Bugs Bunny a racist?

[Muscletang]

I don't know if this has ever been discussed or talked about but I find it interesting and decided to bring it up.

What I first want to talk about is the "censored 11".

The Censored Eleven is a group of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons that were withheld from syndication by United Artists in 1968. UA owned the distribution rights to the Associated Artists Productions library at that time, and decided to pull these eleven cartoons from broadcast because they are based around racist depictions of Blacks and are deemed too offensive for contemporary audiences. The ban has been upheld by UA and the successive owners of the Looney Tunes catalog to this day, and these shorts have not been officially broadcast on television since the late 1960s.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Censored_Eleven

Now one of these cartoons is a Bugs Bunny cartoon called "All this and Rabbit Stew". In this cartoon Bugs Bunny messes with a black person the same way he does Elmer Fudd. Of course there are many stereotypes in this cartoon as well.

Now here is a link to the cartoon. IF you get easily offended, then please don't watch. I posted it though so you can see and make your own judgement.

Banned Bugs Bunny Cartoon - All this and Rabbit Stew

Now the Censored 11 made it to where that Bugs Bunny cartoon could not be shown. There are now several other cartoons that were World War 2 era that will probably never be shown again. These are not part of the censored 11 since some have been shown just recently or even put on video. Some of them though have caused uproars from interest groups though.

Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips - The cartoon was made during World War II, and reflects the United States' attitude towards one of its main enemies at the time, Japan. In the cartoon, Bugs Bunny lands on an island in the Pacific and is pitted against a group of highly stereotyped Japanese soldiers. Bugs shows no mercy against the Japanese soldiers, greeting them with several racial slurs such as "monkey face" and "slant eyes", making short work of a large sumo wrestler, and bombing most of the Japanese army using various explosives, including grenades hidden in ice cream bars.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bugs_Bunny_Nips_the_Nips

Herr Meets Hare - Bugs Bunny runs into Hermann Goering in the Black Forest.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herr_Meets_Hare




Now my question for all of you people is, do you think these cartoons should be banned and never seen again by anybody ever again?

Yes, during the World War 2 era cartoons many stereotypes were used and yes they weren't nice to the Japanease or Germans.

As for the censored 11 and the Bugs Bunny one, no it isn't really right. Yes it does have many stereotypes.

I personally believe these cartoons should not be banned though. I think they should be able to be released on DVD or whatever. Am I a racist for it? No. Am I a racist because Family Guy makes fun of people of different races? No.


What do you folks think though? Should Bugs Bunny be released by the political correctness or should the 50 year ban be held so nobody gets offended by something that was funny and considered entertainment at the time?

[00accord44]

Theres nothin wrong with those cartoons. They merely reflect a time when attitudes were different in america. Its no worse than those episodes of Lone Ranger that have fake native americans/indians/injuns (depending on your desired level of offensiveness). Or even old episodes of Rocky & Bullwinkle with the VERY stereotypical asian looking criminal/scientist guy.

[sickcallawayc12]

I miss old skool Bugs Bunny.

[XeVeNskyLiNE]

Bah its whatever. IMO The Boondocks is way more 'racist' and offensive than those cartoons back then, but times change and people love the Boondocks and probally wouldn't think of it being offensive before they find it funny.

[03cavPA]

(sarcasm mode on)

New standard by which racism is defined: if it's written by white people, then it's racist. White people are always racist. Everything they say, think, and do is racist.

This is the PC mantra. Thus sayeth PC law. Historical context means nothing. Those old films need to be burned; we do not want to think about past transgressions.

(sarcasm mode off)

[taranaki]

If Bugs was still in production, he'd be fostering hatred against Muslims.

[Muscletang]

Originally Posted by taranaki

If Bugs was still in production, he'd be fostering hatred against Muslims.

The way South Park, Family Guy, and other people are today?

The question is do we ban it due to times changing? Yes he showed hatred against the Japanease. The thing is, the country was at war and Bugs Bunny was used to show how the country felt about the Japanease people. Were people in theaters across the country saying, "That's racist! Ban this cartoon!" No. They were saying, "That's it Bugs! Kill the slant eyes!" Right? No. It was how people were feeling at the time though.

With that said, in 50 years should cartoons making fun of Osama Bin Ladin and Al Qaeda terrorist be banned because they may offend someone?

[taranaki]

Originally Posted by Muscletang

The question is do we ban it due to times changing? Yes he showed hatred against the Japanease. The thing is, the country was at war and Bugs Bunny was used to show how the country felt about the Japanease people.

What a thoroughly offensive load of cobblers.It was propaganda designed to make people hate the Japanese. It help to create the hatred, and to justify the continuation of war.

[eversio11]

It is quite clear that the cartoons are stereotypical, that's not the question. The question is whether or not art should be censored because of it's content.

[taranaki]

Too broad a question.It would be simplistic to suggest that there can be hard and fast rules governing what is considered 'offensive' content. Take nudity for example -

http://www.architechgallery.com/arch...review_05.html

a 1920's stylised female nude sculpture.

Is that in any way offensive in comparison to contemporary porn?I think not. It may have been at the time, but 80 years later, it's just a carving.

