Huh? Have any of you seen Song of the South? I just watched it again and see nothing racist. Let’s talk about the main concerns in the movie. The movie depicts “happy slaves‘. -no it does not. The events of the movie take place after the war. Historically, former slaves were freed but had nothing. Some may have stayed as servants, not slaves, to still work farms and plantations. The movie Showcases that scenario. 2- the use of the story of the Tar Baby. Today that term is derogatory and racist. But in the past it meant getting oneself in a difficult or sticky situation. Hence Bret Rabbit gets stuck in the tar baby. 3- speech. This one is tough as again if we go back to the 1800’s southern speech for uneducated people, both white and black, was not our ‘eloquent‘ pattern of speech today. Posotive aspects of the film- little Johnnys parents were separating as father went back to Atlanta, leaving Johnny and mom with grandma. Johnny needed a friend and found 3 with poor little Jenny, Toby and of course Uncle Remus. Through emotional and physical trials, Johnny learns valuable lessons from the Brer Rabbit stories. By the end of the film we see Johnny singing and walking hand in hand with his 3 best friends. This film being Released at a time when racism was strong in America.
oK that’s the film. Let’s discuss the ride. The ride is based on the Briar patch critters. They Are based on the stories from Joel Chandler Harris, who collected these stories in the late 1800’s and had them published. The original stories are based on African folklore, much like American folklore stories of Paul Bunyan or Pecos Bill. These stories were later included in the Song of the South film and then later into a flume ride in DL and WDW. The ride does not show anything about Johnny, his grandmother, Toby, Jenny or even Uncle Remus. Therefore the attraction is based solely on the stories themselves.
i get that rides need to change. I’m ok with that. I miss other favorites like MrToad as it was in WDW. I will miss Splash Mountain with its colorful themes, music, story telling and yes the drop at the end. I figure the ride will be basically the same with new theming. But change it because you want to change it, not due to pressure from a group of people, white, black, red, yellow, green, whatever, who have never seen the movie, formed an accurate depiction and came to their own conclusions rather than what someone told them. Do not even listen to me! Learn about it yourself, then and only then will you see whether or not this ride should give in to those who have not thought things through.
Pete Warner- I usually agree with many of your observations and criticisms both good and bad but in this case, shame on you Pete Warner for saying that the film is racist. When did you see it last?
