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| Before the familiar cat and mouse duo, there was a Van Beuren cartoon with these two in the 1930s. See: http://www.cartoonresearch.com/tomjerry/ |
The Mill Creek Entertainment collection 150 Cartoon Classics has many of these early Tom and Jerry cartoons. Although I could not rip them from the DVD, they can be found on YouTube:
"Plane Dumb"- Tom and Jerry in blackface- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiMpnCp8QbI
"Redskin Blues" - Native American stereotypes; possibly sexist representation of women; military themes- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcJjSk1HKeg
also note the swastika at 4:50 on an Indian tee-pee (although in 1932 this may have had a different meaning)
"Barnyard Bunk"- Great Depression; alcohol portrayal- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAlE-MglrjM
note: Tom and Jerry were renamed Dick and Larry in a later attempted revival (as they appear in this video)
"A Spanish Twist"- sexist (and sexual) portrayal of women? also, end of Prohibition (scene starts at 5:18)- promotion of alcohol?!- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMqkbEOKAp0
"Piano Tooners"- a little risque? (female characters)- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xK9Y1GrfF4
Also have to mention that there are NO WARNINGS or parental guidelines on the DVD collection, and it says “Family Holiday Entertainment” in the DVD titles/track listings. On Amazon.com this DVD collection is rated PG.
-Darya, 02/05/2011
1 comment:
So, I found these cartoons to be more offensive than I expected and I'm wondering if it is just because I don't like them and don't think they are funny? Especially "Plane Dumb". But it raised the question, are my morals clouded by my tastes? If I had found it funny, would it bother me as much? Btw, did anyone check out some of the viewer comments on the links? These cartoons really sparked some passionate debates, even if they do seem mainly ignorant and offensive themselves. Well, no matter what I personally think of these cartoons, I really don't think they are for children. They seem generally negative and I don't see what children would get out of them. I do think they project racist views for children. Did anyone enjoy these? I would love to hear another point of view.
~Ashley
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