacks and whites must continue to hate each other for what happened in the past. Plus, the movie really helped African American representation in film in an authentic way. In my opinion, developing African American characters like this is far better than the virtue signalling race swaps that Disney loves to do now.

As others have already said, there are far more problematic scenes in other movies such as Peter Pan that don't get the Song of the South treatment. Even if it could be argued that some depictions in Song of the South aren't the best, I think that a disclaimer is far better than hiding it away from the public. I really don't agree with taking political correctness to the extreme so that nothing can ever be said for fear of offending someone. Disney has even gone to the point of cutting Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah from the Grizzly Gulch Welcome Show in Hong Kong Disneyland. In the show, the characters used to say that when people in Grizzly Gulch find gold, they like to say Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah. I'd be hard to argue that African Americans who can't even see the show right now because of COVID entry restrictions would be offended by the song used in that context.


I saw SotS in the theater as a kid. I had the album, the story book, etc. It was my absolute favorite when I was 7 years old. Since then I have read and learned much about the history of this movie and what it is based on. I have learned about Reconstruction and everything from then until right now. It's not as pleasant as Uncle Remus would make you think. That is why people hate it. Does everyone hate it? Of course not. However, I do understand why some would feel it just doesn't have a place in modern society. I choose to try and always look at things from every POV.

The song IS a problem. Look up its origins.
 
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