Should Disney reboot Song of the South?

I don't see how. The source material is an irredeemability trap: Anything done to fix what is broken in the source material would render it "not Song of the South", and leaving it broken is morally offensive.
 
No. Ignoring it means you refuse to take it at face value and those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it. It also demeans and disrespects those persons who lived through and rose above in spite of it. Re-writing history to make it more palatable to today's culture gives no accurate gauge of changes occurring or that still needs to happen. Example (my opinion) parallel the history of ancient Rome to the USA today. Most powerful countries of their times that rotted and are rotting from within. See speech from Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.
 
No chance. Disney is doing almost everything they can to bury it and forget it ever happened. As good a movies as it was (I'm fortunate enough to have it on DVD) it was a product of its time and any attempt at a remake is out of the question.
 


No, but they should release on digital. It's an important film. and historically wise and not really racist just boring.
I mean geez, It's a family movie from the 1940s do you really expect Disney to be accurate with its depictions of reconstruction era slavery?

Fun Facts :James Baskett won a honorary academy award for his portrayal of Uncle remis making him technically the first black man to win an Oscar

And the Cinematographer of that movie was non-other than Gregg Toland the Cinematographer of Citizen Kane and The Grapes of Wrath
 
There's nothing really to gain from doing so. The live action story is really dull and uncomfortable, and Bre'r Rabbit & Co have a little too much baggage these days to not be under a well-deserved microscope if anyone tried to revisit them, even if a reboot did just stick to the Talking Animal stories.
 
No, but they should release on digital. It's an important film. and historically wise and not really racist just boring.
I mean geez, It's a family movie from the 1940s do you really expect Disney to be accurate with its depictions of reconstruction era slavery?

Fun Facts :James Baskett won a honorary academy award for his portrayal of Uncle remis making him technically the first black man to win an Oscar

And the Cinematographer of that movie was non-other than Gregg Toland the Cinematographer of Citizen Kane and The Grapes of Wrath

I also agree that they should release the film. I don't in any way condone the film's racist imagery, but it is a product of its time, and should be viewed in that context. I like what Warner Brothers does, and think Disney could adopt the same strategy. With some of their more controversial old animated shorts, they feature a disclaimer that acknowledges the prejudice and how they don't represent the current views of WB.

I think pretending that Song of the South doesn't exist, while simultaneously selling merch based on the ride that inspired the film, is just Disney having it both ways.
 


Ignoring it is nonsense in my opinion. This appears to be the only movie that I am aware of that has disappeared from access. You can look at at a number of movies that were created during the same time period that may contain what is now considered to be racially sensitive depictions. It’s history and as much as some would like it you can’t erase it. Has anyone watched the Disney Treasures compilations of shorts? There are many that contain depictions that aren’t acceptable under today’s norms. The intro to these shorts includes an explanation of how it isn’t acceptable under today’s norms. Many of these films were not created to be intentionally offensive.
 
Ignoring it is nonsense in my opinion. This appears to be the only movie that I am aware of that has disappeared from access. You can look at at a number of movies that were created during the same time period that may contain what is now considered to be racially sensitive depictions. It’s history and as much as some would like it you can’t erase it. Has anyone watched the Disney Treasures compilations of shorts? There are many that contain depictions that aren’t acceptable under today’s norms. The intro to these shorts includes an explanation of how it isn’t acceptable under today’s norms. Many of these films were not created to be intentionally offensive.
I like the way Leonard Maltin makes that clear in the intro to some of these compilations.
 
I never had the chance to see Song of the South and so I have no idea why it was deemed offensive. Can someone explain?
 
I never had the chance to see Song of the South and so I have no idea why it was deemed offensive. Can someone explain?

It plays into a lot of stereotypes, specifically the "happy, idyllic slaves in the happy idyllic South who's primary concern is the happiness of their white masters" one (technically the black characters are servants, because it's during the Reconstruction, but that's a really REALLY fine distinction, both narratively and historically.

It's...honestly not The Most Offensive Thing. But it doesn't really exist in a bubble, and a big problem was that for a long time that was still the best Big Roles a black actor could hope for.

If you check out Lindsay Ellis' channel on YouTube, she has an older video where she recaps the movie and discusses various issues with it (iirc, her ultimate conclusion is basically "It's awkward and uncomfortable at times, but mostly it's just kind of boring, but it probably shouldn't be hidden away like a Dark Secret either.")

It does feel a little silly that it's hidden away. I swear the animated bits were shown as shorts when I was a kid.
 
Its sad that they cant release that movie for more to see. James Baskett did a great job and won an oscar, making history, but people are too "offended" to acknowledge that. Sad that people try to erase it. You cant erase history - and you shouldn't.
 
It is probably best the way it is. If you really want to see it, you can see it. I know I saw many, probably bootlegged, copies at Amoeba Records. Can probably get online too. I personally am not very curious about it because I remember thinking it was lame as a child and it also has a bad reputation. While all of that may have been over my head as a small child, I still don’t want my daughter seeing it
 
Its sad that they cant release that movie for more to see. James Baskett did a great job and won an oscar, making history, but people are too "offended" to acknowledge that. Sad that people try to erase it. You cant erase history - and you shouldn't.


What vacationer said.

James Baskett did indeed win an Oscar for his excellent performance, and people do acknowledge that. It's not a matter of being ~offended~ tho. It's just, as a movie...it's not very good, Baskett's performance aside. Disney could release it with a nice intro over it, explaining that it's part of a certain time, and putting it into context. It's pretty ballsy of them to have a whole ride based on a movie they refuse to acknowledge.

Aside from personal archives, there's just not a lot to be gained from officially releasing it on DVD tho, and it's a little fraught. I can understand them not wanting to do it, especially right now.
 
I always felt they should release a Disney Editions book about Splash Mountain, and release the DVD along with it. Of course they'll be controversy, but that might help stem the blow a bit.
 
Of course they'll be controversy, but that might help stem the blow a bit.
I don't believe there is anything that could "stem the blow" any significant amount. The Simpsons have just pulled an episode from syndication based on a guest voice having abused a handful of victims. Song of the South is described by the late Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., as a direct "insult" to well over thirty seven million people. I think it'll take a lot more than a book about an attraction to mitigate that fact.
 
When Disney+ streaming goes live this year, it will be interesting to see if this movie is included. It is currently being reported that the ENTIRE vault of Disney films are to be available.
 

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