Talk:Song of the South

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I would like to see gobs more about claims and counterclaims about whether the movie should be condemned as racist.

One persistent notion is that it portrays slaves as happy and contented - due to the lack of clarity as to the time period. There is nothing in the film that definitively asserts that it takes place after the Civil War when all slaves were freed. (One has to infer from the fact that Uncle Remus is permitted to run away with no chase or other consequences that he wasn't a slave.) Saying in separate statements (but not on screen) that it took place in the Reconstruction Era has not satisfied critics who say the film glorifies slavery.

We should name a few of the "it's racist because it glorifies slavery" critics and summarize their reasoning; then, we can also provide a few rebuttals (from the Walt Disney company and others).

Also, the black English spoken by Uncle Remus and other plantation residents is an issue. Did blacks ever really speak this way? Even if they did, is it (somehow) racist to portray them as using substandard (or colloquial) English? Who says so, and why? Then, rebuttals from the other side.

This film isn't just notable for being a period drama or for its innovative combination of animation and live action. It's one of the few "banned" films or books. It raises the question of whether good intentions justify language, plot, or appearance - much like the furor over Little Black Sambo, which some people say increased their respect for brown-skinned people as clever, resourceful, and prosperous -- but which others found inexcusably demeaning because of the hairstyles and names. Uncle Ed (talk) 16:18, 15 January 2025 (UTC) [reply ]

I concur that there could be more content. The "Bibliography" section seems to indicate books that could be mined more thoroughly, like the Sperb reference is only tied to one sentence. Google Scholar here shows a lot of academic critique too (probably more without the allintitle: query). Erik (talk | contrib) ^{(ping me)} 16:58, 15 January 2025 (UTC) [reply ]

Actually, there is full access to the Sperb book on Project MUSE through WP:LIBRARY! Erik (talk | contrib) ^{(ping me)} 17:13, 15 January 2025 (UTC) [reply ]