March 12, 2007

Offensive blacks retired, but not offensive Indians

Why Disney won't re-release 'Song of the South'Come Tuesday, Walt Disney Video will release a Platinum Edition DVD of the ever-popular "Peter Pan." Five weeks ago, the company retired three other classic cartoons, including "Bambi."

Disney's long used a cycle of absence and plenty to keep its films fresh to new viewers. In decades past, it re-released its films in theaters every few years; today, it rotates its videos like bakery stock.

All but one.

Alone among the great Disney features, "Song of the South" has never been released on videotape or DVD in the United States and hasn't been screened in a stateside theater since 1986.

Despite Academy Awards, groundbreaking technology, a black leading man and a script that often turns racial stereotypes on their head, the 1946 movie has been damned as an embarrassing throwback, a whitewash, the racist skeleton in Disney's film vault.
Comment:  Peter Pan is another racist skeleton in Disney's film closet. As these illustrations indicate.

2 comments:

Eug_E said...

Peter Pan es un pelicula excelente que todo chico deberia ver, para las minorias cualquier gilada es racista andaaaaa

Rob said...

No, Peter Pan is not an excellent film that all children must see. It's a mid-level Disney film that badly stereotypes Indians. If you want an excellent Disney film, try Beauty and the Beast or Finding Nemo.