Free Republic

'Song of the South' pits art vs. cultural sensitivity http://www.charleston.net/assets/webPages/departmental/news/Stories.aspx?section=localnews&tableId=136791&pubDate=3/31/2007 http://tinyurl.com/2w5vty BY RON MENCHACA The Post and Courier Talk of a possible re-release of the 1946 Walt Disney film 'Song of the South,' which is criticized for its plantation-era depictions of blacks as the happy servants of wealthy whites, already is sparking a debate. The film was reshown in theaters as recently as 1986, but it never was released on video in the United States. Its cultural and cinematic significance have been the subject of scholarly debate for decades, and bootlegged copies of the film are popular on the black...

ORLANDO, Fla. - Walt Disney Co.'s 1946 film "Song of the South" was historic. It was Disney's first big live-action picture and produced one of the company's most famous songs _ the Oscar-winning "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah." It also carries the story line of the Splash Mountain rides at its theme parks. But the movie remains hidden in the Disney archives _ never released on video in the United States and criticized as racist for its depiction of Southern plantation blacks. The film's 60th anniversary passed last year without a whisper of official rerelease, which is unusual for Disney, but President and CEO...

Where Have You Gone, Uncle Remus?November 19th, 2006 November 12th, 2006 marked the 60th anniversary of the movie Song of the South.  Perhaps this cultural milestone did not capture your attention. Perhaps you don’t even remember celebrating the 50th anniversary. There is a reason for that, and it is not your faulty memory. Disney goes to great lengths to hype every one of its Classic Movies “for a limited time, only� complete with memorabilia and trinkets and googaws and suchlike. But there has been none of that commercial celebratin’ for Song of the South. It is in limbo, or...

IN the last few years, it has seemed that perhaps America's long-buried history of blackface is being allowed to peek out of the closet. Bob Dylan named his most recent studio album "Love and Theft," after Eric Lott's landmark 1993 study of the form; and in his curious 2003 film, "Masked and Anonymous," Dylan even got Ed Harris to "black up" for a scene. Spike Lee also explored the subject in "Bamboozled," and competing biographies of Stepin Fetchit joined "Where Dead Voices Gather," Nick Tosches' meditation on the minstrel superstar Emmett Miller, on bookshelves. "Old Dan Tucker," the opening track...

I know that it's been a really rough winter so far. But who would have thought that Hell was gonna to freeze over? "What do I mean by that?," you ask. Well, I just got word that Buena Vista Home Entertainment will be releasing "Song of the South" on DVD in the Fall of 2006. That's right. "Song of the South." The Academy Award winning film that former Disney Feature Animation head Thomas Schumacher once told Roger Ebert was on "permanent moratorium" has reportedly been greenlit for release late next year. A special 60th anniversary edition that -- thanks to...

During the Democratic Presidential debate I saw Thursday, Jan. 22nd, Peter Jennings asked Al Sharpton about what type of person he would potiently nominate for Chairman of the Federal Reserve. His response was unbelieveable, it was cheap entertainment...I was laughing hysterically. This guy is shear entertainment. I found the transcript to this portion of the debate and thought I would share it. Enjoy: JENNINGS: If during your term as president, if you become the nominee, and you have the opportunity to nominate someone to be chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, what kind of person would you consider for the...

HANOVER, N.H., April 17 — Maurice Rapf, a screenwriter, a founder of the Writers Guild of America and a professor emeritus of the film studies department at Dartmouth, died on Tuesday. He was 88. Mr. Rapf was the son of Harry Rapf, a pioneering executive at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, and he recalled having a brief career as a child actor, portraying orphans, street urchins and assorted brats. "Making movies was the family business, and with parental help it became mine as well," he wrote in 1990 for the Dartmouth alumni magazine. After graduating from Dartmouth in 1935 he returned to Hollywood...