Good evening, AMOC regulars and guests!
AMOC Assistant Interim Editors Week continues!
This is Brian West again, still keeping the seat warm here until (God willing) Manly Matt Dow returns from the sun-kissed shores of the American South. In the meantime, here's a thanks to Manly that I had forgotten to give to him professionally when he posted last.
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| Click for bigger. |
Speaking of Matt: here are some new pics he took from down south.
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| Breer Rabbit says Hallo! |
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| "You CAN'T run away from trouble. . . . There Ain't NO PLACE that fer." |
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| Breer Rabbit, Breer Fox, and Breer Bear offer some friendly advice. |
Hope Matt keeps those snapshots of his holiday adventures a' coming. If he shares more pics I will most definitely share them here at the blog.
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Aardvark-Vanaheim's Next-President-In-Succession Eddie Khanna was kind enough to relay to me a couple faxes from the Big Cheese himself about SDOAR and Margaret Mitchell. Lately, Dave has been studying on newspaper reports about Mrs. Mitchell's imminent passing in 1949 in Atlanta. You can read more on that below.
Peter David is in a bad place, but he's eligible for help from the Hero Initiative.
11 comments:
Congratulations Matt on having fantastic timing! Splash Mountain is a wonderful experience and unfortunately, will not be the same attraction on your next visit to Anaheim. Those ever-searching to live a constantly offended life, have won yet again.
Damian, surprised to see that your previous comments had been removed. That was not my call.
To answer your question, The Mouse made the call to remodel Splash Mountain. Plans were announced by Disney to change their Splash Mountain attractions at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World locations to make way for a ride inspired by “The Princess and The Frog” (2009).
Anywho, believe it or not, it was good to see you comment here. Happy Holidays.
Ah! Thank you, Brian W. Weird that my comments would disappear. Sometimes I can be impolitic, but sometimes things just vanish; I recall it happened to "Manly" Matt D., and to Tim W. before him. Merry Christmas and Greezon's Seatings to you as well!
My interest in mouse-themed amusement parks is small. I thought Christon above was referring to another battle in the culture war between Wally Sidney and Ron DeWassisname. A quick Google search suggests that the ride will remain the same, but be rethemed to another Disney property, so I don't know what Christon is on about. Perhaps for him part of the fun is the racial stereotypes; that doesn't seem particularly noble. This is The Mouse Inc., so part of me wants to be cynical and suggest that their decision is based on a calculation that they'll lose more money by offending black people than they will by offending racists.
-- Damian
I believe an apology on my part is in order. Please forgive my abrasiveness on my previous above post. I allowed my passion on the controversies of the Song of the South (the movie, not necessarily the theme park ride) to unnecessary involve this AMOC forum. A site that I do respect and enjoy. I'm sure that I am older than most on here and remember a different era where my African American community actually appreciated the S.O.T.S. It was a lovely film and most importantly James Baskett won an Oscar for his performance (1st ever for an AA male). This held a great sense of pride for my community. At this point tho, I'm sure few of our fellow Americans truly care or have really watched the film, as it hasn't been sold at retail since the 80's. Unfortunately it will be completely dead soon enough, as will Mr. Baskett's story and performance. I just wonder tho, why is the S.O.T.S. banned when movies like the latest Dhango Unchained are celebrated?
Christon, I cannot speak for Damian or any of the AMOC contributors here, but can tell you that you need not apologize to me.
Oddly enough, I am familiar with the history of Song of The South, and think that overall the film has a positive message about humanity, in spite of the general consensus that it is offensive. I think understanding that Johnny and Breer Rabbit are foils of one another is key to watching the movie.
As far as the question of why it is not widely available in the States: that is a Disney question, I think. I am an absolutist when it comes to artistic freedom so I think limiting the reach of art limits creativity for artists in general.
Brian, I very much appreciate your comments and especially that fantastic last sentence! Thank you.
You're welcome, Christon. Thank you for taking the time to comment.
One more thing, Christon: it might be worth your time to visit the Internet Archive. I will leave it at that.
Well, zippety doo dah!
Thanks for the link, Tony D. I still have my VHS copy of SotS that I bought from (I think) B&M Bargains when I lived in Blackpool, UK in the 1980s. Alas, I don't currently have a PAL VCR on which to play it.
I think the comments posted on the linked page demonstrate why Disney is reluctant to re-release the movie. Out-and-out racists seem to be disproportionately represented among defenders of this movie. I can see some problematic aspects to the movie, and I'm so white I'm practically pale green.
I also suggest that there is a distinction to be made between Christon's comment and Brian W.'s above. SotS is not banned; Disney could put it on 5,000 screens next week if they wanted. If the owners of the IP decide not to sell copies of that IP, they're completely within their rights. We might think that decision is principled and good, or cowardly and bad, but there's no censorship involved. (Corporate ownership of artistic works is another problem -- and, to tie this back to the alleged subject of this blog, Dave Sim has come out against that in the past.)
Like Brian W., I am a free-speech absolutist. However, I'm not sure what to make of his statement about "limiting the reach of arts". You're entitled to say any damned thing you want -- even boneheaded or hateful things. You're not entitled to an audience for those statements. Cancel-Culture Crybabies (like Dave Sim) are often confused by this. Dave was not censored or cancelled; he stopped making comics that people wanted to buy, so people stopped buying 'em. That's the free market in action.
-- Damian
My only experience of "Song of the South" was when our Mom brought my brother and me to see it when we were fairly young; I was probably 10 or 11. No idea what it was doing being screened in a theater in the mid-1970s, but there it was.
All I remember was enjoying it very much, and that Uncle Remus was a very likeable and sympathetic character. I definitely know my Mom, who was a dyed-in-the-wool 1970s liberal, would not have exposed us to anything she thought was in any way disparaging of Black people.
I guess I have to watch it now, now that I know where to do so for free...
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