Another great article. If I can give two cents: I don't believe that what the Seuss estate is doing is right. They're basically doing what Disney does with movies like Song of the South: Pretend that it never happened. And that's wrong. Warner Bros whenever they released classic cartoons on DVD, they always had a disclaimer stating that while the stereotypes and racist imagery were wrong then and are still wrong today, they decided NOT to edit them and released them in their original state because pretending that they never happened is just as wrong and that we should learn from those mistakes. More companies need to learn this.
First off, another great article. I look at this from a different vantage point. It is important to remember that messages contained in this type of art are not mere words in a book or movies on a screen. The messages go along with an era where basic human rights were being denied on the basis of race. The messages and symbolism helped perpetuate this denial of basic human rights. Often, someone will say that we need to understand the historical context or era in which these books were published as a way to excuse the author and continue to “enjoy” these works of art. However, that is a one-sided view of history. The victims that were denied their basic human rights knew that the messages were discriminatory and racist. However, they had no voice to protest. To say that these books were accepted back in the day is a false statement. They were accepted by a majority white population that had the power to discriminate against racial and ethnic minorities. They were not accepted by the racial and ethnic minorities. What was wrong back then is wrong today. The Seuss estate is right to stop publishing those books just as Disney is right to stop showing Song of the South.
Another great article. If I can give two cents: I don't believe that what the Seuss estate is doing is right. They're basically doing what Disney does with movies like Song of the South: Pretend that it never happened. And that's wrong. Warner Bros whenever they released classic cartoons on DVD, they always had a disclaimer stating that while the stereotypes and racist imagery were wrong then and are still wrong today, they decided NOT to edit them and released them in their original state because pretending that they never happened is just as wrong and that we should learn from those mistakes. More companies need to learn this.
First off, another great article. I look at this from a different vantage point. It is important to remember that messages contained in this type of art are not mere words in a book or movies on a screen. The messages go along with an era where basic human rights were being denied on the basis of race. The messages and symbolism helped perpetuate this denial of basic human rights. Often, someone will say that we need to understand the historical context or era in which these books were published as a way to excuse the author and continue to “enjoy” these works of art. However, that is a one-sided view of history. The victims that were denied their basic human rights knew that the messages were discriminatory and racist. However, they had no voice to protest. To say that these books were accepted back in the day is a false statement. They were accepted by a majority white population that had the power to discriminate against racial and ethnic minorities. They were not accepted by the racial and ethnic minorities. What was wrong back then is wrong today. The Seuss estate is right to stop publishing those books just as Disney is right to stop showing Song of the South.