In the USA, activists #BlackLivesMatter now they are fighting against racial stereotypes with might and main, which is beginning to mutate into censorship. In particular, we are talking about requirements to ban films and series in which policemen are shown from a positive point of view.
In addition, streaming platforms have begun to remove projects that showcase “blackfaces” and elements of US society since racial segregation and the existence of slavery. Therefore, it should not surprise anyone that the company again presented claims Disneywho recently announced a generous donation in support of #BlackLivesMatter.
The reason is obvious – this is a full-length film with elements of animation in 1946 “Song of the South“based on the collection”Tales of Uncle Remus” Joel Harris. The basis of the work lay folklore of black slaves from the United States.
Adventure Stories Brother Fox and Rabbit Brother enjoyed great popularity, so it is not surprising that Walt Disney decided to film the work of Harris. The problem was that even before the premiere, the film was severely criticized for stereotyping the life of black plantation workers in the South and abuse of the so-called “African American English”.
Disney in response launched a very dirty advertising campaign. “Song of the South” was actively advertised in the southern states, and premiered in Atlanta. Due to racial segregation laws in Georgia, actor wasn’t able to show James Baskettwho played Rimus.
“Song of the South” won an Oscar for the song “Zip A Dee Doo Dah“. In 1948, Baskett was also awarded an honorary Oscar – he became the first African American in history to receive this award.
As a result, scandals forced Disney to “bury” the film. Although vintage VHS copies of “Songs of the South” can still be found, the film has never been released for full house rental in the US. Repeated shows on television and in cinemas, however, were, but in a truncated form (the scene in which Brother Rabbit was trying to beat a scarecrow out of tar) was deleted. The studio management also refused to re-release the tape on DVD and on the streaming platform Disney +, for such a decision would inevitably provoke criticism.
But this did not stop Disney from continuing to earn on the characters. The fact is that at once in several amusement parks of the company, including Tokyo and California Disneyland, there is an attraction “Singing mountain“, which is widely known for its descent from the water slide. It was created on the basis of Song of the South, and its cartoon characters advertise (but not Uncle Rimus is the storyteller). Presumably, this is due to the position of the former head of the studio Michael Eisner, who believed that in Europe and Asia, the issue of slavery is a “less acute” topic.
However death George Floyd and the subsequent protests again made the studio a convenient target. Activists and the media are demanding that Disney close the “racist attraction”, for which several online petitions have been created. One of the initiatives has already gained more than 21 thousand signatures, and its authors propose replacing the “Singing Mountain” with an attraction based on the cartoon “Princess and the frog“(the main character is a black waitress Tiana from New Orleans, who eventually married the prince of Maldonia).
If Disney succumbs to critics, this will not be the first time. So, as part of an update in 2017 from the attraction “Pirates of the Caribbean“removed scenes from the brides market and the pirate chasing a woman.
In this case, you can point to the unobvious victim of the scandal around the “Singing Mountain” – Microsoft. The fact is that the company at one time released on PC, Xbox One and Xbox 360 a game for children Disneyland adventuresdedicated to exploring Disney amusement park. And the project has not only an attraction and characters, but also a set of levels based on the Songs of the South.
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