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Originally Posted by Steelmaker
I have a pretty good DVD bootleg of Song of the South, so if it never releases I'm fine with it. However I still think it's a shame that this film stays locked up as Disney's "dirty little secret." To me, it's no worse than Gone With The Wind and that movie has been made available for purchase time and time again to very little backlash. Personally I believe if SOS was released the fallout would not be anywhere near as bad as so many anticipate. People need to understand the era in which a piece of art was created. If SOS was made today, yes I could certainly understand the issue with that. But this movie is nearly 70 years old! People need to gain a little perspective when judging a film.
Personally I do believe that Disney will eventually release the film. Why? Because it will eventually become public domain and there is absolutely no way Disney passes up an opportunity to make money off of it before that.
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I saw a copy of Song of the South (obviously nothing official from Disney) a couple of years ago and was pretty surprised by it as a film. Obviously, the idea of a 'happy slave' who sings and tells stories is offensive as a concept, but what surprised me was that the adults in the film were portrayed as big racist a-holes, as terrible people... while their children like the film's central character and enjoy spending time around him and he is never portrayed as someone you shouldn't like as a person.
On the flip-side, I also think the film was trying to say something positive about trying to find some form of happiness even in dire situations. This seems passed over by many of the critics who dismiss it.
It's certainly dated and I can understand to some degree why Disney would not want to release it but it doesn't feel hateful, which is something I was glad of after seeing the actual film. I can basically see why people might consider it offensive but I can also see why some herald it as a classic. Disney's backlash would probably not be as bad they think it would if it actually got a release.