Was Bugs Bunny offensive during world war two? Only insofar as it set out to demonise an entire race that just happened to have similar features to those we were fighting against.

It's a common ploy to tell lies during times of struggle. One of the common lies is 'guilt by association'.It's a quick and easy way to simplify emotions.Those who attacked the WTC were muslim Arabs - we don't know the names of all of them, but if we can hate every muslim and every Arab, then a little bit of justice will rub off on the offenders.Never mind the massive injustice that we perpetrate on millions of muslims who were in no way party to the attacks, never mind the cheap political capital that we make out of such racism, if we tar them all with the same brush at least them's that deserve's it get's some tar, bubba.

Bugs bunny was a racist when those in charge deemed it to be acceptable. If it had been politically expedient to degrade women instead of Japanese people at the time,I'm sure that the relevant parts of our collective conscience would have been put to the sword in a similar manner. It's no longer politically advantageous to insult and marginalise the Japanese, so those who are responsible for law and order actively promote tolerance to that sector of the community.

There is no political imperative in this country to undermine the muslim community, so despite this country having no constitution, we tend to treat them as equals. It would be ignorant of us to assert that all are responsible for the actions of many. Americans are by and large decent folk in my experience.I do not hold them responsible for the mistakes and machinations of the present third-world President. To hold Bugs Bunny responsible for racism would be the equivalent of slapping a 4 year old for saying 'nigger'. At the end of the day, it's not the character being a racist, nor is it the author. Like the 4 year old child it's just something that they picked up from those who should have taught them better.

These cartoons could be censored - we could burn every copy and pretend that we never allowed ourselves to accept such abomination. I'd rather their memories were kept alive, for much the same way that the Holocaust is kept alive. To remind us of the evil that gets foisted on us when we stop thinking for ourselves, and hopefully to teach us never to allow it to happen again.

[Shpyder]

Originally Posted by taranaki

If Bugs was still in production, he'd be fostering hatred against Muslims.

Oh man that had me laughing so hard. I was trying to picture a script in my head, lmao. That would be hilarious.

[fredjacksonsan]

If those cartoons were made today, then they'd be racist by current standards.

Perhaps in 50 years the same discussion will take place about "Family Guy" or other of today's shows.

[Muscletang]

Originally Posted by taranaki

Bugs bunny was a racist when those in charge deemed it to be acceptable. If it had been politically expedient to degrade women instead of Japanese people at the time,I'm sure that the relevant parts of our collective conscience would have been put to the sword in a similar manner.

Well a show happened that caused many women to get upset.

On July 25, 1998, The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show on CIII-TV (Global Television, Toronto) which aired at 5 p.m., included a recounting of the "Hansel and Gretel" fairy tale à la Bugs Bunny. The short cartoon was entitled "Bewitched Bunny". In this revisionist version, Bugs Bunny stumbles upon a witch who is in the process of luring two children into her house, presumably in order to eat them for dinner. Bugs Bunny intervenes and allows the children to escape but, in so doing, he upsets the witch who resolves to have Bugs Bunny for dinner instead. A chase inevitably ensues and the heroic hare narrowly escapes death by dinner by using a bag of "Magic Powder" as a type of grenade. The bag explodes on impact and out of the cloud of dust emerges a beautiful female rabbit. Bugs Bunny, smitten by this newly incarnated female, takes her by the arm as they walk into the "happily ever after".

The complaint stems from the last line of the cartoon. As the happy couple walks away, Bugs turns to the camera and says: "Ah sure, I know! But aren’t they all witches inside?"

http://www.cbsc.ca/english/decisions...98/980203a.htm

Originally Posted by taranaki

It's no longer politically advantageous to insult and marginalise the Japanese, so those who are responsible for law and order actively promote tolerance to that sector of the community.

True, but as a war cartoon or other war films, shouldn't people be responsible?

The films Saving Private Ryan or other war films show bits that aren't really nice to Japanease or Germans.

Same with these cartoons. Put them on DVD where you have to go out and get it yourself and buy it before you can see it and get offended.

If you don't like it, don't buy it or see it. Banning stuff from the masses because a small percentage gets offended won't change anything.

Originally Posted by taranaki

These cartoons could be censored - we could burn every copy and pretend that we never allowed ourselves to accept such abomination. I'd rather their memories were kept alive, for much the same way that the Holocaust is kept alive. To remind us of the evil that gets foisted on us when we stop thinking for ourselves, and hopefully to teach us never to allow it to happen again.

I agree that we should keep them around, but I do not think they're evil.

For example, we keep the political cartoons of the American Revolution around that show stereotypes and hatred against the British. Are they evil? No. They're a look at what the attitude was at the time.

Originally Posted by fredjacksonsan

Perhaps in 50 years the same discussion will take place about "Family Guy" or other of today's shows.

The question though is, if the issue of Family Guy or South Park getting banned for good ever comes up, should we allow it?

[drunken monkey]

Originally Posted by Muscletang

the British. Are they evil? No.

ahhh... then it has worked....

[Steel]

You do not have a right to not be offended. End of story.

*edit* And if that ever changes, then i'm building a rocket and moving off of this PC infested planet.