Comments (63)

1. Wow that’s bad. I saw some Disney WWII propaganda films that were pretty bad, too. Commando Duck is a rich one.

   posted by Seth on 7-28-2009 at 12:40 pm

2. I’m the parent of 3.5 year old twins and the “classic” Disney cartoons are often full of senseless violence and stereotypes – we stick to the more modern cartoons – they are educational and upbeat.

   posted by RobertSeattle on 7-28-2009 at 12:50 pm

3. One that is undeservedly “censored” is the brilliant Song of the South.

   posted by PartiallyDeflected on 7-28-2009 at 12:57 pm

4. I grew up on those “violent” Bugs Bunny cartoons, and also watched The Three Stooges. My parents taught me the difference between the “play acting” on TV and what would happen in real life if the same things were done.

   Then I was still watching them when the Cartoon Nazis came on and started chopping the “violent” scenes out of them. They totally ruined the experience of watching the cartoons.

   Maybe if parents didn’t use TV and movies to educate their children and watched with them as an entertainment medium, things would be better.

   And a thumbs up about the comment on “Song of the South”. Zip-a-dee-doo-dah!!!

   posted by Gordon Daily on 7-28-2009 at 1:12 pm

5. That’s sick.

   posted by Sara in AL on 7-28-2009 at 1:21 pm

6. Oh man, I just watched the first one (Coal Black) and I feel absolutely disgusting for it, like I need to wash my eyes out with soap. It’s a sad history we need to embrace in order to change and never regress, but damn! Poor taste.

   posted by Lynnie on 7-28-2009 at 1:29 pm

7. There were some really offensive Betty Boop cartoons too… also on Youtube somewhere

   posted by Mary on 7-28-2009 at 1:34 pm

8. I am so divided on this. I mean, I understand that these should no longer just be watched on Cartoon Network, but I do feel that educating our children with these as a “slice of life” is important as they do a great job of showing how far we’ve come in the last 80 or so years.

   As far as the violent cartoons go, I worked in a school a couple of years ago in which we had a big outdoor festival planned…and it rained. In a scramble to find something to do with most of the K-5 population of the school, one of the teachers produced a Tom and Jerry DVD from her purse and we put it on for the kids. The laughter and enjoyment…amazing. The kids laughed so hard some of them were literally rolling on the gym floor. And this was pretty much the entire group of kids…from the five-year-olds all the way up to the eleven- and twelve-year-olds. They had a great time, we had a blast watching them, and it went down as one of the best celebration days the school had. We had no break-outs of kids starting fights or trying to hit each other with pianos after, either.

   posted by Amauriel on 7-28-2009 at 1:42 pm

9. Actually, you can’t catch Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies on Cartoon Network or any other major TV network, save for the (very) occasional marathon. I know how unbelievable that sounds – Looney Tunes have been a ubiquitous presence on television for so long – but the cartoons started disappearing from programming schedules at the beginning of the decade. Anybody know why?

   posted by Jane S. on 7-28-2009 at 1:43 pm

10. Here is a bad one too: Molly Moo Cow.
    Apparently she gets stranded on an island with a (white) man. On the island, Jungle people (use your imagination, they are black face with white lips) try to catch them and eat them. Molly Moo Cow (she is a cow by the way) saves the man from being eaten but the only way she can stay with him is if she paints her face black and becomes his slave. I watched it with my kids and it was AWKWARD! I have since discarded the movie.

    posted by Saryna on 7-28-2009 at 1:48 pm

11. Jane S.: Probably because they’ve started releasing them on DVD. Why give it away when you can make people pay for it?

    posted by SpaceMonkeyX on 7-28-2009 at 1:51 pm

12. Honestly, I find that these cartoons are really an important piece of history and really reflect society at the time they were produced. I grew up watching cartoons like this and in no way would consider myself a racist after such an upbringing. I mean if the idea of a cartoon character putting on black face in the past is apalling, then why is it okay for modern films like “white chicks” to excist where the Wayans brothers dress in white face.

    posted by Jeneva on 7-28-2009 at 2:09 pm

13. I have a large collection of Looney Toons on DVD but none of these (obviously) are on it. Of course you can still find Speedy Gonzalez cartoons on DVD.

