The Jungle Book (1967)

From blackwiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search

The Jungle Book is a 1967 American animated movie produced by Walt Disney Productions. The movie is based on Ruyard Kipling's 1894 book of the same name, The Jungle Book, which becomes the 19th Disney Animated feature film.

Plot

The plot follows a feral child raised in the Indian jungle by wolves named Mowgli, as his friends Bagheera the panther and Baloo the bear try to convince him to leave the jungle before the evil tiger Shere Khan arrives.

Mowgli, a young orphan boy, is found in a basket in the deep jungles of India by a black panther, named Bagheera, who takes him to a mother wolf who has just had cubs. He was raised by the mother wolf, Raksha, for 10 years that he becomes well acquainted with jungle life and plays with his wolf siblings. One day, the wolf parents meet at Council Rock to learn that a man-eating Bengal tiger, Share-Khan, has returned to the pack's part of the jungle which later comes to an agreement that Mowgli must leave the jungle for his own safety. Mowgli has to go to the man-village together with his own kind.

Shortly afterward, a group of monkeys kidnap Mowgli and take him to King Louie, the orangutan. He offers to help Mowgli stay in the jungle if he teaches the monkey how to make fire. However, Mowgli does not know who to because he never lives with human hence never learn about creating fire. This fact rages the monkeys. Mowgli is later rescued by Bagheera and Baloo as King Louie's palace is demolished to rubble. It is decided that the jungle is not a safe place for Mowlgi. So the adventure continues to return Mowgli to the man-villege.

Controversy

The monkeys in this movie are depicted as black characters in various ways. The first is that the orangutan portrays exactly how white people typically viewed blacks during the 1960s. Quoted from the original book, even though he's the king, Louie just wants to be "like the other men" because he’s "tired of monkeying around"[1]. The song I Want to be Like You sang by King Loiue had lyrics where he wants to be a man, not a monkey.

"And that's what bothering me

I want to be a man, man-cub, and stroll right into town

And be just like those other men

I'm tired of monkeying around

Now don't try to kid me, man-cub, I'll make a deal with you

What I desire is man's red fire to make my dreams come true

So give me the secret, man-cub, clue me what to do

Give me the power of man's red flower so I can be like you"[2]

With the fact that King Loui dominates Mowgli in any way, it is ironic to even think that King Loui wants to be just like Mowgli. King Louie should be happy regarding his position in the jungle but still, the lyrics and scene, implying that he wants to become ‘civilized’ like Mowgli. Even though Mowgli is not actually a white person, it still represents a degree of whiteness as the most civilized and attached to human life.

In another scene, Baloo, fights with the monkeys and shouts at them, “Why you flat-nosed, little-eyed, flaky creeps!”. Pointing out the physical features of 'the monkeys' to shame them. Voiced by an American actor, it is obvious to say that Baloo goes on with the white side of animals. A flat nose is one of the most distinctive, stereotypically African facial features[3]. In an article written by Cory Lund states that white actors voicing these monkeys went out of their way to voice these characters as black. And not just black people, black fools. They laugh wildly at everything and can barely hold themselves back with swings of hysterics at whatever they do. They were intentionally portrayed and voiced to paint black people as foolish, dirty criminals[4]. In addition, Brett Mizelle writes, “This recurring linkage between blacks and apes was used to reinforce Euro-American supremacy and ultimately to justify slavery”(Man Cannot Behold).

References