As most of you may or may not know, the classic Disney movie Song of the South has never been released in the United States on VHS or DVD. They've re-released it in theaters as recently as 1986, but the people at Disney have been in agreement for a very long time that the content of the film is apparently not fit to be seen in our homes. Yet, characters and other things from the movie are used at Disney theme parks in their rides and attractions, and songs from the movie have been used in compilation Disney videos for children. They don't want to create a bad influence for children, yet they whet their appetites by teasing them with clips from a film that they're never going to be allowed to see, if they have any say about it, and up to now they have.
That's where people like me come in.
First of all, let me tell you about this film, specifically regarding the controversy surrounding several thematic elements within. The film is set on a plantation, in a post-Civil War southern state. There are blacks shown in the film, but there is no mention in the film at any time of the terms "slaves" or "slavery". There's barely even any working depicted, except for the older gentleman who carried the luggage into the house, and a later scene showing some of them walking down the road with tools, presumably en route to do some kind of field work. But was there a team of armed, white taskmasters whipping them into submission? No. For all we know, they were going to work in their own fields. Given the time period of the film, I realize it's not likely that they owned their own land, but my point is why assume the worst? In fact, I never saw blacks in this movie being treated, or even referred to, in any way that would be considered inferior at all, unless you want to view the employer/employee relationship as promoting inferiority.
Now, I'm not naive. I realize how blacks were treated and thought of back then, and for many decades afterward. This film does not depict that at all. And I don't think Disney set out to sugar-coat it, either. They simply told a story set in a time and place where two races of people would have interacted, and to whatever degree they interacted is essentially up to the viewer. But if the viewer chooses to assume and imply that there's any evil intent in this film, I have to say they're dead wrong. This is the kind of work that should, very strictly, be taken for what it is, and nothing more. It's the story of a young boy dealing with the separation of his parents, via the morals found within the imaginative stories of a kindly old gentleman who lives on the land owned by the boy's grandmother. That's it.
I believe that children should be allowed to watch this, and if they have questions about what's going on, take their age into consideration for your answers. If they're too young, don't go into explanations about slavery and that whites basically looked down on all blacks during that time. Wait until they're a little older, when they've (hopefully) already learned a great deal about positive interaction with people of all races, before further educating them about the darker times of our nation's history. The little boys in the film played together as equals, and skin color obviously didn't make a bit of difference to them. That's the big, basic lesson that should be taken from this film, and one that I feel Disney was trying to get across. It's all about the children, and about the magical places our imaginations can take us, regardless of the bigger things that are going on in the world around us. Uncle Remus understood that, and actor James Baskett was justly rewarded with an Oscar for his portrayal of what should be remembered to this day as one of our most beloved figures from our childhood stories.
Having said that, I would like to make this film available to anyone who would like one...to experience it for themselves through the eyes of a child again, not as an adult looking for evil where it does not exist. Let me know, and a DVD of a timeless Disney classic is yours to enjoy.
And, in a final message directly to the folks at Disney: Release this film to us. Not only will you benefit from it financially, but you'll be giving back a classic work in film history to a public that so desperately wants it again. Don't concern yourselves with influencing young people one way or the other. It's not your job to guide childrens' teaching. The responsibility of properly educating falls on the parents, and if they choose to teach the wrong lessons about something that should be so completely innocent, that's not your fault. If people don't like it, they don't have to buy it. But hopefully people will realize that the bigger stink they make about it, the more their children will be curious about it, and they'll be forced to deal with it whether they like it or not. Children want even more the things they cannot have, especially when they don't understand why it's being kept from them.
Parents, give knowledge freely and responsibly, especially when dealing with crucial moments in our history. How you present the facts to your children will determine how they form their opinions of the events, and how they deal with their fellow man into their adult years.
Disney, give us this movie, and let us deal with the content found within. Don't assume that everyone will automatically find the worst in it. Strong opinions about, and against, the movie have been made by many people over the years sight unseen, and placing the actual item in their hands will force them to finally see that their fears are totally unjustified. I truly believe this.
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For more information about the movie, and to sign the petition to tell Disney to finally release Song of the South to the public, click here: http://songofthesouth.net Have a zip-a-dee-doo-dah day!
