Splash Mountain re-theme announced

[Deleted member 107043]

Walt Minstry: Jungle Book’s Blackface Performance

Disney’s The Jungle Book, released in 1967, was a huge box office success. The film was praised highly for its attention to voice casting as a primary identifier of character’s personality an…

pages.stolaf.edu

Great article! Thank you for sharing it.

"The images and parallels, promotion and reinforcement of blackface minstrel performance in today’s society is still present and alive in areas many don’t realize."

Kinda like Splash Mountain.

"Perhaps more disturbing is attempting to understand how to respond to such images in our culture. It is difficult to determine the intentionality of these types of images and stereotypes present in The Jungle Book. Are the creators deliberately placing racist material in their films, or are these simply embedded structures that people promote without realizing or understanding the implications of their meaning?

Kinda like Splash Mountain.

"Ultimately, the only way that a society can change is through each individual influence on it. Becoming better educated in historical traditions, mistakes, and problems can help us become more aware of them in today’s society and prevent us from incorporating them into our own productions of art, actions, or words. "

Kinda like Splash Mountain fans who shrug off the attraction's racist characterizations as insignificant.

 

[Phil12]

You just linked me an opinion piece that assumes the monkey’s are meant to represent black People with no other reasoning than “it’s obvious”.

The implicit bias in assuming that this connection is implied is itself the problem. The people who jump to this conclusion are the ones with the racist bias.

You seem to have overlooked the fact that TWDC has put a disclaimer on the film that clearly states it contains harmful stereotypes. You may continue to deny that these racist tropes exist, but you're only fooling yourself.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

You have something on your shoulder. Kind of looks like a chip.

I recommend having your eyes checked. What you see is a lot bigger than a chip. It's the full weight of the physiological and psychological impact of centuries of institutionalized white supremacy in America.

 

[aw14]

I recommend having your eyes checked. What you see is a lot bigger than a chip. It's the full weight of the physiological and psychological impact of centuries of institutionalized white supremacy in America.

Institutionalized white supremacy?

Stokely Carmichael is that you?

 

[Brer Oswald]

You seem to have overlooked the fact that TWDC has put a disclaimer on the film that clearly states it contains harmful stereotypes. You may continue to deny that these racist tropes exist, but you're only fooling yourself.

The 20 year old intern applying a blanket statement disclaimer on Jungle Book doesn’t tell me much of anything.

If they had created a specific disclaimer, presented by a historian with knowledge of the creation of the film, that would be something I could get behind.

 

[Brer Oswald]

I recommend having your eyes checked. What you see is a lot bigger than a chip. It's the full weight of the physiological and psychological impact of centuries of institutionalized white supremacy in America.

Brer Rabbit? The African American folk character? The character that inspired fictional anthro characters for centuries to come? This is a symbol of white supremacy to you?

Go back to Twitter with your fictional blind arguments. The Brer Rabbit stories are a landmark of entertainment, literature, and storytelling, brought to us by Africans and African Americans. And you have the AUDACITY to say it’s white supremacy to like these stories?

I hate this phrase, bet “get educated” or get out. Seriously. I’m over this false narrative and revisionist history. And for what? Twitter likes? Give me a break.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

Institutionalized white supremacy?

The 20 year old intern applying a blanket statement disclaimer on Jungle Book doesn’t tell me much of anything.

Brer Rabbit? The African American folk character? The character that inspired fictional anthro characters for centuries to come? This is a symbol of white supremacy to you?

Whooo boy. Pass me by with this. All of this.

 

[Sue_Vongello]

Brer Rabbit? The African American folk character? The character that inspired fictional anthro characters for centuries to come? This is a symbol of white supremacy to you?
View attachment 505863View attachment 505864
Go back to Twitter with your fictional blind arguments. The Brer Rabbit stories are a landmark of entertainment, literature, and storytelling, brought to us by Africans and African Americans. And you have the AUDACITY to say it’s white supremacy to like these stories?

I hate this phrase, bet “get educated” or get out. Seriously. I’m over this false narrative and revisionist history. And for what? Twitter likes? Give me a break.

Again I hate being a broken record but the theme and message of Song of the South is literally anti-racist ... so I just don't get it ...

