Disclaimer: another cartoon that serves as an honorary inductee to the Censored 11. This review is going to contain racist content and imagery that I don’t at all endorse. As always, this is purely for educational and informational purposes. These depictions are wrong and gross, and because of that cannot go unnoticed. I ask and thank you for your understanding.
Release date: May 19th, 1934
Series: Merrie Melodies
Director: Friz Freleng
Starring: The Singing Guardsmen (Chorus)
The Censored 11 would be dominated by Friz Freleng, who tops with 4 cartoons in the list. Tex Avery has 3, Bob Clampett 2, and one each for Rudolf Ising and Chuck Jones. Although this isn’t in the Censored 11 (because of all the different cable packages and rights and ownership as to who owns etc etc), this definitely supports why Friz has the most. A man gets drunk and has a dream that he goes to heaven, but his stay doesn’t last long.
To give you an idea of what we’re dealing with, the cartoon is set in the cotton fields. There really is no saving grace for this cartoon, but the music score makes it a little less terrible to watch. It’s catchy, at least. We have some gags of people picking cotton, one man stuffing it into a large sack, another using a mower to shower the cotton into his own sack. One by one, everyone unloads their haul into the cotton gin, and the cotton cones out on the other side as “100% ALL WOOL SUITS”. Amusing concept, but terribly hard to appreciate.
Elsewhere, the protagonist of the cartoon is asleep, blowing bees away from his mouth. The bees retaliate by forming a dive bomber plane and stinging him right below the butt as the shred through his legs.
Nevertheless, after the ordeal, the man snags a jug of alcohol and prepares to drink, when he has a moral dilemma. Funny how you never see white people having a moral dilemma over the consumption of alcohol in these cartoons, especially those cartoons made during the prohibition era, huh? An angel and devil appear by his side, the angel urging him not to drink, the devil telling him to go for it. An argument between egos escalates into an all out brawl, the devil punching the angel in the face and the two of them tussling.
The one amusing gag in the cartoon is deemed pointless as the man indulges himself anyway while the two continue their fight. Immediately, he breathes fire and bounces around, the alcohol extremely potent. We wipe away from reality and into his intoxicated fantasy.
As the title suggests, the man is riding a donkey to the pearly gates, singing “Goin' to Heaven on a Mule”. Again: the music in this cartoon provides it any merit, which is extremely slight. Friz was always a very musical guy, so good music comes as no surprise. But, of course, it’s terribly hard to appreciate.
The man enters his paradise, which is grossly labeled as “Pair-O-Dice”, a take on the stereotype that black people love to shoot craps. This is a common stereotype that will plague other offensive cartoons, such as Clean Pastures (another Friz cartoon that borrows many elements from this one) and Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs to name a few. Nevertheless, he’s greeted with a warm reception by caricatured angels.
Elsewhere, a man selling brushes knocks on Heaven’s doors, answered by the big man himself. The salesman puts his foot in the door, hoping to make a purchase, but God slams the door on his foot and takes away the welcome mat outside.
The streets of Heaven are bustling and busy with stereotypes. Our protagonist heads for the “Milkyway Café”, an upbeat night club where the singers sing more of our title song. To top it all off, the protagonist spots a watermelon on a table and eats it. Watermelon was a symbol of freedom: after the civil war, freed slaves grew, sold, and ate it, thus creating a symbol for independence. Of course, southern white people were “threatened” by people merely celebrating their independence (which was still hardly independence at all) and deemed watermelon a symbol to reflect of “laziness” and “immaturity” and all other horrible descriptors you can think of.
Meanwhile, two angels play dueling pianos, turned quadruple dueling pianos while playing with their wings. Interesting gag, but hard to appreciate. More extremely uncomfortable watermelon gags as the man plays it like a harmonica.
We now cut to a gin orchard, an obvious take on the Garden of Eden. The man happily inspects it, turning over a “keep out” sign and indulging himself. God catches him and orders security guards to him away.
They do so... to a “CHUTE OF HADES”. He tumbles through the chute, his surroundings dissolving into the present as he wakes up from a fitful nightmare. He tosses the jug of gin away, seeming to have “learned his lesson”. That is until he darts away from the audience. He runs behind the shed where the bottle is located, and we iris out as he caresses it.
Obviously, I can’t stand this cartoon. It’s horribly racist, offensive, and gross. There’s little merit to be given: the music is nice, as always, but that’s as much praise as I can possibly give it. I haven’t seen all of the Censored 11, and it isn’t my place as a white person to judge what’s most offensive and what’s least offensive—all of it is offensive, but this certainly feels like one of the more extreme entries, and it isn’t even in the list. I think aside from One Step Ahead of My Shadow, this is the first cartoon we’ve seen that leaves me with a sick feeling in my stomach. Unfortunately, I know more cartoons will make me feel the same way. This one reminded me of the disastrous Scrub Me Mama With a Boogie Beat entry from Walter Lantz, sharing the same stereotypes. Obviously, other cartoons had the same vile stereotypes, but these are from what I’ve seen. It goes without saying that I wouldn’t recommend this. Just in case, I’ll put a link if you want to watch for historical purposes. If so, watch at your own discretion.
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