    Although I would have to say that school age violence rose after the super violent ‘toons like Looney Toons, old Disney, Tom and Jerry, etc were taken off the air. Maybe it’s not the toons.

    posted by Brian on 7-28-2009 at 2:28 pm

14. i’d say slowpoke rodriguez
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SiQJ2lx_2k

    posted by zaahit on 7-28-2009 at 2:29 pm

15. I think that Looney Tunes began to disappear from Cartoon Network and other channels as those networks began producing more original programming.

    posted by Matt B. on 7-28-2009 at 2:30 pm

16. I remember seeing a lot of those as a kid, especially characters in blackface. I also remember watching Amos & Andy the sitcom. I guess we’ve come a long way(?).
    As a footnote, I understand that Popeye started out as a porno cartoon.

    posted by Alan on 7-28-2009 at 2:56 pm

17. i guess i’m going to hell for laughing at all of them.

    really though, if you can’t laugh at yourself then lighten up

    $8,750 ravens

    posted by ee the c on 7-28-2009 at 3:07 pm

18. Thank heavens we have evolved beyond these cartoons…

    And what’s this about Popeye and porno?!?!

    posted by Crazy People I've Worked With on 7-28-2009 at 3:09 pm

19. I recall seeing these when I was a kid in the 60s. And feeling very, very uncomfortable. That was a volatile time in our history.

    posted by Miss Cellania on 7-28-2009 at 3:10 pm

20. This country has turned so Politically correct it sickens me. Looney Toons was always a staple of my Saturday morning, and my mom always taught me what was right and wrong with those cartoons. Kids today do not have a clue of what good entertainment is. All they have is Dora and Diego. It’s completely sugar coated garbage. We need to bring back the old cartoons and show these kids what true animation and fun was! Parents, quit trying to protect your kids like they’re in a plastic bubble or they’re never going to be able to face the real world when they’re older!

    posted by Ash on 7-28-2009 at 3:28 pm

21. i don’t think Looney Tunes or Merrie Melodies were made for kids. just because they’re cartoons doesn’t mean they should be automatically shown to kids. you think we would have learned a lesson by now, what with anime becoming very prevalent in our society.
    animated programs are easier and quicker to to produce. perhaps they were one of the biggest form of communication back in the day–just look at the messages in the episodes.

    posted by jamie on 7-28-2009 at 4:00 pm

22. “Southern Fried Rabbit”, I would say, is more “offensive” to Southerners than to Blacks.

    posted by hris on 7-28-2009 at 4:08 pm

23. To all defending the violence… the subject of this article isn’t violence, it’s rampant negative racial stereotyping. If you watched these growing up and also learned to not judge others by their appearance, then kudos. But keep in mind, there are plenty who did not. I’m sure anyone who has ever visited Arkansas (as I have) needn’t proof of that fact.

    posted by ac on 7-28-2009 at 4:23 pm

24. As \bad\ as these are… we still see the same extreme stereotypes today… the only difference is they are produced by the ethnic groups being \made fun of\.

    I have mixed feelings on the idea that if you make fun of a minority group and you’re white, well then, you’re a racist… but if you are a minority making fun of a minority, then it’s perfectly acceptable.

    posted by Michael Gilboe on 7-28-2009 at 4:26 pm

25. Agatha Christie’s book title has gone through a couple changes now. It went from the original title to 10 Little Indians to today’s cleaner 10 Little Soldiers.

