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Outrageous racial stereotyping in children's cartoons

• Message 1.Μύ

  Posted by U6679583 (U6679583) on Thursday, 13th November 2008

  Cartoons are such a formative part of a child's world view. But, ask yourself - how many of your deeply held assumptions about the world's nations are based on the subtle racial slurs contained therein?
  
  Group therapy and analysis time:
  
  May I kick off with Pepe le Pew?
  
  Character description: Relentlessly amorous skunk
  
  Nationality: French
  
  Implied racial slur: Frenchmen are unstopable when they've set their hat at a woman. And they smell.
  
  

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• Message 2

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  Posted by Chicago Jeff (U13649238) on Thursday, 13th November 2008

  Well, I have to throw Speedy Gonzalez in there...
  
  Speedy Gonzalez
  
  Character description: Mouse who keeps evading a cat with an American accent
  
  Nationality: Mexican
  
  Implied racial slur: Mexicans are always trying to avoid Americans, presumably because they've crossed the border into America illegally

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• Message 3

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  Posted by U6679583 (U6679583) on Thursday, 13th November 2008

  Character description: The House keeper in the Tom and Jerry cartoons
  
  Nationality: African-American
  
  Implied racial slur: Black people only perform menial tasks in society; in domestic chaos situations, they enthusiastically batter the nearest cat with a broom without making enquiries suficient to establish the true guilty party; and they exist only from the knees down.
  
  

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• Message 4

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  Posted by U6679583 (U6679583) on Thursday, 13th November 2008

  The baby kangaroo delivered in error to Sylvester the Cat's house.
  
  Character description: small, voiceless boxing marsupial.
  
  Nationality: Australian.
  
  Implied racial slur: Antipodeans will punch you in the face in preference to actually speaking to you.

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• Message 5

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  Posted by U6679583 (U6679583) on Friday, 14th November 2008

  The Mole
  
  Character description: a Mole, (created by Czech animator Zdeněk Miler) whose completely unfathomable and unamusing adventures formed the low point of childrens's television almost every day (it seemed), throughout the 1970's.
  
  Implied racial slur: Czech animators hate children.

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• Message 6

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  Posted by steve_swift (U2177659) on Saturday, 15th November 2008

  If this thread strays into Captain Pugwash territory count me in.

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• Message 7

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  Posted by Ade Brown (U9691169) on Tuesday, 18th November 2008

  This Speedy Gonzalez thing is scurrilous.
  Clearly this is set in Mexico and therefore suggests that Americans are slow-witted buffoons incapable of "keeping up" with the Mexicans.
  
  However, doesn't Foghorn Leghorn, I say Foghorn Leghorn, portray all Americans as chicken ? And since when are geniuses stupid, Mr B.B.Roadrunner, j'accuse !
  
  Oh, Tintin.
  
  

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• Message 8

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  Posted by U6679583 (U6679583) on Tuesday, 18th November 2008

  Tintin and Asterix require racial stereotyping threads all of their own.
  
  How's about Jocks vs Geordies? Anyone want to unpick that?

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• Message 9

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  Posted by Chicago Jeff (U13649238) on Wednesday, 19th November 2008

  Foghorn Leghorn is a fun one...I, being American, like to think it was Mel Blanc poking fun at Southerners...hokey accents, real loudmouths and know-it-alls...but it could be construed as a stereotype representative of all Americans...
  
  Wallace and Gromit however...apparently, you Brits love your cheese...I mean, LOVE your cheese...oh, and dumber than dogs (that's what the cartoon implies)...

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• Message 10

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  Posted by Bargeman (U1017072) on Thursday, 20th November 2008

  Groundkeeper Willie
  
  All Scotsman are, of course, red haired, wear tartan and talk like they're chewing a wasp.

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• Message 11

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  Posted by CardiffGentleman (U13471703) on Thursday, 20th November 2008

  I think the key word is 'Speedy' and the role of Mexican Narcos gangs - have you seen how fast he moves.
  
  

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• Message 12

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  Posted by Chicago Jeff (U13649238) on Thursday, 20th November 2008

  You referring to Caddyshack?? What a classic..."I'll slack you off, you fuzzy foreigner" -- mumbles Bill Murray's assistant to the head groundskeeper...

