One other illustration of your point, Mark: my beloved commonwealth of Virginia dropped the state song, "Carry Me Back to Old Virginia":

Carry me back to old Virginny,
There's where the cotton and the corn and tatoes grow,
There's where the birds warble sweet in the springtime,
There's where the old darke'ys heart am long'd to go,
There's where I labored so hard for old massa,
Day after day in the field of yellow corn,
No place on earth do I love more sincerely
Than old Virginny, the state where I was born.

That's really racist, right? It mentions slavery but doesn't talk about how bad it is? It says "darkies," fer gosh sakes.

And it was written by a black man, James Bland. Now all 50 state songs are completely black-free. I never did understand this.

(See the full lyrics at http://brockton.tv/States/Virginia.htm)

Eric Johnson | 12.31.02 - 4:16 pm | #

From what I gather, Song of the South is only banned here in the US; I've heard it's sold in the UK and Japan. If the film really is so offensive, why didn't Disney ban its sale worldwide? Seems like Disney adheres to a weird type of situational ethics: "It's only wrong to demean people of African descent in the USA, but it's okay to do so in other countries if you can make a few bucks (well, quid or yen) in the process".

Christine | 12.31.02 - 7:31 pm | #

Okay on further research I found that it was finally withdrawn worldwide from sale only a year ago - Dec 2001. But the criticism still stands; why did they keep selling it in other countries for so long while it was banned in the US?

The very fact that Song of the South is banned actually makes me wanna see it! I probably wouldn't be the slightest bit interested in the movie if it were widely available. Guess that's human nature since the Fall; we always want to do what we aren't allowed to do.

Maybe it does whitewash slavery, but I'm a big girl, I can judge the movie's merits and demerits okay. If I ever do see the film, it's not gonna magically transform me into wild-eyed sheet-wearin' cross-burnin' white trash. I'll still believe slavery is immoral and all men are made in God's image regardless of skin color. Why does Disney think it must "protect" me from one of its own classics?

Christine | 12.31.02 - 8:25 pm | #

Actually it was withdrawn by Disney some time ago, what has been sold outside the U.S. were unauthorized copies.
http://www.thesongofthesouth.com/
has the bootlegs.

It's really a question in two parts:

(1) Is Songs of the South really offensive to some or most blacks?

(2) If it isn't, doesn't Disney as copyright holder have the right to keep
copies from being made?

Patrick Sweeney | Homepage | 12.31.02 - 10:03 pm | #

I've seen Song of the South - believe me, its absence is not that much of a loss. It's a pretty sappy movie. I didn't think much of it when I saw it as a kid.

By the way, Disney withdraws from sale many of its movies. It does that to create some kind of longing amongst consumers. --This is your last chance to buy Fantasia ever! (at least for seven years)--

I predict that Disney will at some point re-release Song of the South for a short period of time so that those who think that it is some kind of maligned classic will buy it before Disney once again takes it off the market "forever".

By the way, I do think that There's where the old darke'ys heart am long'd to go,
There's where I labored so hard for old massa, if I were black, I'd be offended by these words from Carry Me Back to Old Virginia.
Abby | 01.01.03 - 6:08 pm | #

And another thing...

The movie isn't currently banned by anyone. If Disney released the movie on video and video stores refused to carry it, then it would be banned. Disney itself has chosen not to release it on video or dvd. It has never been released on video, but it has been in the theaters in 1946 (the year of it's original release), 1956, 1972 (after Disney proclaimed in '70 that it was permanently retired), 1981 and 1986.

If you go to Disney's website
http://disneyvideos.disney.go.co...ts/ 0153103.html

you'll find information about this "banned" movie as well as this paragraph:
Not currently for sale. If you would like Disney to release this title on video or DVD in the future, click here to let us know.

The site also has a section where people have voted for the best disney movies of all time. It's listed at #7.

If you love this movie, go to the Disney site and ask them to release it.
Abby | 01.01.03 - 6:53 pm | #

I've seen Song of the South way back when political correctness did not reign.

The live action sequences are kind of sappy, but not any more offensive than the Shirley Temple movie The Little Colonel which I've seen recently on cable channels.

The animated sequences are delightful, and it features one of my own favorite song from a Disney movie, Zippity Doo Dah. BTW, the actor who played Uncle Remus - James Baskett was awarded a special Oscar for his performance.

Maybe we can see it again sometime, but I'm not going to hold my breath waiting.
Ellen | 01.02.03 - 10:04 am | #

Is SOTS really any more offensive regarding slavery than "Gone With The Wind"? Let's see, in that "classic", after the end of the war, the only blacks you see are the O'Hara's former slaves who essentially act as if emancipation never happened. While Hattie McDaniel and Butterfly McQueen have memorable roles, the historical accuracy of them leaves much to be desired. McQueen's character is especially degrading since it essentially protrays ex-slaves as a lost and incompetent liars.

Disney, of course, has a right to prevent distribution of their copywritten matterial. (That's why I would not own a copy that was bootlegged--I'm out of that business). Unfortunately, we've gotten to where too many get offended and prevent good movies like SOTS and Holiday Inn from getting he airtime they deserve.


Statman | 01.02.03 - 10:30 am | #

FWIW, Holiday Inn (which is a fun movie) is available on a double-feature DVD with Going My Way.
Geoff Horton | 01.02.03 - 10:41 am | #

Why doesn't anyone comment on your blogging?
Anonymous | 03.03.05 - 5:19 pm | #