Racist Dumbo?

[Catter]

Did anyone notice how all the circus workers are african American in the movie
Does this have any meaning

[Jens]

I guess Disney thought about the reality of the movie by doing this. Didn't african americans always put up the tent in the old (or very old) days? I'm not sure but this is quite an old movie isn't it?

[Tangela]

[ArtOfDisney]

I think it is because the film is suppose to take place in somewhere other than whereever we are all thinking. I think?

[karlsen]

The movie is from 1941 and African Americans did those kind of jobs back then.

You have to remember that there was segregation in those days and a black person could not sitt down where he wanted to, or take whatever bus he wanted.

Disney just described the Circus workers as black, because if they was drawing them white everybody would just lagh, or just because they were black.


But, please do not let Disney see this topic, or else Dumbo will be putt in the same vault as Song of the South.

[herman_the_german]

Did anyone notice how all the circus workers are african American in the movie
Does this have any meaning

The Blacks you see are actually Cubano Blacks, since the story takes place in Florida. Nothing strange (or racist) about that. But obviously not all the circus workers are black, that is a silly observation.

[Kim Olav Svines]

You know, some people are too politically correct. Dumbo is not racist, neither is Song Of The South. And those movies were made in the 40's, a time when people weren't as sensitive and politically correct as they are now.

A good example is something I read about "Friends". The producers desperatly needed to find a black woman (initially a girlfriend for Joey) because they had gotten complaints from people that there wasn't enough black people on the show.

Sorry about the rant, didn't mean to get off-topic and start a political discussion.

[Tangela]

[Loomis]

Maybe all future editions need Leonard Maltin putting it in the right perspective for us

This is the first time I've heard this query - most people accuse Dumbo of being racist because of the crows, which some say are stereotypes.

It isn't an excuse but the film was made in 1941. As Maltin might say "we shouldn't judge the film too harshly" by today's standards.

At any rate, if enough complaints are received (i.e one) then I'm sure Disney will edit out all of the offending scenes in future releases

[Today4U]

Tangela, I suggest you do some research before you post something that will offend people of all colors. Some of us have worked too hard to sit back and watch you perpetuate stereotypes of blacks AND whites.

[Tangela]

[Paka]

Tangela, I'm just tellin' ya now that this very well may go the way of the 9/11 board with Basil's comments. What you typed was not "all true", it was mostly just gross generalizations, and those can get you in trouble.

So, heads up!

[Tangela]

[Luke]

There are certain examples that can illustrate and support your points, Tangela, but gross generalizations, particularly in an area that's kind of explosive in that it can incite strong feelings in people, do not.

That you're only 14 doesn't excuse from posting in a mature fashion and some of the things you've said here are highly offensive to people.

I suggest you'd put more thought before posting or acknowledge that you're not particularly qualified to make sweeping generalizations on human behavior and refrain from doing so.

[Today4U]

As if this matters, I am a white male. So don't think that I am offended because I am a person of color.

I do not find very many things offensive. I have a serious case of "whatever" if I don't like something. However, I do not tolerate blatant racism in today's world. I understand that a lot of otherwise great people made some serious mistakes decades ago in relation to race, religion, sexual orientation, handicap, and gender. Decades ago people did not know better. Today, everyone should know better.

About "Friends." In such a large city, how could they only know white people and only see white people? That was the real issue. And bringing on the black female was ridiculous. That fit the pattern of South Park's black kid, Token.

Your comments remind me of a time several years ago when I went to the KKK's web site to see what propaganda they throw at people. You should email them, as perhaps your comments will inspire more hatred.

I suggest you research the contributions of black inventors, scientists, and artists. Then you can post all about how sick it makes you when you see white people using their ideas.

Whether you like it or not, we do live in a multicultural society. Movies and television do not accurately portray society's diverse nature.

The only black people I know of who are always blaming white people for everything wrong in their lives are on Ricki Lake. Even then it's only once every six months.

I grew up in a very white state, so I know all about people who don't recognize racism within themselves. I spent four years where the white to black ratio was almost 1:1, so I have seen blatant acts of racism and I have seen blacks and whites working together without issue. Now I live where white people are the minority, and there aren't any major race issues to speak of. The bottom line is that your generalizations are not even close to true.

I hate the fact that I come to the Disney board and feel like someone is saying, "All white people are ignorant!" The color of my skin (perhaps the least important detail of who I am) may be white, but that doesn't mean that I am racist. I may be able to see the world from other perspectives, but that does not mean I am overly sensitive.

Furthermore, your college story lacks a lot of key details. We would need to know exact grades every year and exact classes, extra-curricular activities, any letters of recommendation, time of year the application was sent, and the process for which students are selected for the college. Then we would also need to know how serious the person is. I know plenty of people (of all races) who jokingly say something or someone is racist (and they say it with a straight face). You would have to know the person and their sense of humor to know if they were joking. And then to top it all off, every race has its idiots.

Remember: We are all pink on the inside.

[Tangela]

Favor to delete my 4 posts in this thread Luke. i didn't mean for my comments to get out of hand...

[Kim Olav Svines]

Originally you brought up "Friends." In such a large city, how could they only know white people and only see white people? That was the real issue.

I will be careful, since I may not know so much about a multicultural society. I live in Norway, where people of different color are rare, and mostly the ones who are, is fugitives. These people do for the most part live in larger cities, and not where I grew up. The thing that annoys me, and the reason why I referred to the "Friends" case, was because it never seem to go the other way around, as Tangela tried to say.

And bringing on the black female was ridiculous. That fit the pattern of South Park's black kid, Token.

