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Originally Posted by EricJ
The beef among those disingenuously looking for beefs is that James Baskett chuckles a little too much as Remus, which creeps out those out to look for Uncle Ben "Happy slave" images around every corner--We also see nice sanitized 40's images of supposed sharecroppers singing spirituals, at which point, those who want to believe what they think they believe have all the "evidence" they need.
(Or at least, Clarence Muse did when he ran crying to the NAACP after a falling-out with the studio: The organization originally found "no fault" with the movie when it came out, since Remus was such a positive role model to the boy character, but did a sudden turnaround after they started singling out Hattie McDaniel as scapegoat symbol of un-PC black domestic roles to fight against.)
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The initial press release by the NAACP executive secretary was actually written before they actually viewed the film and was based on second-hand accounts. In truth the film has been protested since it was in initial release.
Quote:
Originally Posted by EricJ
And....he turned out to be one of those dopes who still think Remus was a "slave".  |
Well, if someone as educated and cultured as Iger is a "dope" - do you think the general public is going to understand?
The "South" fans may be on a retirement watch - but that's just a false hope, if anyone was going to release it, it would have been under Iger's watch. He actually is quite progressive with directions the company has taken creatively - it had the best chance under him than it ever has had.
My guess is, it isn't about individual interpretations or elements of the film, but simply it's overall public perception. It's a firestorm that would just be waiting to happen. Look what just happened with SNL - they didn't even do anything offensive, they simply didn't have a black female on the show and look at the controversy that happened - and most folks who complained probably don't even watch SNL to begin with.