Professor Robert J. Thompson, SJ. (Super Jenius)
Posted on 04/29/2014 2:16:34 AM PDT by servo1969
Don’t you just love classic Disney movies? Animated cinematic adventures that espoused the importance of life values, growing up, and racism… Well, that’s what some lefty professor is arguing at Syracuse University. Apparently, the Jungle Book is just chock-full of racism (and not because of “man-cub’s” strange desire to remain uncultured). Professor Robert Thompson told Yahoo Movies (um… this article was forwarded to me – like most people, I don’t actually visit Yahoo Movies) that the Jungle Book is racist because of something to do with Louie Armstrong.
Apparently, when Mowgli meets the Ape King, young children are being brainwashed with Disney-Technicolor to hate African Americans… King Louie, after all, is a representation of the American Negro, according to the overly sensitive professor. (Seriously, can we just allow something from my childhood to remain untouched by liberals?) According to CampusReform:
Critics have stated that the scene where the ape character, King Louie, sings "I Want to Be Like You” to the human character, Mowgli, he is not just a cartoon animal wishing to be human. Rather, Louie represents an African-American stating that he wants to be a member of the white race, which is represented by Mowgli.
Wow… Now who’s racist? I always figured King Louie was just a power-hungry primate that saw Mowgli as the animal-kingdom-equivalent of a “get-rich-quick” scheme. But, then again, I was six when I first saw the movie. Of course, it gets better:
When Professor Sharpton Thompson was informed that King Louie was actually voiced by Louis Prima (an astoundingly talented Italian singer), he didn’t back off of his comments:
The song is [still] racist, regardless of who sings it, because it has a jazzy tone similar to Louis Armstrong’s music.
Oh… So the song sang in the Jungle Book by a prominent Italian American is derogatory toward African Americans because it was set to the traditionally “Negro” sound of jazz music. (Full disclaimer: This was not my intuitive leap… I’m merely rephrasing the esteemed professor’s contention.) So, apes and jazz are indicative of black people, according to Professor Thompson… But Disney was the racist, right?
Wait: It gets better still. As Disney is ramping up to do (another) remake of the classic animated film, Thompson has taken it upon himself to make sure the new version is politically correct. One fear that PC-minded professors have had in the past, is that racism might still creep through because King Louie spoke “differently than other characters” in the original film.
I mean, sure, Larry the Cable guy speaks differently than most comedians; but I don’t exactly see a bunch of trailer-trash Lynyrd Skynyrd fans upset about every southern accent that comes across the silver screen. (Although, I do see a few angry emails in my immediate future for that last sentence… Full disclosure: Much of my family comes from the south, and is even related to Stonewall Jackson. Love y’all!)
DePauw University professor Jeffrey M. McCall said, "The King Louie character can have his speaking mannerisms updated in a way that suggests he speaks in a manner similar to other characters.” Right. Because nothing quite epitomizes the fire-hungry chimp like an upper-crest Oxford accent. Hey, maybe he and Shere Khan could be done by the same actor. (Which brings up another point: How come no one finds it racist that the power-obsessed tiger has a King James command of the English accent?)
I know it seems a little useless to tell a couple of PC-obsessed academics to “chillax”… But, c’mon! We’re talking about an animated movie (about a “man-cub”) that was made in 1967. Don’t ya think we could just ease back on the social-psycho-babble for roughly 90 minutes, and enjoy the amazingly groovy jazz music that was highlighted throughout the film? (Oh, which reminds me: Baloo appears to be a welfare king, judging by his signature song. That’s not racist, is it?)
I actually feel kinda bad for Professors Thompson and McCall… They can’t even watch a classic Disney movie (with a Louis Prima soundtrack) without thinking about some black guy blowing on a trumpet. Walt Disney might have had his own personal character flaws, but it kinda seems like these two academic hacks are a little overly obsessed with racist tendencies.
Professor Robert J. Thompson, SJ. (Super Jenius)
“When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are...”
Yeah, that sounds racist to me.
I like jazz...
Just sayin’....
If only black people liked jazz there wouldn’t be any.
You folks didn’t know that?
Actually, my mother was on to JB back in the ‘60s and didn’t want us to watch it for just this reason.
So tell me what group of people like rap music and what group of people like country music? Why do these people keep trying to drag race into everything? I’m so sick of it!
He looks like a pasty white moron.
How about you and me split a watermelon and some fried chicken? I like jazz too, except I find “smooth jazz” to be dull and boring.
Even today, when I hear a trumpet player, I mentally compare him to Louie Armstrong. Does that make me a racist?
“Only Black People Like Jazz”
_____________________________________________________
Wow, that is a new twist. I wonder what Dave Brubeck and the other greats would have to say about that?
"I want to be like you" sung by Louis Prima.
Sicilian.
try Grover Washington - Mr. Magic. It should afford you about 1000 hours of listening pleasure...
In the world of the modern Left, if you aren’t being overtly racist to promote non-whites, then you are clearly a racist.
Wait a minute - how did we get to drag racing?
;-)
I suppose the learned professor thinks blacks have “natural rhythm”.
Just remake “The Jungle Book” and make it true to Kipling.
Movies & TV today which are aimed at an audience younger than 18 seem to start with Barney/Sesame Street then a brief transition through Shrek then jump right into the whole vampire/zombie mess.
There are exceptions to this morass of junk. Pixar comes up with some good ones - “Up” springs to mind.
Back in the hey-day of movie theater attendance, studios would serialize movies of various heroes and other characters. Kids (and adults) looked forward to the latest adventures and escapes of their heroes. We also have that today. Look at the successes of the Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Ironman and X-Men franchises.
Produce the Jungle Book(s) as a series. The full Mowlgi story, Toomai of the Elephants, Riki-Tiki-Tavi and all the rest. Make them accurately follow Kipling. Give the little kids the “Just So Stories”. Kipling is evenhanded in his treatment of Indians of various castes, the colonial British and the various animals. Each has good characters and also their share of idiots and scoundrels. There are no “African-Americans” or LGBTQRXYZs, so the grievance industry hopefully will go elsewhere.
Doesn’t make you a racist but probably does mean that you never heard Bix Beiderbecke play “I’m Coming Virginia”
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