    The copy I have uses the Indians.

    posted by Tracie on 7-28-2009 at 4:30 pm

26. You’re missing the scene from Disney’s Fantasia about the little black centaur Sunshine that had to wait on the pretty, Aryan centaurs. Disney edited it out and denies it ever happened but you can find it.

    posted by Elye on 7-28-2009 at 4:32 pm

27. Yeah, RobertSeattle, let’s go into Disney some more. Some call them the best stories for the family. Others see mothers being killed (Bambi), mothers being forceably separated from their children (Dumbo), young adults separated from their parents and raised by abusive, hateful relatives, and witches trying to kill people (the princess movies). Ahh, good for the whole family. At least Warner Bros. stuff was firmly tongue-in-cheek.

    posted by Bubba on 7-28-2009 at 4:34 pm

28. Elye I have seen the black centaur bit. I actually had a copy when I was younger on VHS that still had this part in it. Of course being younger I never thought about it.

    And to the lady who compares black face to white chicks? R u effin’ kidding me!! I get where your trying to go with that… But its not the same. One movie is not equal to tons of cartoons that made all of the black characters exagerated and bafoonish.

    posted by Chrystani on 7-28-2009 at 5:10 pm

29. Popeye was not exactly a porno cartoon…it actually started as an educational cartoon, for an adult population. Basically, the Navy commissioned the cartoons to teach sailors about the dangers of shore leave in foreign lands, specifically STD’s. So there was some pretty salty talk, and definitely sexual situations, but it was intended to educate, not titillate.

    posted by Osmodious on 7-28-2009 at 5:56 pm

30. Wow, really people, these cartoons are a sign of the times. These are a good tool to teach kids about the way things were accepted 50 years ago. So what if Bambi’s Mother died, or it looked like Pinocchio was dead. These are life lessons, and I don’t object to showing them to kids. As long as the parents take the time to teach them about the history of our country.

    posted by Kim on 7-28-2009 at 6:38 pm

31. Obviously if these cartoons were recent I might have a problem with them, but the fact is they are a part of our history. It shows us how far we’ve come, and I find it sad that we choose to hide the past rather than face it.

    And I definitely feel cartoons today have become way too sugar-coated. I watched Tom and Jerry and all those violent and sad cartoons. They didn’t scar me for life; they were entertainment after a day of school and homework.

    Parents are so worried about protecting their children from life, but the fact is they are going to be confronted with it eventually.

    posted by kay on 7-28-2009 at 7:30 pm

32. I have to agree somewhat with the people who say that these are a good way to teach your children about the past. I don’t think the past should be forgotten or ignored. I just think that if kids did watch these cartoons, they should definitely have some guidance and a little history lesson to go along with them. I really think that no one who was actually making these cartoons thought this was offensive at the time. That might be unfathomable nowadays, but I believe it’s true. That’s what makes it so sad. We really have come a long way since then.

    posted by Jessi on 7-28-2009 at 7:44 pm

33. I guess these toons, while objectionable, are necessary history tools. A reality check for when we get too complacent: just because they dont’t really make toons like that anymore, doesn’t mean there aren’t some people who still feel that way.

    We can get too politically correct, but think how it would be if we weren’t. The only reason those negative stereotypes went on as long as they did was because it was a long time before folks had the freedom to speak up. If you don’t complain, people will think there’s nothing wrong, and we’ll never have change.

    Boy! shove me in the shallow water before I get too deep!!

    posted by KS on 7-28-2009 at 7:46 pm

34. What about all the Bugs Bunny/Daffy Duck/Superman propaganda cartoons from WWII? I remember watching fairly recently with my younger brother (who was 4 or 5 at the time, maybe 10 years ago) a VHS that included several episodes of Superman fighting the Nazis, and I’m pretty sure there was plenty of “kraut” and “jap” type slurs thrown about. Can we link some of those, as nationalism is as big a problem as race?

    posted by RIchard Y on 7-28-2009 at 7:48 pm

35. Oh, and for anyone who doubts my “nationalism” comment, remember the rampant anti-americanism after we invaded Iraq, and of course Freedom Fries?

