NOOOOOOO, MAKE IT STOP, PLEEEASSEEE (Woody Woodpecker CGI)

[Hobie-wan]

Stuff like this:

Well of course the blatantly racist stuff is terrible.

[pakopako]

This thread reminds me of the Shortpacked! webcomic strip about the 3D CGI reboot of Christian Educational Cartoon "Super Book"... now with nudity and pedophilia.

(Sorry, thought the joke was about the Flying House for a minute. Should have known better.)

[BoringSupreez]

Stuff like this:

Well of course the blatantly racist stuff is terrible.

I didn't watch those clips, but I do have this to say: I don't take any real issue with the racist humor in the old Looney Tunes shorts. I'm not racist or anything, but I do think people these days are far, far too sensitive to racial humor. I don't get upset when black comedians make fun of whites, and I don't think they should get so worked up about the reverse. The humor shouldn't be hatefully racist; but I'm fine with racial humor as long as it's in good spirit (or if it's so old it doesn't even matter anymore, like in Looney Tunes). Think about it: what humor doesn't make fun of someone or something? So why should skin color and stereotypes be off-limits?

[Erik_Twice]

Well ok, 50s attitudes and the like. Tex Avery stuff. Lots of Warner Bros stuff that I could still see on Saturday morning cartoons when I was little that was removed from showings by the time I was a teenager. I swear Heckle and Jeckle had stuff that wouldn't fly today. Been forever since I've seen it though.

I don't know, other than a joke about women drivers in THE CAR OF TOMORROW and some parodies on gender-based advertising in THE HOUSE OF TOMORROW I don't really think there are many 50s attitudes around.

It's true that many cartoons were pulled but I don't think it's because of their content, they are just an easy target (Speedy Gonzales comes to mind). I don't see any more problems in the WB library than the Simpsons have.

Tex wouldn't get a job today, that's for sure. His shorts are wild, completely unrealistic and have no interesting characters or settings. And in an age where stretch and squatch is banned by suits his takes are a complete impossibility. Can you imagine pitching NORTHWEST HOUNDED POLICE to a studio?

Stuff like this:

Why not a spanking? Homer strangles his son every day on the Simpsons and that's allowed.

I also don't think that racism was a big part of cartoons back then or that it's a special kind of humour.

@Boring Supreez

I see your point. I noticed there's a lot of non-controversy on a topic I think is very complex. As in, you see people hurry to label everything as racist because that allows them to look good and keep on without taking it into account.

I see alot of talk about movies like RISE OF A NATION or COAL BLACK AND THE SEBBEN DWARVES that practically start with "This film is racist, let's talk about how wonderful the movie is".

And that's terrible.

[Luke]

Stuff like this:

Well of course the blatantly racist stuff is terrible.

Even the CN has changed the voice of the maid on T&J because it was offensive. I find it just as offensive that they changed the maid's voice.

[Anayo]

Stuff like this:

Well of course the blatantly racist stuff is terrible.

I didn't watch those clips, but I do have this to say: I don't take any real issue with the racist humor in the old Looney Tunes shorts. I'm not racist or anything, but I do think people these days are far, far too sensitive to racial humor. I don't get upset when black comedians make fun of whites, and I don't think they should get so worked up about the reverse. The humor shouldn't be hatefully racist; but I'm fine with racial humor as long as it's in good spirit (or if it's so old it doesn't even matter anymore, like in Looney Tunes). Think about it: what humor doesn't make fun of someone or something? So why should skin color and stereotypes be off-limits?

Like this:



I'm white and I die laughing every time I see this. Or maybe I'm just weird.

[The Last Horseman]

I also don't think that racism was a big part of cartoons back then or that it's a special kind of humour.

Growing up in a family with racist grandparents, I can genuinely say, there are so many racist jokes in there that it can be suprising. Especially considering how often I see the banned ones... oh, and almost every explosion ends in one....

Ok, lets get off that.

[Golgo 14]

I noticed there's a lot of non-controversy on a topic I think is very complex. As in, you see people hurry to label everything as racist because that allows them to look good and keep on without taking it into account.

