"Song of the South" Out of the Film Vault?

Animation flicks come and animation flicks go, but there is one that has remained the quintessential king of the animation/live-action hill for over 60 years, and there is a very slight chance it may be coming back.

Walt Disney’s classic combination animation/live-action 1946 film “Song of the South,” has weathered the whacking it took in the 1960′s after it was declared an openly racist film (which it never was), because of the way it supposedly portrayed Southern plantation blacks. That false charge is also one of the reasons this inspirational film has not been turned into a recent VHS or DVD release by the house that Mickey built.

Now, however, after not celebrating the ground-breaking movie’s 60th Anniversary last year, Disney is reviewing its squelch policy as it relates to “Song of the South” and is considering releasing the classic on DVD, or possibly a tour back in theaters prior to the DVD, much the same way they did with the re-release of another Disney classic, “Cinderella.”

AP is reporting that an online petition has already accumulated over 115,000 signatures from fans asking Disney to make the film available for purchase.

The issue over a release of “South” was brought up at the annual shareholder’s meeting last year. “The question of ‘Song of the South’ comes up periodically, in fact it was raised at last year’s annual meeting,” Bob Iger, Disney President and CEO said. “And since that time, we’ve decided to take a look at it again because we’ve had numerous requests about bringing it out. Our concern was that a film that was made so many decades ago being brought out today perhaps could be either misinterpreted or that it would be somewhat challenging in terms of providing the appropriate context.”

There is little doubt that if Disney tries to PC the film, a great uproar will be heard from fans and critics alike. Also, if the film is released as is, controversy is sure to arise from those who feel it is outdated and racist.

“Song of the South” tells the story of a young white boy named Johnny, who goes to live on the Georgia plantation owned by his Grandparents after his parents divorce. Johnny is immediately taken under the wing by Uncle Remus — a popular black servant — and the young lad is mesmerized by Remus’ fables of Brer Rabbit, Brer Bear and Brer Fox, which are actual black folk tales. Actor James Baskett, the man who so vividly and beautifully played Uncle Remus was awarded an honorary Oscar from the Academy the same year of his death in 1948.

To be honest, there are some terms used by Remus to describe characters in his stories that many will find offensive today. Characterizations such as “Tar Baby,” which came to be seen as a derogatory term for blacks. In the film, however, this is not the meaning of the term at all. It is simply a lump of hot tar, dressed to look like a human being and used by the Brer Fox and Brer Bear to try and catch the wiley Brer Rabbit.

One of the problems that some have with the film is that it is a bit foggy as to the time-frame of the film. Do the events of the movie take place before or after the Civil War, but one indication that should be considered in determining it is that no black character in the film is ever referred to or treated as a slave. While they still work on a white-owned plantation, live in virtual poverty, they are seen as a paid labor force and free, but quite uneducated — as indicated by the stereotypical speech given the black characters in the film (which again, many may find offensive). And, from a 21st Century perspective it still appears demeaning.

One thing the film does make very clear is that there is a vast difference between formal education and real wisdom, and the one with all the wisdom, as uneducated as he may well be, is Uncle Remus. The man is a font of discernment, integrity and insight that no amount of formal education can ever deliver to a person. It is that aspect of the movie that many find so attractive because the great life-lessons that Uncle Remus is able to teach Johnny through his very imaginative tall tales gives the young boy from a broken home a solid foundation for a good, wholesome character.

“In today’s environment, ‘Song of the South’ probably doesn’t have a lot of meaning, especially to the younger audiences,” said James Pappas, associate professor of African-American Studies at the University of New York at Buffalo. “Older audiences probably would have more of a connection with the stereotypes, which were considered harmless at the time.”

While Pappas isn’t sure if the intent of the movie’s makers was to be racists, it does contain elements considered today as racists. Those same elements wouldn’t have been considered racist 60 years ago, and on that basis, he feels the film should be re-released because of its historical significance. He also indicated that the movie needs to be prefaced, and closed, with present-day statements for clarifications.

“I think it’s important that these images are shown today so that especially young people can understand this historical context for some of the blatant stereotyping that’s done today,” Pappas said.

Movies made before the 1960′s and 1970′s were typically full of stereotypes. Not only blacks, but whites, hispanics, women and more. Other great films such as the classic Henry Fonda movie “The Grapes of Wrath” or even the film most consider the greatest film ever made, “Citizen Kane” showed various people in a stereotypical fashion, however those films have not shared the same blasting that this classic film has.

Just as they were not racist, but simply revealing a specific mindset from a specific point in time, “Song of the South” fits in that same exact category…a classic film, hedged in by a certain time, while at the same time being a timeless work of art.

It is hoped that one day this film will once again see the light of day, either back in theaters, on cable or released on DVD. In a recent statement to The Associated Press, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Disney’s distribution arm, said: ” ‘Song of the South’ is one of a handful of titles that has not seen a home distribution window. To this point, we have not discounted nor committed to any distribution window concerning this title.”

Regardless of what the brass at Disney finally decides, “Song of the South” will always remain up there with the likes of “Citizen Kane,” “Casablanca” and “Grapes of Wrath” as one of the best motion pictures to have ever come out of Hollywood from that era.

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