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Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Racism, Censorship, Cartoons
The New York Times recently had an article on 11 Warner Brothers cartoons “that have not been shown in authorized release since 1968,” but they keep showing up on YouTube, and keep getting removed. Warner Brothers has kept them under wraps because it regards them as racially offensive. As far as I know, I’ve only seen one of them, Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs. I think it’s hilarious, a superb cartoon, and racist. I also think it should be reissued so that those who want to see it, may do so.
But I’m not here to argue those questions. Rather, I just want to create some pointers to the most recent round of discussions on this matter. Here’s a link to Cartoon Brew where at least 49 comments have been made so far, many of them having links to other remarks. Michael Barrier has posted comments on Coal Black by several several people. I find it instructive to read through these comments, which are all over the map, and wonder. What’s happening here?
I would like to think that critical developments of the last three decades given us useful tools for thinking about the aesthetic and cultural issues presented by these cartoons.
Comments
Censorship, no. Discussion, yes. But no matter the intellectual disguise it comes in, racism is racism is racism, including the unconscious and ignorant racism of white privilege.