Posted on 04/29/2014 2:16:34 AM PDT by servo1969
Don’t you just love classic Disney movies? Animated cinematic adventures that espoused the importance of life values, growing up, and racism… Well, that’s what some lefty professor is arguing at Syracuse University. Apparently, the Jungle Book is just chock-full of racism (and not because of “man-cub’s” strange desire to remain uncultured). Professor Robert Thompson told Yahoo Movies (um… this article was forwarded to me – like most people, I don’t actually visit Yahoo Movies) that the Jungle Book is racist because of something to do with Louie Armstrong.
Apparently, when Mowgli meets the Ape King, young children are being brainwashed with Disney-Technicolor to hate African Americans… King Louie, after all, is a representation of the American Negro, according to the overly sensitive professor. (Seriously, can we just allow something from my childhood to remain untouched by liberals?) According to CampusReform:
Critics have stated that the scene where the ape character, King Louie, sings "I Want to Be Like You” to the human character, Mowgli, he is not just a cartoon animal wishing to be human. Rather, Louie represents an African-American stating that he wants to be a member of the white race, which is represented by Mowgli.
Wow… Now who’s racist? I always figured King Louie was just a power-hungry primate that saw Mowgli as the animal-kingdom-equivalent of a “get-rich-quick” scheme. But, then again, I was six when I first saw the movie. Of course, it gets better:
When Professor Sharpton Thompson was informed that King Louie was actually voiced by Louis Prima (an astoundingly talented Italian singer), he didn’t back off of his comments:
The song is [still] racist, regardless of who sings it, because it has a jazzy tone similar to Louis Armstrong’s music.
Oh… So the song sang in the Jungle Book by a prominent Italian American is derogatory toward African Americans because it was set to the traditionally “Negro” sound of jazz music. (Full disclaimer: This was not my intuitive leap… I’m merely rephrasing the esteemed professor’s contention.) So, apes and jazz are indicative of black people, according to Professor Thompson… But Disney was the racist, right?
Wait: It gets better still. As Disney is ramping up to do (another) remake of the classic animated film, Thompson has taken it upon himself to make sure the new version is politically correct. One fear that PC-minded professors have had in the past, is that racism might still creep through because King Louie spoke “differently than other characters” in the original film.
I mean, sure, Larry the Cable guy speaks differently than most comedians; but I don’t exactly see a bunch of trailer-trash Lynyrd Skynyrd fans upset about every southern accent that comes across the silver screen. (Although, I do see a few angry emails in my immediate future for that last sentence… Full disclosure: Much of my family comes from the south, and is even related to Stonewall Jackson. Love y’all!)
DePauw University professor Jeffrey M. McCall said, "The King Louie character can have his speaking mannerisms updated in a way that suggests he speaks in a manner similar to other characters.” Right. Because nothing quite epitomizes the fire-hungry chimp like an upper-crest Oxford accent. Hey, maybe he and Shere Khan could be done by the same actor. (Which brings up another point: How come no one finds it racist that the power-obsessed tiger has a King James command of the English accent?)
I know it seems a little useless to tell a couple of PC-obsessed academics to “chillax”… But, c’mon! We’re talking about an animated movie (about a “man-cub”) that was made in 1967. Don’t ya think we could just ease back on the social-psycho-babble for roughly 90 minutes, and enjoy the amazingly groovy jazz music that was highlighted throughout the film? (Oh, which reminds me: Baloo appears to be a welfare king, judging by his signature song. That’s not racist, is it?)
I actually feel kinda bad for Professors Thompson and McCall… They can’t even watch a classic Disney movie (with a Louis Prima soundtrack) without thinking about some black guy blowing on a trumpet. Walt Disney might have had his own personal character flaws, but it kinda seems like these two academic hacks are a little overly obsessed with racist tendencies.
I’ve made a social notation of the high number of whites that oddly list jazz as one of their favorite types of music, yet never, never listen to it.
My theory is that its an expected and socially accepted answer to “What kind of music do you like?” Just like people will list books they’ve never read or read once in English Lit, as a “favorite book”.
I’m like you, I find smooth jazz dull and boring.
Music that is more celebrated than listened to. A burst of jazz in a commercial will get attention. An hour of it, as you say, boring.
Part of the original context of jazz is as total improvisation. Composed jazz is almost a contradiction in terms. At a genuine jazz concert, something like a piano will keep up a background while various soloists will step up and improvise, then when finished will often get applauded.
Perhaps not white, but definitely Caucasian.
Caucasians come in all colors, of which "white" is only a subset.
I guess I wonder how this makes news. Why don’t we interview a bag lady and ask her opinion of Wall Street quarterly gains and publish that? The dif is the bag lady isn’t teaching out kids...something the PARENTS pay for. Root cause? Parents paying for such a person to teach THEIR kids.
I love jazz ... and I’m so white I could blind people.
This clown probably listens to Barbra Streisand and Celine Dion.
I was using the prof’s word to hoist him on his own petard. Yes, Caucasian is the more correct name and applies to the people of the sub-continent. Perhaps I shouldn’t have used the word race as that is a broader classification. I think we both know that most libs ascribe the most importance to skin tone than reality - witness the half-white, half-African president being totally carried in the “black” column.
King Louie was voiced by Louis Prima...
Prima was from a musical family in New Orleans. His father, Anthony Prima, was the son of Leonardo Di Prima, a Sicilian immigrant from Salaparuta, while his mother, Angelina Caravella, had immigrated from Ustica as a baby
Wikipedia...
And what about Bagheera, a black panther?
Disney IS racist. If they weren’t they’d re-release “Song of the South”
Had the pleasure of seeing and hearing Grover Washington Jr and Stan Getz together at the Hollywood Bowl back in the day. Fantastic!
Hell is Kenny G being blasted for all eternity.
Racism will never end in America. Too many liberals make a living using it......
Most smooth jazz is sad and contemplative. Its dull and boring if you want a mood elevator, but its also just right if your missing someone on a rainy day.
“I like jazz...”
Therefore, you are black.
Signed,
White Girl who loves jazz
And here's my current fav rendition of "Wanna Be Like You"
Or this one!
One more time!
No love for the Big Bad Voodoo Daddy cover of Wanna Be Like You?
That’s fourth on my list, lol
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