tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224037410105354251.post4100169307539292592..comments2024-03-25T04:55:45.033-07:00Comments on A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE: IS THERE A PLACE FOR SONG OF THE SOUTHUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224037410105354251.post-77195149418583820912018-01-22T08:12:59.818-08:002018-01-22T08:12:59.818-08:00I bought a DVD of Song of the South a few years ag...I bought a DVD of Song of the South a few years ago. They were offered on Ebay, came from China and cost around $12. I just checked and no DVD copies are listed but plenty of VHS versions are offered for sale. If someone has a deep interest in this movie it can be obtained. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224037410105354251.post-60230061663328998692014-02-06T18:44:17.432-08:002014-02-06T18:44:17.432-08:00The primary reason most students (of any ethnicity...The primary reason most students (of any ethnicity) believe that every white slaveowner in the Old South was Simon Legree is because this is the image that brings in the most money in donations to the NAACP & the Urban League;<br /><br />As the incomparable Eric Hoffer points out so well, " Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket."<br /><br />Though the majority of my paternal ancestors fought for the Union, since they were in Clay County, Kentucky, a few of them owned slaves before the war. I was unaware of this until I did some research on their connection with the Clay County Wars, also known as the White-Baker Feud. The following story is recounted in detail in DAYS OF DARKNESS: The Feuds of Southeastern Kentucky, by J. E. Pearce.<br /><br />When gold was discovered in California in 1849, the head of one of the branches of the White family (their name) left Clay County for the gold fields along with their only slave. They spent a year or so with some success, and Mr. White headed back to Kentucky, leaving the gold claim to be worked by the slave. After some period of time White told him to sell the claim and bring the (rather large) proceeds back to Kentucky.<br /><br />At that point, obviously the "slave" had a choice: either disappear with the money (with virtually no chance of ever being trace or caught) and live in a non-slave territory as a free man, or go back home to his people, still legally a slave. He went back to Kentucky.<br /><br />Obviously there were some strong bonds of mutual affection and trust -- but you'll never hear anything like this from the professional race-pimps like Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton, whose large incomes depend on selling a different version of history.<br /><br />Song of the South poses the same threat to the racket that the civil rights movement has become.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224037410105354251.post-13539121360326849892012-09-03T16:22:06.016-07:002012-09-03T16:22:06.016-07:00It has been decades since I have seen this film, a...It has been decades since I have seen this film, although I have seen a few clips from it, over the years. I don't see why it is considered so controversial when there are others with very insulting content that are available on DVD and are even shown on channels like TCM. They show D.W. Griffith's "Birth of a Nation" (1915) every year or two. If anything should be censored, it is that. I have been a silent film fan all my life (58 years). The film is historically significant, but I can't get through it. I have tried, several times, but I always end up in tears and turn it off. How anyone can view it and say that it is not racist is beyond me! That film, and its glorification of the KKK, led to such horrors as young black men, like my 18 YO son, being beaten, drug from cars, and then hanged, while young people stand around and cheer! I can't even type about it without tears!<br /><br />I became seriously ill when my two youngest children were 3 and 4. I had to rest most of the time, and had my children sit with me and read or watch videos. I had the Cabin Fever set of the Our Gang comedies, which we watched, over and over. There were a few that I did not show them, however, because they portrayed black children in an insulting manner. One example is "Lazy Days" (1929), which portrays a black boy, Allen "Farina" Hoskins, as so lazy that he won't even pick up a container of milk to drink it, but has his sister put a straw in his mouth. There are a handful of others that I decided not to show my children, and another handful that contain things that I felt the need to say something about but, overall, they were a positive thing. Most were actually quite progressive for the 1920s and 1930s when they were made. They portrayed black and white children playing together, going to school together, even sleeping in the same bed together. It would be a shame if someone had decided to ban the series because of a few objectionable scenes. <br /><br />I hope one day parents will have the option of previewing Song of the South and choosing whether to allow their children to see it.<br /><br />noelanihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06459339092491148181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224037410105354251.post-25617839226220147552012-05-07T07:46:14.156-07:002012-05-07T07:46:14.156-07:00I have to disagree with this demeanor of this arti...I have to disagree with this demeanor of this article toward a film that has been unjustly maligned. Neglecting to exposition to the hardships faced by black people in the Reconstruction period is not the same as 'glossing them over'. Blacks were capable of being happy, and that is what was focused on in this movie. This is Disney we are talking about after all, not the history channel.<br /><br />As for racism or stereotyping, the former of the two is simply not to be found. By this I mean there is no hate or mendacity directed at a single black person in the film. They all are portrayed in a positive light. As for stereotyping, well yes they did dress a certain way, but that seems to be a fairly accurate represenation of how sharecroppers would dress. The dialect? Well again, I don't think it's so historically inaccurate. In fact the way it is represented in the movie is quite charming.<br /><br />When I watched Song of the South for the first time last night I came away thinking how Uncle Remus was one of the most likeable characters in film history. He is a wonderful character who is both kind and wise.<br /><br />I'm sorry, I just don't get it, and I have to say the holocaust comparison is a bit off the deep end. This film should be released and parents should have the option of showing it to their children.Reggie1971https://www.blogger.com/profile/07403776697860133711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224037410105354251.post-66068270187587011792012-03-31T08:58:24.160-07:002012-03-31T08:58:24.160-07:00I saw this film in the theater in 1986 when I was ...I saw this film in the theater in 1986 when I was 10 years old. I was with my little cousin who was 5 years old. This film did not harm me emotionally. I don't understand the controversy. Kids today are flocking to see "The Hunger Games" filled with violent and cruel deaths of children, and that's OK? Makes no sense.Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09212743923364795680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224037410105354251.post-45368732767109892702012-03-28T02:41:48.736-07:002012-03-28T02:41:48.736-07:00I saw the film sometime in the late sixties at a d...I saw the film sometime in the late sixties at a drive-in as a very young boy. I'm sure parts of it were also shown on the Disney TV show later on. I've seen the bootleg version of the film and frankly, it just wasn't a very good movie, certainly nothing that can't be missed. If it's a dividing point to issue it today, then I have no problem with it being held back in the vault.Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04098914334647370124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224037410105354251.post-14249164527860014432012-03-26T10:37:15.654-07:002012-03-26T10:37:15.654-07:00While I've only seen bits and pieces of this f...While I've only seen bits and pieces of this film, I am well aware of the controversies surrounding it. While I can understand where civil rights groups might take issue with the picture, overall I find the complaints biased. While most of the slave narratives we read depict slavery as brutal, you have to realize that they are a product of the time in which they were written. Most of these came before the 13th Amendment and the abolition of slavery. They were used as fuel by abolitionist groups to shine a light on a practice they found repulsive. And, slavery was repulsive. Yet, not all slave owners mistreated their slaves (no, I don't want to get into a discussion about ownership being mistreatment). If you listen to some of the recordings from the Slave Narrative Project from the Federal Writers's Project of the 1930s you hear a wide variety of recollections of what slavery was like. Some are tales of woe and brutality, while others talk somewhat fondly of their former owners. I think Song of the South is only controversial to people who look at the film through a biased lens and understanding of history. Example: I teach a class at a predominately African American college and when I mention those 1930s recordings (which are available on the web) 99.9% of my students have never heard of it. Intriguing post.Kimberly J.M. Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09078951928157843937noreply@blogger.com