Song of the South: Too Offensive to Release on DVD?

[Mr. Yagoobian]

In point of fact, "Song of the South" takes place post-slavery --

Just out of curiosity, can you point to anything in the film that makes explicit the time element of the setting?

[merlinjones]

>>Just out of curiosity, can you point to anything in the film that makes explicit the time element of the setting?<<

The fact that Uncle Remus is free to close up his home and openly leave the plantation for Atlanta in a carriage in mid-afternoon clearly sets the film after slavery is abolished. How else could this key plot point be possible?

The specificity of setting (noted by the screenwriter in many interviews and articles) could easily be established in reissue with the addition of a subtitle over the first scenes of Johnny and family in the carriage - - noting the time period and setting during reconstruction -- post-war, post-slavery/abolition -- when people are looking for a place to call home.

[Big Disney Fan]

The fact that Uncle Remus is free to close up his home and openly leave the plantation for Atlanta in a carriage in mid-afternoon clearly sets the film after slavery is abolished. How else could this key plot point be possible?

Exactly. Basically, after he gets chastised by Sally and banned from ever seeing Johnny again, he packs up and basically says, "I'm a free man, I don't have to take this."

[Lazario]

If he's so free, why does he decide he wants to live his entire life taking care of white people? I am not talking about his job. He has no private life- he gets heavily involved in looking after the little white boy. To the point where he has no life at all. He's just his work and his new educating duties. Appointed to him by a movie that makes him smile so painfully wide, he gets to be very, very creepy. How many white people in Disney's films are seen to look anything like that? Just the villains. Or maybe the odd homeless character or someone meant to look scary until the characters warm up to them.

I love the responses this topic is getting. People are jumping so many hoops to try and make this thing look good. And yet, it's only getting more and more absurd with each new argument. And for the record, I told Merlinjones my example was figurative and not literal. It doesn't matter whether Disney are telling us this film took place during slavery, they put shackles on him themselves! If he actually looks human when he's made to be angry or outraged and the film is saying he is happier when he goes back to being Smile-Man, that's all the more insulting. He's free from Atlanta slavery to be a slave in the form of a puppet in a Disney film.

[Goliath]

[...] You can't stand that I have a problem with The Godfather. That was a problem with you, you subsequently followed me into at least 2 other threads and posted negative responses on purpose. One of them was in Movies You Haven't Seen Yet but Want To (whatever it's called) where you criticized my taste for not being classy. Now, I wouldn't "Read Too Much" into that normally- not if it were coming from anyone else. It came from YOU. And it came not a day after The Godfather incident.

Have you really no idea how paranoïd these kind of comments make you look? Has it never entered your mind that maybe, just maybe, I made those comments on your taste in music because that's my opinion? And that this forum is made for articulating opinions, and that's why I gave mine? But no, in your mind all I ever say or do is somehow just another step in my evil masterplan to get 'revenge' at you. That's what you're saying; that's what you think. And not only is it paranoïd and delusional, it also reveals the real problem: you think much too highly of yourself.

You think you are the center of the universe. When somebody makes a negative reply about an artist that you happen to like... why, it must be because that person wants to 'get even' with YOU! That person must be holding that opinion just to insult YOU! It's always about you, you, you... But let me make this clear: I don't care what you think about me or my tastes. Your opinion is too insignificant in the grand scheme of things for me to be bothered with it. So stop trying to 'prove' that everything I ever write is somehow related to you. Deflate your ego already. Seriously.

Oh, and I'm not going to do some discussions from two years ago all over again. It looks like you have made a personal record about me; I'm sorry, I don't do that kind of thing.

[Mr. Yagoobian]

The fact that Uncle Remus is free to close up his home and openly leave the plantation for Atlanta in a carriage in mid-afternoon clearly sets the film after slavery is abolished. How else could this key plot point be possible?

The specificity of setting (noted by the screenwriter in many interviews and articles) could easily be established in reissue with the addition of a subtitle over the first scenes of Johnny and family in the carriage - - noting the time period and setting during reconstruction -- post-war, post-slavery/abolition -- when people are looking for a place to call home.

To which screenwriter do you refer, by the way?

I've always found it interesting...after all, that's really the only moment that would seem definitive in that regard, and yet it only arrives as the inciting moment of the climax. Seems kinda late in the proceedings.

Particularly since there exists an onscreen textual reference prior to the beginning of the action in the film that establishes the setting as "the Old South"--a specific phrase that, in established and accepted usage, has only ever been used to denote a pre-Emancipation condition.

[Maerj]

The fact that Uncle Remus is free to close up his home and openly leave the plantation for Atlanta in a carriage in mid-afternoon clearly sets the film after slavery is abolished. How else could this key plot point be possible?

Exactly. Basically, after he gets chastised by Sally and banned from ever seeing Johnny again, he packs up and basically says, "I'm a free man, I don't have to take this."

