[shawnp0001]

I saw some of the questions regarding Song of the South, and that led me to ponder something. I am African-American and will admit to loving the Disney company, WDW and the general feeling I get when I am there. Having said this, I am not sure I would have felt the same way in the 30s or 40s. I have not seen Song of the South since I was a child, and from memory do not feel this was anymore racist that Gone With the Wind. What I do remember disturbing me was the stereotypical voices used for some characters like Brer Fox which bothered me somewhat (my sister is not that thrilled with Splash Mountain because she feels those voices should not be used). Then recently I purchased the Dumbo DVD which has some scenes with African-American circus workers that had no facial features. All of the Caucasian animated characters had features, but the African-American ones didn't which made me wonder if this was done on purpose. Until Atlantis, and one of the Legends videos (I can't remember the exact name), I cannot recall any African-American(s) that had a prominent role in either live-action or animated Disney films. In today's environment, I find Disney to be one of the most progressive and un-biased companies I know of. I am not a real Disney historian, so some of my feelings have little basis in fact, but I am not so sure that the Disney company of the 1930s and 1940s was quite as progressive as it is today. While not trying to get into a deep, philosophical debate, I'd be curious as to what others think about this.

[minnie]

I agree, Disney in the past was not very sensitive to issues of race. In the 30's and 40's the entertainment industry in general was very insensitive. Disney certainly was not the only offender. I have also noticed in Dumbo the featureless circus workers and the stereotypical crows voices. I must admit it does bother me, but I also remember the era in which it was made. Thank goodness we have come so far. I have not seen Song of the South for years (since I was a little kid) so it is hard for me to remeber specifics. I would like to see it at some point, then I could make a more educated judgment on Disney's decision not to release it.
minnie

[Michael Darling]

shawn- I'm not sure what you mean about Br'er Fox's voice. All that I've pictured him as is a fox, not a member of any human ethnic group.

I totally agree with what you said about Disney's past, actually the entire entertainment industry's past. You do have to give the industry a good amout of credit for being more sensitive to stuff like that.

It's sad though, as you brought up about the circus employees in Dumbo, that at the time this was acceptable to the majority of society. I think that we as a society have come a long way and are much more understanding of others than we were even 30 years ago.

[shawnp0001]

I agree with both of your sentiments. Things were different back in the 30s and 40s....if you look at Grapes of Wrath, or Gone with the Wind, or most of the World War II movies that pitted the entire Japanese and German race as evil, these types of films would not be made today (example..Pearl Harbor did not portray the Japanese in the same light as some of the 1950s war movies). With that said, I don't know that Disney was much different than other movie houses at the time; I certainly think that today, you would have to say that Disney is as progressive as you can possibly be. All in all, I'd like to see Song of the South released to the general public; I oppose censorship of any form and wish that society was tough enough to allow something like this to be released without venting wrath. SOTS is certainly no more offensive than some might find some of Spike Lee's movies today.

[Lorac]

Hi everyone, I'm new to these boards but I wonder if you could answer this question for me? Has Song of The South never been on general release or was it simply withdrawn?

[Michael Darling]

Welcome to Disneycentral Lorac!

This thread might answer your questions: http://www.disneycentral.com/forum/s...=&threadid=807