Tom and Jerry cartoons carry racism warning

[Catdancing]

http://www.bbc.com/news/education-29427843

Tom and Jerry cartoons on television are being accompanied by a warning that they may depict scenes of "racial prejudice".

The classic cat and mouse cartoons, some made more than 70 years ago, carry a warning for subscribers to Amazon Prime Instant Video.

There have been claims of racist stereotyping in the depiction of a black maid in the cartoon series.

Amazon's warning says such prejudice was once "commonplace" in US society.

Tom and Jerry, once a staple of children's television on British television, is being presented with a cautionary note about "ethnic and racial prejudices".

bumped into this article and was curious to know what your opinions are

[Conspicuous Cultist]

Well yeah. It wouldn't fly nowadays if it wasn't an old cartoon back in the day.

It's still a good cartoon though and doesn't always have a stereotypical black chick beating up poor Thomas.

There's also suicide in it, among other things.

[Calzaeth]

Old timey stuff is offensive as hell, so nothing surprising here :P

Warnings > banning any day, so I approve! This means that when I have kids, I get the reminder to explain to them the various edgy scenes.

[Mukor]

that's one of the reasons old cartoons are great, the racism.
another reason is this: http://www.ebaumsworld.com/pictures/view/83782825/

[Bearshield]

I know those of you without kids may find this shocking, but kids are not born looking for this stuff and will not generally make a big deal about it if you don't. Many of us grew up watching cartoons like Tom and Jerry and low and behold, we're not all racists. Hell my friends of other races watched the same cartoons and never once did they complain about them. I'd much rather my daughter watch cartoons like Tom and Jerry than the majority of the crap that's on tv today, fortunately she's mostly outgrown cartoons so it's a moot point but she's not a racist either and not once did I ever have to answer questions about the content of these cartoons.

The point is, adults are the ones making a stink about this stuff, not kids. Kids don't notice these things unless you bring it to their attention.

[Mister Cheese]

Yeah I remember the black maid... I also remember the show being incredibly violent. But I guess violence is ok as long as nobody gets offended.

[Darknessvamp]

Wait what? She was a maid? I always thought she was the house owner and Tom's owner. :?

[Zaqwert]

Taking contemporary social values and applying them to the past is completely absurd.

[Kaleredar]

Wait what? She was a maid? I always thought she was the house owner and Tom's owner. :?

That was my thinking as well.


And frankly, I remember tom having both black and white owners depending on the episode... and both of them would thrash him when he misbehaved.

[Krommm]

Many of Disney's earlier cartoons and Tom and Jerry had racism that I never noticed until later years when I had a conscience. I remember one Tom and Jerry where there was a group of blacks eating watermelon with exaggerated lips among other stereotypes.

[Deleted]

Many of Disney's earlier cartoons and Tom and Jerry had racism that I never noticed until later years when I had a conscience. I remember one Tom and Jerry where there was a group of blacks eating watermelon with exaggerated lips among other stereotypes.

I think you mean 'Years later when I had several cultural and social issues rammed up my ass until I was choking on them'. This is such a big deal being made out of nothing. I wonder just how many black people are actually offended. I'd bet any money this 'outrage' stemmed from caucasians. There is nothing offensive about a big black woman. She's not being illtreated in any way. Maid != slave. Offensive my arse. There do exist big black ladies in real life. Do we find them offensive?



I don't find that offensive. Pft. White people - Knowing what's best for black people since 1619...

PS Children have a conscience. They just haven't been fucked up and warped beyond all innocence by adult conventions and prejudice.

[Calzaeth]

I think you mean 'Years later when I had several cultural and social issues rammed up my ass until I was choking on them'. This is such a big deal being made out of nothing. I wonder just how many black people are actually offended. I'd bet any money this 'outrage' stemmed from caucasians. There is nothing offensive about a big black woman. She's not being illtreated in any way. Maid != slave. Offensive my arse. There do exist big black ladies in real life. Do we find them offensive?



I don't find that offensive. Pft. White people - Knowing what's best for black people since 1619...

PS Children have a conscience. They just haven't been fucked up and warped beyond all innocence by adult conventions and prejudice.

You're blowing this so ridiculously out of proportion right now, dude. We're talking about a simple warning. ONE sentence. Not a big riot, no burning cars in the streets, nobody is getting arrested for corrupting Our Glorious And Equal Utopia.

It's a single sentence shown for a few seconds. No fuss is being made, except by opponents of the sentence.

[Deleted]

You're blowing this so ridiculously out of proportion right now, dude. We're talking about a simple warning. ONE sentence. Not a big riot, no burning cars in the streets, nobody is getting arrested for corrupting Our Glorious And Equal Utopia.