    posted by RIchard Y on 7-28-2009 at 7:51 pm

36. Some of these are really hard to watch, although I must say, some of the music is really awesome!

    posted by Ranger J on 7-28-2009 at 8:02 pm

37. Jeneva: Probably because at no point did black people own white slaves. I’m not usually one to jump into these conversations, and I’m the last one to yell “racism” this and that, but I had to answer your question because I’ve had some of my friends ask the same question. Nothing hurts or rubs the wrong way if it doesn’t remind you of something bad. Just like Jewish people wouldn’t have a problem with a Swastika if the Holocaust hadn’t happened. Plus, if the Wayans brothers or others did it once and made a lot of money because of idiots buying tickets, they will continue to do so

    posted by Kim W. on 7-28-2009 at 8:35 pm

38. having watched some of these, i’m completely disgusted at the liberties that animators could take “way back when” this kind of discrimination was allowed. all of this is completely degrading, and i can understand why it has been censored or banned. people who claim that these cartoons are purely for enterainment exhibit a form of latent racism. they don’t understand that advocating these cartoons reinforces the idea that it’s ok to stereotype blacks, asians, and other non-white populations.

    with that said, i think these videos provide an opportunity for education. people need to see that the stereotypes perpetuated by the media have far reaching effects. these cartoons certainly affected (and were caused by) the ideals of those times. these videos represent a part of this country’s history that cannot be forgotten, lest those mistakes are repeated. viewers have a chance to learn what not to do, and what is not accepted any more in our country. i hope whoever reads this articles and watches the videos takes it with a grain of salt.

    i’m even going to venture this comment: maybe watching these cartoons will help people realize that stereotypes are being perpetuated in our media even in current times. just because they are widely accepted does not make them ok. media portrayal of minorities of any kind (not just race-related minorities) makes it ok for these minorities to be discriminated against. maybe if people understand this, they can work to make this kind of “acceptable discrimination” end.

    posted by Trish on 7-28-2009 at 9:43 pm

39. There’s always the 1960′s Dick Tracy cartoon, which was revived for a bit in the early ’90s or so, which featured such stereotypical characters as Joe Jitsu and Go Go Gomez.

    posted by Curtis on 7-28-2009 at 9:45 pm

40. I have to agree with Jeneva. Racism seems to only matter in this country when it’s against minorities. You can’t tell me that the “girls” in white chicks weren’t buffoonish. They were completely stereotypical just as these cartoons were. As far as slavery goes? There were so many people owned as slaves by other people in the history of the world that you can’t utter a statement such as “at no point did black people own white slaves”. That’s just a glaring example of American ethnocentrism. Yes, we should remember slavery as a time when this country was in the wrong, but I’m tired of events 150 years ago being brought up to justify current events. If we really want to focus on slavery, it should be on those who are themselves current or past victims of human trafficking in this and other countries…

    posted by Brandy on 7-28-2009 at 10:52 pm

41. I love it. I love how it makes people so mad. It shows how far we as a society has come and I think its laughable that these were even considered a good stereotype. Get a sense of humor and see that these aren’t terrible and they aren’t the root of all evils, they’re just stupid.

    posted by ak on 7-29-2009 at 12:51 am

42. You forgot Tom and Jerry in His Mouse Friday. Didn’t understand the ending when I was a kid. Didn’t understand the humor, but it stuck in my head cause it was so bizarre.

    posted by Klunker on 7-29-2009 at 12:59 am

43. I grew up watching Looney Tunes, and my whole family was sad when they got taken off the air. The political correctness and what is perceived by our society as “good parenting” is why. Parents today censor and coddle their children rather than TEACH them. Instead of teaching their children good sportsmanship, they cry that every child deserves a medal or ribbon because if not they feel bad. Instead of teaching their children to be open and friendly to other children, or to concentrate on their schoolwork before their video games, they medicate them for shyness and ADD(there is seriously a pill for shyness). Instead of teaching them how these cartoons are not real, how we should NOT act how it is portrayed on them, they simply don’t let them see it and make them watch Dora or Teletubbies or whatever. To be a good parent, you must also be a teacher and most parents today fail because it’s just easier to put in a Dora tape and leave the room.

