laugh4me
06-25-2001, 10:50 AM
Yup, it's true. Adam is back with another column about Cartoon Network and their programming decisions. He's not against showing the cartoons this time, since the context is explained. He does object to some almost apoligetic comments toward the Japanese (the same kind of stuff you heard about the recent "Pearl Harbor" movie).
Note that some members of our group here are referred to as "animation fanatics who attacked me"... ;)
here's the article included below (http://www.nypost.com/06252001/entertainment/33292.htm)
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RIGHT IN THE FUEHRER'S FACE
By ADAM BUCKMAN
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June 25, 2001 -- How does the Cartoon Network deal with ethnic stereotypes in the old cartoons?
Sometimes the network withdraws them altogether, as it did earlier this month when it pulled 12 shorts from its annual "June Bugs" marathon of Bugs Bunny cartoons.
And at other times, it surrounds them with a lot of historical context, which the network hopes will help some viewers understand how the outrageous caricatures of Blacks and other minorities came to be in the 1930s and '40s.
An upcoming Cartoon Network special on propagandistic World War II cartoons provides just such an example.
The special - presented under the "Toonheads" banner and titled "The Wartime Cartoons" - is styled like a documentary, with clips, narration and four cartoons shown in their entirety. It premieres next Sunday (July 1) at 10 p.m.
The show is designed to place the pro-American, and anti-German and anti-Japanese images shown in the cartoons in perspective.
And it largely succeeds, except for some unfortunate narration at one point that seems to go too far in accommodating the Japanese, who were, of course, our deadly enemy in World War II.
The narration comes about midway through the one-hour show when it comes time to explain why the Japanese were depicted as diabolical little fat guys with outlandish buckteeth and wearing round owlish spectacles.
"The cartoon medium allowed artists to caricature the enemy in outrageous ways," says the female voice of the narrator in an introduction to clips from "Tokyo Jokio," a wartime cartoon rife with Japanese caricatures (and unfortunately, not shown in its entirety during the special).
"In the cartoon 'Tokyo Jokio,'" says the narrator, "Japanese stereotypes were particularly cruel."
If I may interrupt the narrator for a moment: What was more cruel? The way animators portrayed the Japanese in cartoons? Or the way the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on a Sunday morning? There's some context for you.
Now, back to the show. Here's the part that really had me doing a doubletake while watching a review tape recently: "In these uncensored scenes from ["Tokyo Jokio"]," the narrator says, "the Japanese were not portrayed fairly or accurately."
Awww.
And here's the kicker: "To add injury to insult," she says, "cartoon superstars Bugs Bunny, Popeye and Superman also attacked the Japanese!" Clips of these unprovoked "attacks" are then shown.
You see, this is the stuff that drives people crazy. Earlier this month, I defended the Cartoon Network's decision to yank the 12 offending cartoons from its annual "June Bugs" marathon.
I believe now what I thought then: In an era when many TV networks seem to be abdicating responsibility for the offensive junk they air, the Cartoon Network should be applauded for policing its own programming - not vilified for it.
Then the network comes along and produces a documentary that practically apologizes for the way our sworn enemies were depicted in cartoons at a time when we were locked with them in a life-or-death struggle.
And what was with that bit about Bugs, Superman and Popeye "attacking" the Japanese? What did the Cartoon Network expect our cartoon heroes to do? Invite them out for sushi?
These weaknesses notwithstanding, I'm hopeful that the Cartoon Network will follow "The Wartime Cartoons" with a documentary-style examination of the 12 Bugs Bunny cartoons it withdrew from "June Bugs."
The animation fanatics who attacked me a few weeks ago for sticking up for the Cartoon Network are correct when they insist the offending cartoons should be shown. I disagree, however, that you can show them as is and without explanation.
Next weekend's "Wartime Cartoons," however, proves that there's a way to do that in a way that is offensive to no one - even those who would seek to destroy us.
Note that some members of our group here are referred to as "animation fanatics who attacked me"... ;)
here's the article included below (http://www.nypost.com/06252001/entertainment/33292.htm)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RIGHT IN THE FUEHRER'S FACE
By ADAM BUCKMAN
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
June 25, 2001 -- How does the Cartoon Network deal with ethnic stereotypes in the old cartoons?
Sometimes the network withdraws them altogether, as it did earlier this month when it pulled 12 shorts from its annual "June Bugs" marathon of Bugs Bunny cartoons.
And at other times, it surrounds them with a lot of historical context, which the network hopes will help some viewers understand how the outrageous caricatures of Blacks and other minorities came to be in the 1930s and '40s.
An upcoming Cartoon Network special on propagandistic World War II cartoons provides just such an example.
The special - presented under the "Toonheads" banner and titled "The Wartime Cartoons" - is styled like a documentary, with clips, narration and four cartoons shown in their entirety. It premieres next Sunday (July 1) at 10 p.m.
The show is designed to place the pro-American, and anti-German and anti-Japanese images shown in the cartoons in perspective.
And it largely succeeds, except for some unfortunate narration at one point that seems to go too far in accommodating the Japanese, who were, of course, our deadly enemy in World War II.
The narration comes about midway through the one-hour show when it comes time to explain why the Japanese were depicted as diabolical little fat guys with outlandish buckteeth and wearing round owlish spectacles.
"The cartoon medium allowed artists to caricature the enemy in outrageous ways," says the female voice of the narrator in an introduction to clips from "Tokyo Jokio," a wartime cartoon rife with Japanese caricatures (and unfortunately, not shown in its entirety during the special).
"In the cartoon 'Tokyo Jokio,'" says the narrator, "Japanese stereotypes were particularly cruel."
If I may interrupt the narrator for a moment: What was more cruel? The way animators portrayed the Japanese in cartoons? Or the way the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on a Sunday morning? There's some context for you.
Now, back to the show. Here's the part that really had me doing a doubletake while watching a review tape recently: "In these uncensored scenes from ["Tokyo Jokio"]," the narrator says, "the Japanese were not portrayed fairly or accurately."
Awww.
And here's the kicker: "To add injury to insult," she says, "cartoon superstars Bugs Bunny, Popeye and Superman also attacked the Japanese!" Clips of these unprovoked "attacks" are then shown.
You see, this is the stuff that drives people crazy. Earlier this month, I defended the Cartoon Network's decision to yank the 12 offending cartoons from its annual "June Bugs" marathon.
I believe now what I thought then: In an era when many TV networks seem to be abdicating responsibility for the offensive junk they air, the Cartoon Network should be applauded for policing its own programming - not vilified for it.
Then the network comes along and produces a documentary that practically apologizes for the way our sworn enemies were depicted in cartoons at a time when we were locked with them in a life-or-death struggle.
And what was with that bit about Bugs, Superman and Popeye "attacking" the Japanese? What did the Cartoon Network expect our cartoon heroes to do? Invite them out for sushi?
These weaknesses notwithstanding, I'm hopeful that the Cartoon Network will follow "The Wartime Cartoons" with a documentary-style examination of the 12 Bugs Bunny cartoons it withdrew from "June Bugs."
The animation fanatics who attacked me a few weeks ago for sticking up for the Cartoon Network are correct when they insist the offending cartoons should be shown. I disagree, however, that you can show them as is and without explanation.
Next weekend's "Wartime Cartoons," however, proves that there's a way to do that in a way that is offensive to no one - even those who would seek to destroy us.