Throughout the semester, I have watched some cartoons with racial stereotypes in them. However, this one is much more stereotypical than other cartoons that I have watched. This most likely is due to the fact that the cartoon is supposed to take place during the Civil War. It is known that there was slavery during the Civil War. This cartoon was directed by Friz Freleng and produced by Leon Schlesinger. It is also another one of Warner Brothers Merrie Melodies cartoons. It was released on March 30, 1940. In this blog post, I will give a brief summary of the cartoon and talk about the portrayal of the racial stereotypes.
This animation begins with some landscape and a sign saying Kentucky, as it points to the right. The narrator says the story takes place in 1861 B. Sea, Before Seabiscuit, which was making fun of the term B.C. and saying it took place before the start of the famous race horse, Seabiscuit (from the late 1930s to early 1940s). The camera then tracks to Colonel O’Hairoil, whom is a literal blue-blooded plantation owner in the literal bluegrass state of Kentucky. The camera then cuts and tracks to “Uncle Tom’s Bungalows,” giving a reference to the book Uncle Tom’s Cabin (an anti-slavery novel published in 1852 by Harriet Beecher Stowe). The camera then shows some slaves doing work on the tobacco and cotton plantation fields. It then cuts to Crimson O’Hairoil, who is getting ready for potential men to marry her. However, she loves the strong and brave Ned Cutler (who is actually the Elmer Fudd character). Ned is seen riding a horse and gives it to a slave kid to watch while he enters the building. Before Elmer can finish asking Crimson his question, they hear a bomb explosion. Ned tells her he has to set off to war. Crimson is impressed by her love’s decision to be patriotic and says she will give light through her window until he returns. Ned leaves, while the kid is still watching the horse.
It then cuts to Union strikes. The strikers have signs that say “The Army is Unfair to the Union.” Then it cuts to soldiers getting ready for the war with a sign saying the clothes are furnished by Northern Underwear. The animation cuts to an officer talking to his men about “Stoneball” Jackson, a “southpaw,” who is pitching and if they win, they will meet him in the South at the Cotton Bowl. During this scene there are also faces of the soldiers shown. These are the characteristics of the creators, giving themselves a reference in the animation. An interesting scene is when the officer throws his cigar, the soldiers fight over it. I’m assuming this references a shortage of cigars or cigarettes during the war, or even the value of tobacco. Then there are several different cannons being fired off in a musical theme. After this, there is a trumpet boy who breaks out in a solo with a drummer, creating some of that good old wacky humor. A nervous confederate officer paces back and forth when information is being sent to him through telegraph, however, we find out it is just racing results. Ned then shoots off a cannon that acts as a pinball machine, making him “tilt.” The Colonel hears about the Yanks winning another victory, which makes him angry. The animation also shows the slave boy waiting with the horse still. It cuts back to Ned reading a letter. A signal rocket follows turning into an ad for Mammy’s Shack. Meanwhile, Crimson has a strong light coming from her window that it sets Paul Revere off screaming “the British are coming.” The war ends in 1865 and Ned returns to Crimson. We finally find out that his question for her was if she could validate his parking. Crimson, upset, stamps a big “revoked” across his forehead.
After watching the animation, I’d like to bring up some of the racial stereotypes within the cartoon. All of these stereotypes were actually censored in later screenings. The first being the “Uncle Tom’s Bungalows” sign. Uncle Tom’s Cabin was an anti-slavery book created during the time period of the Civil War. It is known to be a very racial book. In the animation they poke fun at the fact that these were places for slaves to sleep and live. There are also the African American cotton pickers, or the slaves in general. You have the plantation slaves, the slave who fixes Crimson’s dress, and the slave who watches the horse for Ned. There is also a slave who is stamping the Parking tickets. In the edited version this scene was cropped to just reveal a hand stamping the ticket. Also, notice the portrayal of African American slaves in this animation. Their lips are drawn to be big and exaggerated. This is another racial stereotype of the African American population in this cartoon. All of these scenes with the African American slaves were cut due to censorship issues of the animation today. Who would of thought that animation could be so stereotypical? Another interesting piece of information about this cartoon is that it is supposed to make fun of the film, Gone With The Wind.
ETA: I commented on the Blogs of Bonnie Hansen and Chuck Soo-Hoo.
Til Next Week…
This is an interesting post to me because I like old cartoons and to this day, I cannot believe how absurdly sterotypical and racial some of these old cartoons were. I guess when you are young, the racist undertones go over your head. I know it did with me, when I was little. Thanks again for the post, it was really interesting!
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