'Song Of The South' Showing By Rutgers Student Prompts Demand For Apology

[knight_shadow]

The graduate community at a New Jersey college is asking university officials to step in and publicly confront a racist occurrence on campus. Students at Rutgers University are outraged by an email, sent by a fellow peer, inviting them to a screening of a racist movie and the administration's lack of response, Jezebel reports.

Members of the "Race, Ethnicity and Inequality in Education," class in the Graduate School of Education received an email from a student hosting a viewing party of "Song of the South," the 1946 movie produced by Walt Disney that has been criticized for it's portrayal of blacks during the Reconstruction Era. It was the student's message and not the movie, however, that deeply disturbed the community.

According to a student letter published in The Daily Targum, the school's newspaper, in the email the student invited "her fellow non-racist racists" to a private, guilt-free screening of the film in her home. She characterized herself as a "ragtime/minstrel loving fool," and encouraged recipients to bring spirits, saying "if you do come, hooch is most welcome, as are strawhats and other Darkeyisms. I might even buy a watermillyum if I get enough interest." She also advised guests to be aware of bringing friends along because "I might yell racist things at the TV."

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Thoughts?

I don't know why they are expecting an apology from the school, as this email was initiated by an individual student showing the film on her own time.

[naraht]

From Snopes...
http://www.snopes.com/disney/films/sots.asp

Basically although the NAACP expressed concern over the film at the time, the NAACP doesn't really have a position on it now.

Honestly, given the class that these students were in, the Professor could probably have showed it in class without anyone batting an eyelash.

However that invite from the Student, definitely out of bounds...

The other movie that has run into Racist concerns is Fantasia, but that was handled with relatively small cuts.

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

As it stands, it was a dumb thing to do, if even as sarcasm, and the student should be brought in front of the Student Council (or whatever the school has).

I think it was pretty stupid too, but unless the school has some sort of honor code that she violated (I'm not that familiar with Rutgers), I don't think she should be brought up to a student judicial board.

She said something stupid, but she's not the only college student to do so.

I would like to know what made her think it was OK to send this to EVERYONE in her class, though. If you want to act a "minstrel lovin fool," invite only your minstrel lovin friends.

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

she distributed the stupid using the college's resources and to her classmates.

I hadn't considered that, but I didn't remember seeing that she was using school resources. She's a graduate student, so she may have sent the email from her home computer on her own time.

[naraht]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

What is the relevance of this?



That is what this is about. The controversy is not over this old movie.

I saw Song of the South when I was little and I loved the movie. That does not mean the movie is not offensive.

Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah....

The title of the thread makes it appear that the Movie is the issue, not the invitation.

[amIblue?]

Actually, I think showing this in a class such as this one while deconstructing it to illustrate what is wrong with it might be a good thing. Of course, I also believe that we should study the wrong stuff so that we don't continue mistakes of the past.

The student is dumber than dirt.

[CutiePie2000]

I've never seen "Song of the South", but I would like to have the opportunity to see it. However, it's not as though it's an easy movie to get a copy of? How does one get a copy of it? (DVD / VHS .. etc.)

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by CutiePie2000

I've never seen "Song of the South", but I would like to have the opportunity to see it. However, it's not as though it's an easy movie to get a copy of? How does one get a copy of it? (DVD / VHS .. etc.)

It's on Youtube.