 

[ImperfectPixie]

Brer Rabbit? The African American folk character? The character that inspired fictional anthro characters for centuries to come? This is a symbol of white supremacy to you?
View attachment 505863View attachment 505864
Go back to Twitter with your fictional blind arguments. The Brer Rabbit stories are a landmark of entertainment, literature, and storytelling, brought to us by Africans and African Americans. And you have the AUDACITY to say it’s white supremacy to like these stories?

I hate this phrase, bet “get educated” or get out. Seriously. I’m over this false narrative and revisionist history. And for what? Twitter likes? Give me a break.

African folklore...the characters originated in Africa.

 

[Brer Oswald]

African folklore...the characters originated in Africa.

Yes. That’s correct.

 

[Brer Oswald]

Whooo boy. Pass me by with this. All of this.

Twitter. Like. Retweet. Comment. Follow. Retweet. Buy my merch. Reaction gif. I’m quirky. Follow. It’s the blank for me. Go off. I-. We love a blank.

 

[LittleBuford]

Again I hate being a broken record but the theme and message of Song of the South is literally anti-racist ... so I just don't get it ...

Why do you think that’s the message of the film? Because Uncle Remus is sympathetically portrayed? (These are genuine questions; I’m not trying to be rhetorical.)

 

[Brer Oswald]

I don’t think the film is racist. I don’t think the film is “not racist” either. It’s not a black & white issue. It’s easy to treat it as one if you have zero knowledge on the subject. But for that, I say inquire about it, or stop talking about it.

The film has a complicated history. A lot of issues arise from the production of the film. Some from the film itself. And, you can argue, from the Uncle Remus book itself (although marking the entire book as “racist” isn’t the way to do it either).

The idea that the Brer Rabbit character, the original tales, or even the ride itself is racist is ridiculous and it needs to stop being regurgitated. The ride is being replaced simply by association of the film. That was clear from the announcement.

Stop calling people who like Brer Rabbit and the ride racist simply because they like something that is inherently not racist. It’s a despicable thing to do. I expect that from the circle jerks on Twitter, where people will destroy anyone for fame, attention, and likes. But I expect better from here.

Also, to the other side, stop denying the systemic racism of the US, as well as racism in general, while praising the ride in the same breath. It makes us other fans of the ride look bad by association of you, and racism clearly exists. SotS is not innocent, so cut it out with that.

If you have nothing more to say than to provoke the person that disagrees with you, just stop. I’m tired of it. I’m tired of having to defend something that shouldn’t even need to be defended. My friend, who’s black, has been called every slur in the book for liking it. It’s gross. He’s tired of it. Just let the ride die in peace and the new one take its place.

 

[Brer Panther]

I don't know why the people who support the retheme need to be so rude towards those that DON'T.

 

[AdventureHasAName]

You seem to have overlooked the fact that TWDC has put a disclaimer on the film that clearly states it contains harmful stereotypes. You may continue to deny that these racist tropes exist, but you're only fooling yourself.

TWDC does lots of dumb things for political reasons. It's why Red is no longer the hottie at the Wench Auction.

 

[Sue_Vongello]

Why do you think that’s the message of the film? Because Uncle Remus is sympathetically portrayed? (These are genuine questions; I’m not trying to be rhetorical.)

I’m not saying there aren’t problematic elements like alot of movies from that same era but the message of the movie is literally friendship across races/barriers/social classes/ages ... that’s the message. I just hate when there are blanket statements that label the movie racist at its core because that’s way too black and white and ignores the basic message of the film.

 

[Phil12]

I don't know why the people who support the retheme need to be so rude towards those that DON'T.

Perhaps it's because some folks who have been repeatedly shown authenticated facts that prove beyond any doubt that Song of the South is steeped in overt racism and that the attraction Splash Mountain also contains some of the same racist tropes, refuse to accept the overwhelming evidence. What you may perceive as snark or rudeness may just be the cold, hard facts of the matter presented without any sympathy for the loss of comfortable racist attitudes.

Disney has accepted the evidence and is making changes, yet there are still a few people who refuse believe the facts of the matter. But, I suppose it should not surprise me. After all O.J. Simpson was acquitted on two counts of murder back in 1995. And it doesn't really matter that a few people still think that Splash Mountain is fine with its current theme. A few people think the moon landings were faked. You can't really reason with those folks and as a practical matter, there is no need to reason with them.