Also, Uncle Remus doesn't really seem to do any work in the movie. I'm not saying that as a bad thing, its just that he's pretty much shown hanging out in his shack and telling stories to people. If he were a slave, I coudn't see him just hanging out like that all day.

[merlinjones]

>>To which screenwriter do you refer, by the way?<<

Maurice Rapf (who was hired to polish the script) is quoted in articles that he encouraged Walt to make the Reconstruction setting clear (even inventing alternate scenarios for the family to emphasize that) but was disappointed his suggestions were not followed up.

[Lazario]

Have you really no idea how paranoïd these kind of comments make you look?

Goliath - there is no low you won't sink to when you really want to go after someone. This is the cheapest manipulation you've pulled yet. You're also a classic liar. And now you actually think there's some way in hell I'm going to believe there isn't a pattern to these character assassinations of yours? Well, since you have no sense of history, I'm going to have to remind you:

http://www.dvdizzy.com/forum/viewtopic. ... c&start=69

In that thread ^ , you didn't like my argument, and so you purposefully brought up my taste in music and movies in order to insult me and compare me to - as you put it - "nuts" and "freaks."

Now, funnily enough... 2 minutes after you made that post in that thread, you made this one in this thread I was posting in:


But you didn't stop there. I continued to argue with you, and so 3 days later, you posted this in another thread I was involved in:

http://www.dvdizzy.com/forum/viewtopic. ... c&start=95

That is exact proof of what I said- you insulted me in at least 2 different replies following / during The Godfather debate. So now I'm paranoid? Sounds like you just can't keep track of your behaviors. And here you are now, doing the same thing this week! Following this discussion right here, you had to go after me in another thread:

http://www.dvdizzy.com/forum/viewtopic. ... c&start=89
http://www.dvdizzy.com/forum/viewtopic. ... c&start=97

Not to mention how rude you were to Eralkfang.

You expect me to think that is all coincidence? Who do you think you're fooling, G? I wouldn't be surprised if this much poking around into your post count didn't also prove you pulled this same trick on anyone on UD who said something you didn't like.

You're only responding in this way because someone dares to criticize you. And you would label, mock, and similarly attack anyone were they to try. You've made a very big huff-&-puff show this time, and all of it a mask for the fact that I won't let the past go. Why should I? You get away with murder! And here you are launching an attack on me since I've criticized you for going after other members. I tried talking to you, it didn't work. Time for another approach.


EDIT (8:23 PM):

Well, would'ya look what I found? You made a comment about me in another thread. I didn't even see this at the time:

http://www.dvdizzy.com/forum/viewtopic. ... c&start=25

[disneyboy20022]

Song of the South is a wonderful movie...hopefully someday it will be made available by Disney officially..until then I caved and bought a bootleg of it..however if Disney does release this ever I will be one of the first to get it whether it's on DVD, Blu Ray, Green Ray or on Lace Collar Ray-z

....Milk Buds anyone...

And Also I found that Milk Buds are made from a hard working Pony Family

http://www.milkbuds.com/


<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/H5AadsHUD54?fs ... ram><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/H5AadsHUD54?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

[Goliath]

Have you really no idea how paranoïd these kind of comments make you look?

Goliath - there is no low you won't sink to when you really want to go after someone. This is the cheapest manipulation you've pulled yet. You're also a classic liar. [...]

You expect me to think that is all coincidence? Who do you think you're fooling, G? I wouldn't be surprised if this much poking around into your post count didn't also prove you pulled this same trick on anyone on UD who said something you didn't like.

I haven't even read past this. As soon as I saw that pathetic screen cap, in combination with the conspiracy theory above (I "want to go after someone"?), I knew I had to quit. Enjoy your little soap opera, Lazario, and be happy with it. You're a pathetic person and I truly pity you. I hope one day you'll get good treatment to cure you from your paranoïd delusions. I wish you all the best. But this trainwreck, I cannot watch. It's too sad.

[Goliath]

[Edit: this was in reply to a comment Lazario made, but has deleted while I was writing this reply. He said he was reporting my 'personal attack' against him and wished me happy holidays.]

But all your paranoïd conspiracy theories about me "going after people" were NOT personal attacks, were they, Lazario? Painting me as an evil mastermind who's mind-fucking with people on an internet forum he doesn't even know in real life, because they didn't agree with him... that was all in good fun, right?

It's called PROJECTION, dear. You're projecting your own 'qualities' (keeping personal records about people on a forum) onto me. If you seriously believe the garbage you've written about me, you're having trouble seperating fantasy from reality. Seriously.

[CJ]

Goliath, as you know, personal attacks are not allowed under any circumstances. You can not call any forum member "pathetic" or resort to any other name calling.

Goliath and Laz: this petty bickering has got to stop. I don't know what your personal problems are with one another, but you can not keep derailing threads by fighting amongst yourselves. I have mentioned this in other threads, but it bears repeating: take all personal issues with a member elsewhere to email, a mod, or chat. There is zero need to clutter up and derail threads with personal issues/beefs.

Since there is no hope of getting this thread back on topic, it is being locked.