    That being said, I seem to remember hearing the Merry Melodies were originally played before movies to occupy people before the movies started. Now if we can get back to Looney Tunes instead of previews and commercials, I’d be happy.

    posted by rayne on 7-29-2009 at 5:31 am

44. no matter what anyone says Entertainment educates. no matter how you feel about it, we learn about our culture and modes of behavior from every cartoon, sitcom, and commercial on tv. Entertainers and advertisers know this, but they deny the responsibility on account of how much money is made.

    posted by lsmith on 7-29-2009 at 6:04 am

45. You may not believe this but many of these cartoons appeared, some with regularity, during the 80′s for Saturday morning shows. I remember several of them and the one with Bugs Bunny in black face was almost a regular.

    posted by Brian on 7-29-2009 at 9:05 am

46. An interesting research topic: What do other cultures think about the slavery they perpetuated in the past? Obviuosly black slavery is a sensitive topic in America because of the fact it was part of our history, but what About China, Israel, Russia, and other countries. Almost every region of the world has at one time or another condoned slavery in some form.
    I thought of this because when I read the stories of the construction of the Great Wall of China and the slave labor used and the slavery discussed in the Old Testament/Torah I don’t feel as uncomfortable as when I talk about the slavery in America. So I wonder if other cultures have similiar reactions when the slavery from their past is discussed.

    posted by Brian on 7-29-2009 at 9:24 am

47. @ Brian — where were you when I was trying to come up with a topic for my thesis??? Your suggestion would be an excellent research topic for someone! Such an interesting question and I would love to know the answer…

    posted by Brandy on 7-29-2009 at 9:36 am

48. The one thing that everyone seems to overlook when this topic comes up is that these shorts were not originally made for kiddy saturday morning consumption. These were shown in movie theatres before the main feature or inbetween a double feature where the audience was most often than not, adults. It wasn’t until the 70′s that Warner Bros decided to serve these up to me and millions of other kids. These also have to be watched acknowledging the time frame in which they were made.

    Bob Clampett, who directed some of the shorts above, admired or befriended alot of the top entertainers of the time such as, Fats Waller, Cab Calloway, and Duke Ellington. That is why he made cartoons “caricaturing” these men, because they were famous and entertaining. A portiion of the voice work on Coal Black was done by Duke Ellington’s band members themselves.

    I’m not apologizing for any of these cartoons, because there is nothing to apologize for. No matter how uncomfortable it is for some people, the truth is that yes, we as people are different colors and it’s okay to talk about it.

    “Modern man’s mind is so open to politcal correctness, that his brain has fallen out.”

    posted by ArtF on 7-29-2009 at 10:00 am

49. Good question, Brian. Here’s something I saw a couple years ago in one of the major annual almanacs:

    More Africans ended up being enslaved in Central and South America than in North America.

    Granted, most of the Americas were under European control at the time slaves were actually being captured and imported, but still… as you say, it’s not solely a United States issue.

    posted by Sandy Wood on 7-29-2009 at 10:09 am

50. Great post -

    First, I can picture Ransom just before posting this: taking a deep breath and saying, “Okay, here we go!”

    Second, the COMMENTS here reflect a lot of what I love, love, love about m_f. Although there are a lot of differing opinions, there’s not a sarcastic, rude, or disparaging comment in the bunch – just a lot of thoughtful (and occasionally amusing) insights. Thanks, everybody.

    posted by B on 7-29-2009 at 12:13 pm

51. To ac, that was a cheap shot at Arkansas and I’m call you out on it. I know to everyone else we are a backwoods and racist state. I am here now to say that we have come a long way, especially in the younger generations. No longer will our parents hatred be ours, and I do not appreciate your low-ball comment.

    posted by Nicole on 7-29-2009 at 12:24 pm

52. I don’t care what the PC cops say, “Southern Fried Rabbit” is still one of the funniest Bugs Bunny/Yosemite Sam cartoons ever.