It's a single sentence shown for a few seconds. No fuss is being made, except by opponents of the sentence.

This isn't the first time a fuss has been made about ethnic caricatures within the entertainment industry. So sure, you want to take your 'this is just ONE sentence' out of context, go right ahead. If anything is being 'blown out of all proportion' then might I direct you towards the hundreds of media articles written on this one topic alone. Would you like me to do that for you? Or are you able to find them yourself?

If anyone is doing any blowing here, you might want to examine what you wrote. I haven't seen a better example of 'putting words in one's mouth' for quite some time.

ETA: I'm not even sure what you're arguing here. My point was, this is all fuss over nothing. Not 'OHMYGOD HOW DARE THEY, BLACK PEOPLE EVERYWHERE RISE UP'. You seem to be alluding to the same thing. So what's the argument for?

[Mistame]

I still giggle that people actually think they have the right to be offended by something that's neither directed at nor applicable to them.

[Deleted]

I still giggle that people actually think they have the right to be offended by something that's neither directed at nor applicable to them.

This person gets it. Calzaeth does not.

[Calzaeth]

This isn't the first time a fuss has been made about ethnic caricatures within the entertainment industry. So sure, you want to take your 'this is just ONE sentence' out of context, go right ahead. If anything is being 'blown out of all proportion' then might I direct you towards the hundreds of media articles written on this one topic alone. Would you like me to do that for you? Or are you able to find them yourself?

If anyone is doing any blowing here, you might want to examine what you wrote. I haven't seen a better example of 'putting words in one's mouth' for quite some time.

ETA: I'm not even sure what you're arguing here. My point was, this is all fuss over nothing. Not 'OHMYGOD HOW DARE THEY, BLACK PEOPLE EVERYWHERE RISE UP'. You seem to be alluding to the same thing. So what's the argument for?

1. Read the REPUTABLE articles (like the one in the OP), and you'll find half of it dedicated to a dude explaining why he thinks this is silly.

2. Discussing all the articles written about a particular subject on the internet is about as productive as watching paint dry, since the internet has sites with every agenda imaginable, and then some. What I *am* discussing is the actual warning itself, which is pictured in the article. Personally, I prefer simple, non-intrusive warnings as opposed to outright censorship or redrawing the original artwork to be less offensive. Warnings can safely be ignored, as any smoker (like me) could tell you.

3. Yeah, okay, I overdid my first post in reply to you. I'll admit that without reservation :P Wanna cut the hostilities?

[Deleted]

you American and you'r racism... funny

[RH92]

I think you mean 'Years later when I had several cultural and social issues rammed up my ass until I was choking on them'. This is such a big deal being made out of nothing. I wonder just how many black people are actually offended. I'd bet any money this 'outrage' stemmed from caucasians. There is nothing offensive about a big black woman. She's not being illtreated in any way. Maid != slave. Offensive my arse. There do exist big black ladies in real life. Do we find them offensive?

[Video]

I don't find that offensive. Pft. White people - Knowing what's best for black people since 1619...

PS Children have a conscience. They just haven't been fucked up and warped beyond all innocence by adult conventions and prejudice.

To be honest, I think you undermined your own post with two sentences I bolded. When I ignore those two sentences I agree with you.

Racism is no longer the issue it used to be, I don't remember when was someone injured or insulted just because of their race. If your behaviour is bad it doesn't matter if you are black, white or purple. To be honest, I as a "white" person feel more insulted by this racism. I have to be careful about what I say, but Romani people in my country don't. The same applies to USA and African American. It is just astonishing how many African American actors or singers spew word "white" around as it was nothing, but when a European American celebrities (I suppose this must be the correct term) say "black" everybody start to shout about racism.

Now imagine if the two sentences I bolded were flipped. Suddenly it is offensive as hell:
I'd bet any money this 'outrage' stemmed from negroids.
Black people - Knowing what's best for white people since 19XX...

Few days ago I watched about 90s on National Geographic, they talked about very first reality show where one of the African American contestants said "Black people can't be racist!". Really? It is the former victims who blow this out of proportion now.

[The Kao]

Isn't it funny to see how only a pure child's mind can enjoy something they way it was meant to be enjoyed while the presumed adult mind tends to analyze things to death in an obsession to find something to be offended about? The sentience of a grown mind really is the number one curse of humanity.

[Hiricine]

It would be more racist if Tom and Jerry claimed that there never were any black maids, and that in the past, they were all empowered to become doctors, lawyers, and astronauts.