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Posted by littlejoeflub on 10/06/82 11:42
One-Shot Scot wrote:
> "unclejr" <watsona@kenyon.edu> wrote in message
> news:1142131460.320161.211550@j52g2000cwj.googlegroups.com...
> > Joshua Zyber wrote:
> > > Keep dreaming.
> >
> > Okay, Josh. I know that you've seen the film on Japanese LD. In your
> > opinion, what EXACTLY is keeping Disney from releasing this film on
> > DVD? Certainly, Disney has released much more racially-insensitive
> > material (in the form of their cartoon shorts) on their Treasures
> > series with Leonard Maltin warning us about the racial content.
> >
> > -Junior
>
>
> Disney's _Song of the South_ is readily available on DVD -- as an eBay
> bootleg. If you want to see it badly enough, you can find it. I have watched
> the film and can find nothing that is offensive enough to warrant its being
> banned in the US. There are the black "Uncle" and "Aunt" characters, which
> are a throwback to the days of slavery. And of course, the Tar Baby is
> black. But that's about it.
>
> The censorship of _Song of the South_ has to be some kind of Disney studio
> thing, because other studios aren't as conservative to when it comes to
> releasing racially-sensitive material on DVD:
>
> While Disney is busy rewriting history by pretending that it never made
> the completely harmless _Song of the South_ (1946), Universal/Paramount
> has no problem releasing _Holiday Inn_(1942) on DVD.
>
> _Holiday Inn_ has Bing Crosby appearing in one of the most embarrassing
> blackface sketches ever put on film. Crosby has turned his Connecticut
> ranch house into an inn which is open only on holidays. His housekeeper,
> Mammy, (played by Louise Beavers) knows her place -- which is in the
> kitchen -- and she is also a credit to her race. You can be sure that she
> had no problem with buying a first class ticket and then taking a seat in
> the back of the bus as she road over to the inn. Her two little children are
> cute as can be, but where is her husband? Nobody seems to know. Maybe he's
> off serving in one of the segregated branches of the military.
>
> In the "Abraham" musical number, the entire band and cast appears in
> insulting slave-like costumes and one of the female singers has an
> exaggerated pickaninny hairdo. Bing Crosby is dressed in an Uncle Tom
> suit as he sings a tribute to Abraham Lincoln for freeing the slaves.
>
> As the song progresses, Mammy is in the kitchen, where she gets to sing
> the following lyrics to her children:
>
> When black folks lived in slavery,
> Who was it set the darky free?
> Abraham!
> That's right, child.
> Abraham!
>
> There isn't anything that comes close to being this racist in _Song of the
> South_. So how is it that Universal has no problem releasing _Holiday Inn_,
> in all of its racist glory, while Disney fears a backlash from releasing its
> inoffensive _Song of the South_?
>
> http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00001TZ6P/qid%3D1077505559/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/002-6942162-8518435
Has the thought that maybe it's a copyright issue that is keeping Song
of the South from being released on DVD been brought up yet? The
copyright for the character of Mickey Mouse came up a few years ago,
sending Disney running to Washington to renew it. This movie, along
with the park attractions, is based on the Uncle Remus tales by Joel
Chandler Harris, who's estate probably still holds the copyrights to
all the stories and characters. Disney obviously had to buy the film
rights for the characters from Joel Chandler Harris before they could
even begin production on Song of the South. They would also have had
to negotiate for any future big-screen theatrical and tape releases
after the initial release. It's possible Disney does not have the
rights to enable distribution on DVD format, unless they had put in a
clause in the contract back when they first negotiated for vhs tapes
over twenty years ago for any future media formats within a certain
period of time. Maybe Joel Chandler Harris' family is really greedy
and holding out for a bigger slice of rubarb pie. Even the park
attractions must score them some dough annually.
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