Song of the South
"Song of the South" (1947) is a great flick that won't be seen now, until racist agitators are a thing of the past.
The intent wasn't to denigrate blacks, but to bring to the cinema the Brer Rabbit stories. which were written during the period of the Reconstruction Era.
Author Joel Chandler Harris (1845-1908) was not a racist. He supported the vision of a New South and championed racial reconciliation. Growing up in Georgia, many of his 'Brer Rabbit' stories came from the African-American oral tradition.
As I see it, "Song of the South" pays homage to that Afro-American tradition. As a history lesson, it shows how far society has progressed from the 1850's.
The biggest charge against the film is it's stereotypes. What I find irritating is that those who make those charges are filled with their own bias, which is consistently overlooked.
Much as the Taliban destroyed "offensive" Hindu art, the censorship of political correctness is depriving society of this delightful film. The settings, though idealized, are a look at how people once viewed the world. That, in and of itself, is not evil.
I feel that future generations will view the phenomenon of political correctness as a passing aberration, that's actually impeded society from realizing the dream of Martin Luther King.
The intent wasn't to denigrate blacks, but to bring to the cinema the Brer Rabbit stories. which were written during the period of the Reconstruction Era.
Author Joel Chandler Harris (1845-1908) was not a racist. He supported the vision of a New South and championed racial reconciliation. Growing up in Georgia, many of his 'Brer Rabbit' stories came from the African-American oral tradition.
As I see it, "Song of the South" pays homage to that Afro-American tradition. As a history lesson, it shows how far society has progressed from the 1850's.
The biggest charge against the film is it's stereotypes. What I find irritating is that those who make those charges are filled with their own bias, which is consistently overlooked.
Much as the Taliban destroyed "offensive" Hindu art, the censorship of political correctness is depriving society of this delightful film. The settings, though idealized, are a look at how people once viewed the world. That, in and of itself, is not evil.
I feel that future generations will view the phenomenon of political correctness as a passing aberration, that's actually impeded society from realizing the dream of Martin Luther King.