I think I should feel special...this was my first attack on the UD forums...
PapiBear, I'd love to know what your stance on "Gone With the Wind" is.
The movie depicts a bygone era, made in the 1940s, when Hollywood wasn't as concerned with the depictions of different groups. This obviously does need to be said on a release of SOTS, if it is ever released. People should put it in the correct context.
Obviously, African Americans, or anyone in America, for that matter, does not speak in the dialect you mentioned...I mean, some people might, I don't know, but, in general, people don't. Back in the 1880s, many emancipated slaves worked on the plantations that they once were forced to work on. They were used to being submissive to their masters, and, for some, probably many, they continued being submissive to their masters...From my reading, many slavemasters were not excessively mean or violent toward their slaves. But, anyway, many slaves were fearful of their masters. Even if they shouldn't have had to worry and be scared anymore, the slaves were so used to being submissive that they continued to be...old habits die hard, I guess.
If SOTS, or any movie, for that matter, took place in the 20th Century, and they were portrayed in "that" way you're speaking of, I'd be outraged. That said, this movie not only was made in the 1940s, it is a movie about the 1880s.
(the following italicized quotes are of PapiBear)
"Do you think Black people are wrong for protesting this sort of portrayal of us? Do you think we should "know our place" and not speak out about things that hurt and offend us, or show us in an unrealistic, demeaning way?"
Of course, everyone has the right to speak their mind. I don't mean to be rude, but you say "us". I know what you mean, but "you" weren't a sharecropper in the 1880s. You're an intelligent Black man of today. I know that it's different, but I'm personally not offended by bad things that white people have done- I think that it's horrible, but I'M not personally involved. I don't agree with slavery. My grandfather's family is from Louisiana- I don't know much about them, but maybe, somewhere in my family tree, there were slavemasters. I don't know. If so, I had nothing to do with that. I don't agree with it, but that's not ME. That's not my family now. I don't know why some people back then were so mean. Some people today would jump at the chance to own slaves. I wouldn't, and I'd like to think that the majority of Americans wouldn't. I like to treat everyone fairly.
"It's pretty obvious that you don't give a damn about what Black people think, feel, or say, as long as you get to watch and rewatch your precious old film. Don't even try to deny it. I've been dealing with people like you all my life. What's worse is that you act entitled, like you're owed a film like this, no matter who it harms."
I do give a damn, actually. What I meant by "Disney NEEDS to release this film" was that so many people are judging the movie without having seen it. They don't know what to think about it, since they haven't seen it. If they were given the opportunity to see it, viewed in the correct context, of course, then they could accurately judge the film, based on their beliefs. And, to make another point, slavery happened. The Halocaust happened. They're horrible things that happened, but they are a part of history. We cannot erase them. We can learn from the mistakes of the past. Heck, WWII all together happened. Should violent war movies not be made? I'm sure that someone who has lost a loved one in a war will be offended by someone getting shot and dying in a film. I'm not trying to be insensitive, but America has a painful past. Should we forget about the past altogether? As long as we've learned from it, then I don't think I agree with that.
"This whole country was built on the backs of my people, after your people stole it from the original inhabitants."
Your people. My people. I had ancestors on the Mayflower, for example. They were alive many, many centuries before I was. I have nothing to do with them, except that we're distant relatives. If it weren't for one of them, I wouldn't be alive today, and, for that, I'm grateful that they existed. But,
I did not tell them, "Hey, leave England and come to America and take land away from the Native Americans".
I had no part in that.
I have nothing to do with slavery...I was not alive. You were not alive. There's nothing we can do now but accept and learn. We must accept that it happened (I mean, it really did). We must learn that it was a horrible thing.
"Your people have been depicting my people and other people of color in demeaning and degrading ways for centuries, so you can act justified that what you did to us was right."
Again, Your people. My People. I am not a filmmaker. I am not a published author. I haven't depicted anyone anything anyhow.
I didn't do anything. I do not think that slavery was right. I think it's horrible how African Americans were treated. When watching "Roots" or any other movie/show that deals with the topic, I cry, or sometimes I can't even watch (I don't like violence). My nature is that I don't like violence. So, I wouldn't beat slaves if I was around in the 1800s. I'm not like that. My ancestors may or may not have been, but I don't know them. I had nothing to do with them. I had no influence over their decisions.
"Lawdy lawdy! If massa ain't gettin' served, massa's angry! Dem Didney folks betta gib massa da movie he want, or massa gon' git out his whip!"
You said it, not me. I'd never say that. I didn't make the film. As a fan of Disney history, and someone who believes you can't judge a book by its cover, I think that the movie should be released, with its correct historical context given, so that people can judge for themselves. And be educated with Leonard Maltin's, or whoever's, history lesson that would be attached to the film.
"I just knew someone would reveal their true nature eventually. That's why we don't trust you."
I wasn't aware that people don't trust me. Anyone else, raise your hands!
. Grrr. "The film depicts blacks as happy-go-lucky, submissive, storytelling, servants and helpmates." WTF? There's nothing wrong with being happy or telling stories or with helping people!!!???!!! Again, WTF? These people just like to get their way. If they campaigned for McDonald's to stop selling hamburgers, they wouldn't stop until they won. They really make me so mad. Disney NEEDS to show this film, because those people who haven't seen it think that it's this horrible, "Birth of the Nation"-type film, and IT"S NOT! 