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• Message 13

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  Posted by ceeceelmt (U13673358) on Tuesday, 25th November 2008

  
  Tintin and Asterix require racial stereotyping threads all of their own.
  
  Μύ
  
  Sorry about butting in, but those two are very different kettles of fish (erm -been reading this board a bit while watching the clock) - Tintin is pretty much admittedly moralistic/racist/etc, even the dog in earlier stories is a representation of the evils of drink/lying
  
  Asterix is for adults, so any stereotyping (my favourite: the Helvetes) is tongue-in-cheek a la J. Clarkson, not subtly or not-so-subtly brainwashing your average kid
  
  Masters of the Universe > all white and blond?

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• Message 14

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  Posted by gidarmy (U7627527) on Tuesday, 25th November 2008

  I think Tintin needs a bit of defence from the above. There's a strong moral streak through the books but I wouldn'd say there's a racist one. In fact in an early book Tintin mocks the way the Chinese are stereotyped. Even when later books flirt with stereotypes they seem to vere away from it such as when Haddock confronts the pilgrims in The Red Sea Sharks. The jokes is mainly on him. Tintin in Congo is obviously an exception to this.
  
  Apologies, I sound like a Cultural Studies student. No offence to those who are.
  
  Just read Asterix and the Banquet - excellent french regional mockery done with lightness of touch and fondness. Lovely.
  
  

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• Message 15

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  Posted by ceeceelmt (U13673358) on Tuesday, 25th November 2008

  yeeees *said with Mr Burns-like hand gestures*
  
  There was a big controversy a few years back about the fact that the original re-published Tintin stories had 'not for youngsters' stickers (basically, were censored) because the original ones (I'm talking the ones from the 30s) had unreconstructed views of the Africans (Tintin au Congo), and of black Americans and American Indians (Tintin en Amerique). Not to mention the Tintin au pays des Soviets which was basically anti-Stalinist propaganda, but I haven't read that one so I don't know if it goes as far as being 'ideological abuse'. I knew already as my mother grew up with the weekly during the war (where's the electronic zimmer frame mr Coe?)and I still have them. Pretty uncomfortable types of Mr Papadopoulos, the southern European shipping magnate - who in the older versions had more pronounced Semitic characteristics as well.
  However, that was just the 'conventional wisdom' at the time (pre-War, in a Colonial and very catholic small country). Later, after the war, Herge himself was acutely aware of the 'stereotype' problems (especially after being himself accused of collaborating with the Nazis in occupied Brussels) and had the earlier versions sanitized - ie made both more funny and less un-pc. The earlier versions were only ever published in the weekly, and the adaptations to more modern points of view were made in the comic book formats.
  
  Other examples of children's literature from my own experience (a bit further than cartoons) include the older Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys stories, where the bad men (but here we're talking small-time USA, 1950s, Stratemeyer syndicate) were always 'swarthy-looking'. By the time of the 70s re-issues, those characters were varied, if not completely removed, and when I was reading those novels did not feel brainwashed into fearing all darkskinned people.
  
  On Tintin, anyone taking offence today and wanting to rant at a (Belgian) national treasure finds no sympathy here, but history is history. Plus, and here's the bit where your
  
  Cultural Studies student
  Μύ
  is actually quite apt, there's about a zillion books on Tintin in Belgium (what else are they going to write about?) and they do have University courses on it...
  
  I guess it's a bit Lion, Witch and Wardrob-y, great for children (ages 7 to 77, was the tagline on the weekly magazine) but occasionally uncomfortable for adults.
  
  Asterix is truly anarchic (Goscinny was one of the funniest men ever, and strangely for a Frenchman, didn't even finish school if I remember correctly).
  
  *I'll go now*
  

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• Message 16

  , in reply to message 15.

  Posted by U6679583 (U6679583) on Tuesday, 25th November 2008

  I've always felt an affinity with Obelix, having fallen into a Magic Potion of sorts of my own , circa 18 yrs old, with lifelong effects.
  
  [Brushes off "5,000 Spirits, or the Layers of the Onion" and lights joss stick]
  

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