‘Song of the South’ and Disney’s Unconscionable Erasure of James Baskett

 

There is nothing in the least racist about the Disney film Song of the South. I found it enchanting as a child. Uncle Remus is the hero and he is a character of great wisdom and dignity who helps a poor little rich boy. Furthermore, it takes place after the slave days, in the late 1870's- early 80's. Plus the reason so many great authors came from the American South is because of the rich traditions of the African and Irish storytelling combined. There needs to be more research on that topic. I think that the banning of the film was racist, leading to the erasure of African-American actor James Baskett who starred in it. From Breitbart:

What I remembered was being a thoroughly charmed and entertained six-year-old. That happened again at age 57 last week. Due to the absurd uproar over the movie, what I expected was nowhere to be found. Does Song of the South have some racial issues? Sure, but nothing that justifies Disney’s Orwellian erasure. Overall, Song of the South (like its source material) is about healing the rift between black and white America and does so in racially progressive ways unheard of in 1946.

Despite this fact, due to thin-skinned and wildly misinformed criticism, Disney has blacklisted Song of the South since 1986—the last time it enjoyed a theatrical release. What’s more, the movie’s never been released on home video in America. Not even on laserdisc or Betamax. Trust me; there’s no moral justification for this.

Song of the South is about seven-year-old Johnny (played by the sadly doomed Bobby Driscoll), who’s told he’s about to enjoy a vacation on his grandmother’s Georgia plantation. The truth, though, is that his parents are having problems. Dad is going away. This explodes Johnny’s security and leaves him without a father figure. Before arriving, Uncle Remus (James Baskett) and his storytelling abilities are already legendary to Johnny, and his meeting with the legend does not disappoint. (Read more.)

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