Systemic racism continues to be a real problem in the USA and it doesn't help matters when long standing overt racism is accepted, overlooked or ignored. TWDC is taking steps to correct some of their misdeeds with the re-theme of Splash Mountain and the new disclaimer stating that "These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now."

These actions are baby steps, but nevertheless, steps in the right direction. I'm looking forward to additional actions by TWDC as well.

​

 

[LittleBuford]

I’m not saying there aren’t problematic elements like alot of movies from that same era but the message of the movie is literally friendship across races/barriers/social classes/ages ... that’s the message. I just hate when there are blanket statements that label the movie racist at its core because that’s way too black and white and ignores the basic message of the film.

That isn’t the message I came away with when I used to watch the film as a child. Nor is it what contemporary reviewers noted. Sure, Uncle Remus is shown getting along well with the white characters, but the same is true of Mammy in Gone with the Wind.

For what it’s worth (and I believe you know this anyway), I don’t think Song of the South is racist at its core. But it is guilty of perpetuating a romanticised stereotype of plantation life in which the black characters remain slavishly devoted to their white employers. To my mind, the message of racial harmony hardly seems possible when one group is so clearly (and seemingly happily) subservient to the other. And lest anyone think I’m judging a historical product harshly or unfairly, it’s worth remembering that similar criticisms were expressed about the film back when it was first released.

 

[Sue_Vongello]

And it doesn't really matter that a few people still think that Splash Mountain is fine with its current theme. A few people think the moon landings were faked. You can't really reason with those folks and as a practical matter, there is no need to reason with them.

This is why she thinks some people are rude about their arguments. You cannot present opinions as fact, which I’m sure you know. Saying SotS is unequivocally racist is an opinion, not a fact. The Disney company did not set out to make this movie because they wanted to tell a racist story. Sure there are problematic elements like most things did from that era - but saying it’s flat out racist and saying anyone that disagrees is an idiot - it’s wrong, period. You’re entitled to your opinion, and you may have points but it loses its steam when you state it as “facts.” And no, just because others may share your opinion does not make it a fact.

Additionally, to say “a few people” are fine with the theme the way it is now is also not fact, it’s actually closer to misrepresentation because the evidence we do have (petitions, for example, and circumstantial evidence from online communities) support the contrary ... it’s the overwhelming majority that do not think there are problems with the attraction. I’m not talking about systemic racism or what should happen to the theme ... just pragmatically talking about your statement of “a few people” ... which by all available evidence is not correct. Now if you want to say you disagree with the majority that’s fine or in your opinion to say the majority is evidence of a problem in this country, fine ... but you can’t say a few people and if you concede it’s the the majority then you can’t say well the majority is wrong or all of them are racist (or even that all of them are white, because I personally know many minorities that signed the petition to keep it just the way it is).

My point is this ... there are arguments for both sides but just because someone doesn’t agree with your opinion doesn’t mean they are “ignoring facts” or are morons that think “the moon landing is fake” ... you can make your points but frame them in ways that don’t distract from your message by misrepresenting information or belittling others.

 

[Sue_Vongello]

That isn’t the message I came away with when I used to watch the film as a child. Nor is it what contemporary reviewers noted. Sure, Uncle Remus is shown getting along well with the white characters, but the same is true of Mammy in Gone with the Wind.

For what it’s worth (and I believe you know this anyway), I don’t think Song of the South is racist at its core. But it is guilty of perpetuating a romanticised stereotype of plantation life in which the black characters remain slavishly devoted to their white employers. To my mind, the message of racial harmony hardly seems possible when one group is so clearly (and seemingly happily) subservient to the other. And lest anyone think I’m judging a historical product harshly or unfairly, it’s worth remembering that similar criticisms were expressed about the film back when it was first released.

Absolutely you’re right ... but also Disney makes romanticized versions of everything. I wouldn’t have expected Disney to make a kids movie about the harsh reality of slavery ... I get that’s problematic in some ways but I also don’t think the intention of the filmmakers was to insidiously get African American people to see the value of obeying their masters.

And yeah to me, the theme was wrapped around - Johnny wanting to run away, couldn’t deal with his problems ... it’s only when he made friends with Remus, Toby, and Ginny did he learn from their experiences how to cope, grow, and find the joy in his life. Those friendships from different backgrounds, ages, and experiences are what helped and shaped him. So the message was seek out those friendships and experiences because you may learn something. Or that’s what I saw anyway ...