    posted by Flave on 7-29-2009 at 3:17 pm

53. @ ArtF — I love the quote at the end of your post. My husband and I are both in the military, and he often wonders if we are getting so politically correct that we would possibly be weak to terrorist infiltration because we are so worried about being polite and not infringing on the rights of people. I’m going to have to forward your quote to him, I think he will enjoy it :)

    posted by Brandy on 7-29-2009 at 10:26 pm

54. Thanks to Mental Floss for posting these and treating us like adults big enough to take this.

    posted by Devin Greaney on 7-29-2009 at 11:36 pm

55. And I remember a weird cartoon where humanity kills itself off through war (the soldiers still had WW I helmets) and the creatures of the forest take over living in a peaceful world.

    Sound familiar to anyone?

    posted by Devin Greaney on 7-29-2009 at 11:43 pm

56. To Devin Greaney: I remember that, I saw it when I was really young but the scene where the last soldier drowned(?) in his blood, or something really stuck with me.

    While I was never conscious that these cartoons were full of negative stereotypes, it was kinda amazing seeing the change between these and current cartoons. Though today’s cartoon stereotypes seem to be lacking in the funny. (Samurai Champloo episode 23, while entertaining, had nothing on these)

    posted by K. Zhang on 7-30-2009 at 8:29 am

57. “really though, if you can’t laugh at yourself then lighten up.”

    Wow. That’s not right. If blacks, Native Americans and Japanese people had been making these images, then there would be a question of self-loathing I’d have. But black people at the studios in those days were the cleaning staff and cel washers, not the writers and animators. I highly doubt that any Native Americans or Japanese folks even set foot in the animators’ production office.

    The voice actors took those jobs so they could get paid, but even then, most of them where white. The people who wrote and animated these features were white males making vicious fun of people of colour.

    How in any way could that reality be construed as “ourselves” to be able to laugh at these images without thought? Ignorant, slow-talking, shuffling, gambling, drunken, whorish or warmongering stereotypes are not who people of colour are or were. Damn.

    posted by Brooklynfemale on 7-31-2009 at 12:01 pm

58. “Scrub Me Mama…” has to be one of THE most waste-of-art/music/talent examples of the bunch. You can see what the writer was going for: hot summer day with nothin to do (we’ve ALL been there) and then the animators step in and make it completely racist. With good art, aside from the monkeys apparently there to represent humans, and good music, aside from it being stereotypically “Things White People Like” music.

    posted by Johnny Cat on 8-3-2009 at 12:07 am

59. For anyone who thinks these kinds of program are “no big deal”, I’d like to think they don’t understand what it felt like, I’m sure, for people of minorities to have to watch this. To have turn to turn on the television, normally used for cheap entertainment, and instead subject themselves to watching their people ridiculed and paraded around like fools.
    To think this is “no big deal”, in my opinion, means to find some grain of truth in them, where ideally there should be none.

    posted by Mojojoelle on 8-5-2009 at 2:49 pm

60. I’m 3/4 Japanese and 1/4 black and… I don’t know, I watched the first one and the Tokio Jokio one. I interpreted them as being satirical- I’m a huge fan of satire- but… the sad thing is that people actually believed these stereotypes….It’s sad that people can’t separate a nationality from an individual…

    posted by Mari on 8-6-2009 at 1:39 pm

61. A friend of mine, who is a hunter, told me a story about “Bambi” and when he took her, six years old at the time, to see Bambi when it was re-released in the late 80′s. During the scene where Bambi’s mother gets killed she not only pointed out that someone was getting a good venison dinner that night but also more importantly, Bambi’s mother was shot by poachers because it is spring and not deer season. So, yes, children can handle these films.

