Censored Eleven

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The Censored Eleven is a group of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons produced and released by Warner Bros that banned and withheld from syndication by United Artist back in 1968. The use of ethnic stereotypes in the cartoons, especially African stereotypes, was deemed too offensive for contemporary audiences, so these 11 cartoons were no longer broadcasted on television. Consequently The Censored Eleven hasn't aired on television since 1968, but clips from the show have circulated online, allowing today's viewers a glimpse of how racist stereotypes of dark-skinned people were back then.

About the Cartoons

In the 1941 episode "All this and Rabbit Stew," Bugs Bunny was pursued by a dimwitted black gambler (later reimagined as Elmer Fudd). Bob Clampett's 1943 film "Coal Black and De Sebben Dwarfs" parodied Disney's Snow White with an all-black cast. Despite its vague content, the cartoon was voted one of the 50 Greatest of All Time by more than 1000 animation-industry professionals in 1994. In 1944's "Goldilocks and the Jivin' Bears," the famous story is reimagined with an all-black cast, with the Three Bears transformed into jazz musicians and several characters depicted in blackface. It makes South Park appear to be extremely sensitive. [1]

The only black-and-white film on the list, Hittin' the Trail, features three obvious caricatures singing a folk song on a showboat on a river, as well as a dog called Uncle Tom. It's Sunday. Sunday Go to Meetin’ Time is primarily set around a church to jazz music, and the gags include the dandy, mammy, and pickaninny. The language mimics how Blacks were perceived as well as how they spoke. Uncle Tom's Bungalow is a spoof short of Harriet Beecher Stowe's famous book, and making jokes about slavery was an immediate red flag. [2]

Clean Pastures, directed by Friz Freleng, was almost banned at the time of its release—not because of race, but because of religious motives (the Hays Office figured people would be offended that black people are portrayed as heavenly beings and even The Devil wants to get into Heaven) and for glamorizing vices (gambling, sex (the showgirls dancing to "Sweet Georgia Brown") and booze)[3].

The List

These 11 shorts were released from 1931 to 1944 Full list of The Censored Eleven:

# Title Year Director Series
1. Hittin' The Trail For Hallelujah Land 1931 Rudolf Ising Merrie Melodies
2. Sunday Go to Meetin' Time 1936 Friz Freleng
3. Clean Pastures 1937
4. Uncle Tom's Bungalow Tex Avery
5. Jungle Jitters 1938 Friz Freleng
6. The Isle of Pingo Pongo 1938 Tex Avery
7. All This and Rabbit Stew 1941
8. Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs 1943 Bob Clampett
9. Tin Pan Alley Cats
10. Angel Puss 1944 Chuck Jones Looney Tunes
11. Goldilocks and the Jivin' Bears 1944 Friz Freleng Merrie Melodies

Race Controversy

Coal Black and the Sebben Dwarfs is one of the "Censored Eleven," a group of 11 Schlesinger/Warner Bros. cartoons censored for their unflattering and stereotypical use of darky iconography during the Golden Age of Hollywood animation. Since it was made in the United States during World War II, there is anti-Japanese sentiment: "Murder Inc." advertises that it does not charge to kill "Japanese."

In summary, many of the jokes in the shorts offend black people by portraying them with huge lips, sluggish or dimwitted attitudes, and jive talk. There are also scenes of them eating watermelons, stealing chickens, being afraid of ghosts, being obsessed with throwing dice, and other stereotypes. Expect some imagery from the days of slavery to appear, as well as jokes in which their skin color is shown to be black paint. Though it relies heavily on stereotypes prevalent at the time, this imagery can also be seen in many live-action films from the era, including works starring real Afro-American actors and musicians (including Louis Armstrong, Stepin Fetchit, Hattie McDaniel, Josephine Baker)[4]. These jokes were intended as parodies for modern audiences in some cases, but they of offend some people, especially those of a similar race, despite the fact that it was never expressly discussed.

Official Release

As public awareness of the Censored Eleven grew in the twentieth century, more people became aware of their presence, which led to numerous animation discussions around the internet, ultimately leading to an article in The New York Times[5]. As a result, the Censored Eleven received a special screening sourced from restored 35mm film prints in February 2010 as part of a press release for the first annual TCM Classic Film Festival. George Feltenstein, vice president of Warner Bros. classic film catalog, put together this unique presentation. Eight of the Censored Eleven were screened at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood on April 24, 2010. (Jungle Jitters, Rabbit Stew, and Angel Puss being the three left out). This case, according to animation historian Jerry Beck, was a way for Warner Bros. to test the waters for a future DVD release of these contentious films through the Warner Archives collection. [6]

Soon after those screenings, Warner Bros. revealed at the New York Comic-Con in October 2010 that all 11 cartoons had been fully restored, and that the studio intended to release them in a rare exclusive completely uncut DVD multi-disc package, along with other controversial cartoons, sometime in 2011. Since then, no further information about a DVD release has circulated. The transfers were completed in 2016, but the DVD was postponed indefinitely due to decreasing sales of previous Looney Tunes Platinum Collection releases, according to Jerry Beck[7]. According to a consumer on Shadow and Act who talked with Beck in 2018, plans to release the cartoons were scrapped due to shifting cultural sensitivities and low demand for classic cartoon DVDs.

References