tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post7617242971364999335..comments2023-11-05T02:01:53.847-06:00Comments on Antagony & Ecstasy: DISNEY SUNDRIES: PRETTY GOOD, SURE AS YOU'RE BORNTimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09491952893581644049noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-19640163318188302512011-08-05T16:03:49.329-05:002011-08-05T16:03:49.329-05:00Oh good lord, Rick. Thank you for bringing up tha...Oh good lord, Rick. Thank you for bringing up that "Holiday Inn" number (which I likewise have never seen or heard anyone raise a peep over). To this day, I still find little splatters of brain tissue on the walls and ceilings from the first time I saw that.<br /><br />Tim, this series is magnificent! Thank you so much for sharing.Trishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08108657342054862720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-4641259108536020892010-11-22T01:34:55.323-06:002010-11-22T01:34:55.323-06:00Ha! The second time I saw Pan's Labyrinth in t...Ha! The second time I saw Pan's Labyrinth in theaters some fool couple brought their eight year-old, under the idea that an adult fairy tale would be fine for the kid. I considered warning them of what was in store, but I instead decided they needed to learn the meaning of an R rating.<br /><br />As soon as the shepherd's wine bottle came out, the kid's blanket went up. The poor boy spent the last half hour of the movie behind that blanket.Benjaminhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14709333325776591295noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-39123630643867965052010-11-20T19:35:46.384-06:002010-11-20T19:35:46.384-06:00Any parent who's okay with taking little kids ...Any parent who's okay with taking little kids to see Pan's Labyrinth is gonna wind up with some fucked-up kids.GeoX, one of the GeoX boys.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14658452994152399308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-55277810357999160362010-11-20T14:51:08.045-06:002010-11-20T14:51:08.045-06:00Is it strange that I can easily get a copy of Triu...Is it strange that I can easily get a copy of <i>Triumph of the Will</i> or <i>Birth of a Nation</i> OR <i>Breakfast at Tiffany's</i> (with that AWFUL Mickey Rooney as a Japanese bit) but <i>Song of the South</i> is forbidden?<br /><br />I'd like to include my own selection for "classic with a bit of racism" film: <i>Holiday Inn</i>. EVERYONE remembers "White Christmas", but NO ONE remembers a frightful number called "Abraham", right down to Bing Crosby in Blackface. If that weren't enough, we're treated to a line about how Lincoln "set the darky free". I was horrified the first time I saw it...and had no warning about what I was about to encounter. Still, we're told how <i>Holiday Inn</i> is this beautiful film while <i>Song of the South</i> borders on obscene.<br /><br />I agree w/Tim--I oppose censorship and would like <i>Song of the South</i> to be available openly. Parents should be the first censor, and frankly, if parents have no problem taking their children to see <i>Pan's Labyrinth</i>, I fail to understand why <i>Song of the South</i> would cause such an uprorar.Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16611922269342141654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-30119194794072877542010-11-20T02:08:37.068-06:002010-11-20T02:08:37.068-06:00I was lucky enough to get to watch this as an unde...I was lucky enough to get to watch this as an undergrad in a class about film adaptations. The movie is surprisingly close to its folk tale source. I was also fairly shocked I liked it as much as I did; I found the film downright delightful.<br /><br />I remember when I was a kid we had these 'best of' Disney VHS tapes with clips of movies and "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" was included in one of them, along with better known songs from The Jungle Book and The Arisocats. I've always thought it was odd how Disney seemed so <i>proud</i> of "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" while disavowing Song of the South. Splash Mountain is one of the most popular attractions at Disneyland and yet most people have no idea what it's based on, let alone that the movie starred a black man. I mean, talk about white-washing your history. There are cute, animatronic hillbilly animals all over that ride but not a single African-American in sight. <br /><br />I wish Disney just had the balls to come out and admit the film is racist, put it in its historical (and filmic) contexts and just release the damn thing already.Sales on Filmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11698385117210584275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-10865606889866701562010-11-19T18:20:24.575-06:002010-11-19T18:20:24.575-06:00I agree that it's a shame that Song of the Sou...I agree that it's a shame that Song of the South has effectively been banned in the United States, because even if it had no other merits (and it does have some good songs, not to mention its technical value, as you mentioned), but is valuable socially because it shows us a trope that still gets used, with frequency, in 2010. I think that it takes getting smacked in the face by something so blatantly racially problematic as Song of the South for privileged folk to realize that these sorts of portrayals are still being done to this day. <br /><br />I at least feel like I can admit to you that I enjoyed watching Song of the South. Sure, it's racially problematic as hell, but it still has some entertainment value. So does Gone With the Wind, after all. After riding Splash Mountain in Disney World, a bunch of my high school friends hunted down a copy on eBay from Thailand and made a night out of watching the movie. The viewing caused so much nervous laughter it just might be a record.Meganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14872907965389104215noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-34752109167124182782010-11-19T16:47:52.256-06:002010-11-19T16:47:52.256-06:00Yeah, the thing that gets me is that Gone with the...Yeah, the thing that gets me is that Gone with the Wind is much more racist and apologetic for the Confederacy than this movie is at its worst moments. "I don't nothing 'bout birthing no babies," indeed. Yet Gone with the Wind is considered a classic, and this an old shame.MrRoivashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12018731012247569416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-89125214650726873072010-11-19T16:37:28.300-06:002010-11-19T16:37:28.300-06:00This is a really fantastic review. I'm so glad...This is a really fantastic review. I'm so glad you got hold of a copy; I very much enjoyed reading this. Thank you.Brigdhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09171052253976346226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-38808178700884882762010-11-18T22:38:32.166-06:002010-11-18T22:38:32.166-06:00As far as I'm concerned, there are two good th...As far as I'm concerned, there are two good things about this movie:<br /><br />1. James Baskett, obviously; and<br /><br />2. Br'er Fox (also Baskett!), all fangs and twitchiness; he's truly unnerving, and he strikes me as the closest thing to a meth fiend you're going to find in a Disney movie.<br /><br />Otherwise, though, man alive--the script is just amateur-hour all the way, and the other characters leave essentially no impression. Also, I'm thinking they didn't mean for the inept bull-goring scene to be quite so hilarious as it is.<br /><br />As far as the racism goes, it's quite true that it's in a different category altogether from the don't-give-a-fuck variety in "What Makes the Red Man Red?" and friggin' "Happy-Hearted Roustabouts" from Dumbo--nobody MEANT to be less than sensitive, but damn--I know it's historically realistic, but I have to say, the fact that Toby doesn't get invited to the birthday party--that the possibility apparently never even *occurs* to anyone--actually made me ANGRY. If this omission was intended as social commentary, then well-done, I suppose, but it sure seems to me like it just seemed entirely unproblematic to everyone involved. Bah, I say! I want a sequel called Revenge of the Bull, where all the white people get gored to death.GeoX, one of the GeoX boys.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14658452994152399308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-41186012968507500302010-11-18T21:56:53.830-06:002010-11-18T21:56:53.830-06:00it should be noted that the next time i'm in t...it should be noted that the next time i'm in town (read: june), i will force you to watch this with me, as you are the only person i know who has a copy and i want to see the thing for myself.Cameronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07573022985434913749noreply@blogger.com