    posted by nihil on 8-6-2009 at 6:47 pm

62. Okay, I grew up watching Looney Tunes — “Sothern Fried Rabbit” was presented to me without the black face bit, but the rest of the cartoon was the same. I am SOUTHERN — not racist, born and raised in the South. I am a Christian, who attends a VERY culturally diverse congregation. I was told that Looney Tunes was taken off of the air because it was “politically incorrect” and “too violent” (Yes, I actually emailed Cartoon Network to find out why). To this I say, Are you freakin’ kidding me?!! Tell me what is “non-violent” about Ben-10, or Star Wars The Clone Wars, or any of the other drivel that they air these days!! They try and KILL each other!! And this (Looney Tunes) is/was SATIRE!! I owe my sarcasm to Bugs and Tweety — I never once tried to drop an anvil on my friends head. I never doned black-face. I never cross-dressed. I never tried to pull a con. But I would hear wonderful music that I can now identify as “The Barber of Seville” or “Flight of the Bumble Bee” and many others. I would ASK MY PARENTS about things that did not quite make sense to me in a cartoon — like where is Albuquerque and why is Bugs always saying he should have turned left there? Who is Leopold? Why is Yosimite Sam wearing gray? What is a Yankee? How did he know to call Bugs “Miss Scarlett?” As a result, I LEARNED alot!!! I got interested in other things and looked them up — not on the internet (as there was none in 1984) but in the ENCYCLOPEDIA! I agree that these are offensive as they appear here with racial slurs, black face, and stereotypes (at least racially — I am not offended by the Southern stereotypes at all), but what is wrong with the editted versions that were shown to my generation? Someone said that to display complacencey towards these cartoons was to say that you find some degree of truth in them, I do not AGREE with the truth that is represented here, but it WAS the way things were, it is a true representation of the national attitude toward the Japanese, the Chinese, the Mexican, the Southern, and the Black cultures WAS when these were made. I do NOT think that these cartoons should be aired as they appear here, but I do not understand why the cartoons of MY generation — the editted versions — have been pulled from the air. I miss Bugs,Daffy, and Tweety. My kids are being deprived of a great education in music, art and sarcasm. Instead, they “click! Take a pic!” with Diego and “Vamanos!” with Dora. How will they ever learn to take a joke? They’ve never really SEEN one!

    posted by Ginger on 8-25-2009 at 8:40 pm

63. I agree with a lot of what has been said here. These cartoons aren’t appropriate for airing today (at least on television. They should be made available for dvd though…which I believe they are..). It is (if the parent is okay with it) a good tool to teach kids about the racism of the past (something that has been sanitized out of textbooks & classroom conversation). I do, however, feel that the politically correct fluff that permeates the airwaves today has gone too far. Cookie monster can’t eat cookies anymore (because it could teach children “unhealthy practices” and that it would be “okay to eat cookies all of the time.”…right..), Tom & Jerry are shown (severely neurtered of fun action scenes) on cartoon network. Buggs Bunny (already extrememly neutered as far back as the 80′s) is also being “edited” by Cartoon network. Saturday mornings are all but dead (with maybe two hours (on the regular networks) in the mornings. In the meantime, those time slots originally set aside for kids on weekdays (anywhere from 2-4 in the afternoon) are filled with programming really NOT appropriate for kids. Even at those times, programs with sexual innudenos/connotations & violence are easily accessible. We “protect” kids from “violence” in cartoons, but they are at more risk of seeing the garbage played out on regular television. Those type of programs should be moved BACK to the time slots they were originally in. In the meantime, we should let children be children; We need to stop sanitizing everything (instead of worrying that Jr. will copy his favorite cartoon character & chase his friends around with a stick). Before there were the action cartoons, there was zorro, Davey Crockett, etc. Kids are always going to act out the parts of their heroes. That’s part of learong about life. There are moral lessons in all of that, as well. It also gives kids a means of escape. Dindn’t we all want to live in another world for a while. They have plenty of time to let life’s reality draw them in. I’m amazed at the people who feel it’s their duty to dictate to everyone else what kids should watch, especially when many of these organizations are run by ppl who’ve never had children. They could have amnesia too…they forgot what it was like to be a kid.

    posted by Vic Thomason on 10-11-2009 at 12:06 pm

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