Bringing on the black female? That's what I read in a Norwegian newspaper some time ago. I haven't watched South Park, so I'm not sure what you mean with that one. I'm sorry if I offended anyone, it was not my intention.

[canon]

Interesting thread here. It goes to show you how powerful your words can be and how heated some people can get so quickly with one post.

As for Tangela's posts, Luke was right--being young and posting your thoughts in this forum has it's consequences. Hopefully now you'll be able to think first before posting your thoughts. Nothing about censorship or anything like that, but you're bound to ruffle somebody's feathers, especially in an open forum when it comes to race. Use better judgment next time.

In time, your life experiences will hopefully open your mind to other cultures and races, and you will have a better grasp of the situation. It took college for me to really have a better understanding of rascism and discrimination. It's all a matter of spending time with people of different color.

I do wish to say that generalizations mentioned earlier concern me. You can never completely tag an entire race (or even "some" for that matter) with one wide brush stroke. There are mulitudes of opinions, thoughts, feelings within one PERSON, let alone one race.

And don't forget, having a black Santa is a way for young black kids to identify with the icon. There is nothing wrong with that at all. In fact, I like it. It works for them, it works for me.

[Today4U]

I don't know much about Norway, so my comments can only be tied back to the USA. There are plenty of people who claim the majority of non-white people in the USA are fugitives. That claim is absolutely false. That makes me question the same statement being made about Norway, but again, I have no facts. Then you have to look at the crimes and who is behind them. Is it a matter of race or a matter of social standing (rich/poor)? Is it a city problem or a country problem? Statistics can be twisted in any number of ways. Nothing is ever as simple as "Oh, people of that race are like this."

South Park is a show that is made to be offensive, but to poke fun at people who actually think that way. Off the top of my head I can only think of two black characters in the small town of South Park: Chef and Token. Chef is a school chef who lives up the stereotype of the overly sexual black male. Token is the "token" black student. The show takes place in a small mountain town in Colorado, where you would not tend to find many black people. Many TV shows try to pretend that they are multicultural by including a "token" black person in an otherwise all-white cast. South Park places the "token" black student in the show not to pretend to be multicultural, but to laugh at the shows that put in a token black person. Token wears a shirt with a big letter "T" on it because in TV shows with token black characters, the creators act like no one will notice that the person was only cast to pretend the show is multicultural.

Unfortunately, token characters are very common on TV and in movies. No one can seem to balance it out right. The Broadway show "RENT" was created with an all-white cast, then the creator thought it should have characters of all races to represent where the story was taking place, and it worked brilliantly. Sadly though, the producers now always have people of the same race playing the characters (the characters in the Original Broadway Cast who were black are always black, white always white, latino always latino, and Asian always Asian). When telling stories from different experiences, the race of the character may matter. But for most of what is on TV, it doesn't matter at all.

I often wonder whether or not I would show my (future) kids certain Disney shorts. My current thoughts are that I would only show certain shorts to my kids when they are older and we can intelligently discuss that the short is from a different time period, and watching it is not because we find it appropriate, but because it is a historical document of sorts. Also, as someone who is vehemently anti-smoking, I love the fact that Disney has digitally altered Goofy's smoking. I didn't think it would make my (future) kids want to be smokers, but I hate seeing it. At the same time, I completely understand why it should be left untouched. Anyone with kids want to tell me his/her plan for showing his/her kids the controversial shorts?

[Kim Olav Svines]

I don't know much about Norway, so my comments can only be tied back to the USA. There are plenty of people who claim the majority of non-white people in the USA are fugitives. That claim is absolutely false. That makes me question the same statement being made about Norway, but again, I have no facts.

Of course, in the USA there are a lot of races. In Norway there has only been one race originally. I know for a fact that almost all non-white people in Norway are fugitives. Most of these have come the last 15 years, from countries like Somalia (and other african countries where war and hunger are big issues), and muslims from various countries. The problems in Norway with this is many of the new races seem to exclude themselves, and create small communities. They do not contribute to the society (but they get paid from the Norwegian state, since everyone that of one or another reason can't work for their money, is entitled to money so they can live). The biggest problem is some of them follow their own law, and therefore it crashes with how the Norwegian community is build.

But by all means, some of these are very good at adjusting themselves to the Norwegian society. I am a little worried about this, since Norway has normally been an extremly safe community, which has become more violent every year, which are connected to more immigrating. Not all, but a lot.

Thing were a lot better before. And why is our country (Norway) getting more dangerous? I don't have all the answers, but I know what I want. I want a safe country, where we don't have to lock out doors (Something I and didn't do a few years ago. Neither did my parents lock their house 7-10 years ago). I want kids to be able to play whereever and whenever they want without parents having to worry about anything. When I grew up, things were like that.

I'm not blaming all this on the minority groups in Norway, but I do think some of it has to do with to much immigration the last years, and therefore not be able to control it all. It has happened two time the last year, that people wanted for murder in their homecountry has been able to get into Norway, and ended up killing good Norwegian citizens. I want to get rid of that, and think we should do anything to reach that goal. Therefore I may offend someone with my opinions, but this is were most of my opinions are made.

Again, this does not apply to the USA, but rather the way I see it from where sit and to where I see. I know I'm old fashioned (been told a hundred times) and I do not use fancy political correctly words. I also have no intention of offending anyone, this thread is only an exchange of political views and opinions, and there's no need for anyone to use personal attacks for not agreeing.

Maybe we should let this thread die, and maybe get back to discuss the thing we all have in common: The love for Disney!