I see alot of talk about movies like RISE OF A NATION or COAL BLACK AND THE SEBBEN DWARVES that practically start with "This film is racist, let's talk about how wonderful the movie is".

And that's terrible.

How's that terrible? Of course Birth of a Nation and similar films are racist and it's important to note that, but racism isn't the reason those films are still important (unless you're only studying race). I don't recommend D.W. Griffith for his political, racial or historical stands, but in terms of movie making he knew what he was doing at a time when most people didn't and that's worth studying.

[Erik_Twice]

How's that terrible? Of course Birth of a Nation and similar films are racist and it's important to note that, but racism isn't the reason those films are still important (unless you're only studying race). I don't recommend D.W. Griffith for his political, racial or historical stands, but in terms of movie making he knew what he was doing at a time when most people didn't and that's worth studying.

Oh, of course, BIRTH was incredibly innovative and very important historically. It's not the best example for what I want to say tough, since that film has been researched to death, COAL BLACK is a better example but nowhere as well-known, being a cartoon.

It just that it seems to me that it's racism is never discussed or taken into account artistically when it comes to discussing a racist film. Or it's the only thing taken into account which is as bad

I think that the glorification of the KKK makes BIRTH a worse film. And not because it supports evil but because supporting evilm leads to bad writting. If racism is irrational a racist film should suffer in the plot department like a documentary that wasn't properly researched.

Sorry, I'm explaining myself terribly.

[Original_Name]

First off, I find it hilarious that even through the shameful bigotry in that WWII Bugs Bunny cartoon, Warner Bros. still acknowledges the beauty of Japanese women. It's like a hint of truth and sanity in the ramblings of a lunatic.

Concerning the "we make fun of everything else, why not peoples' skin and culture?" argument, I understand that you mean well, but you have to think of what these things are indicative of, as well as the impact that even comedy can have on society -- as well as the ways that we, as social beings, process ridicule.

One of the many functions of social structure is the influence it holds over our self-construction. I am a massive proponent of staying true to individuality, and some people let others define them far too much -- however, it is perfectly human and natural for one to question and edit themselves if they are exposed to ridicule. As an example, I used to have long hair when I was 10 (I was trying to look like Vincent Valentine, y'know...) and because I was so young and my features were still so soft, it made me look really girly. After some ridicule, I came to understand their perspective and changed my hair accordingly. However, when you make fun of something as important as someone's culture, mannerisms, or genetically predisposed appearance, you run the risk of leading someone to feel they must edit something which cannot be changed. Or worse, something which can be changed, but shouldn't be changed.

For example, I have no problem with making jokes about how needlessly strict Asian parents are, because I've known so many Asian people who've been made absolutely miserable, and have even suffered from real psychological damage because of it. On the other hand, making fun of Asian languages, for instance, can have a negative effect with consequences which outweigh the humorous element. A second-generation Chinese kid may not want to learn her grandparents' language and connect with their fascinatingly complex culture and heritage because her friends ridicule it and its supposed "Ping-pong chingy-chong" sounds. I've actually seen this happen with a friend of mine.

And furthermore, you have to view racist humor in context. For that Bugs Bunny cartoon, they were ridiculing a race of people and belittling their humanity through racist generalizations in support of feeding a delusion that says you shouldn't have remorse about killing certain types of people based on their race. Even if you don't have a violent or repressive ulterior motive, racist humor can have a negative effect when it feeds into the beliefs of destructive pre-existing prejudiced perspectives *spits out a letter p*. It can either directly or indirectly validate heinous, bigoted views of other people.

Is society too "PC"? I'm not sure... I think it's a very sweet gesture that we're trying so hard to erase a flaw in human code which has plagued us for countless generations. I don't think that the movement is too oppressive, we really don't lose anything by refusing to make fun of other people based solely on race -- I think anyone who makes an effort to move past racism, even if it's futile, has their heart in the right place. The counter-counter-racism movement doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. We should just agree that making fun of other people based on their race is wrong because