Difference between revisions of "The Isle of Pingo Pongo"

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==Plot==
 
==Plot==
A cruise ship's trip from New York starts departing to the island of Pingo-Pongo, presumably located in the South Seas. The ship sails past the Statue of Liberty, who acts as a traffic cop, past the “Canary Islands” and “Sandwich Islands,” to the remote island. The inhabitants are mostly tall, black, and have big feet and lips. They at first play drums, then break into a jazz beat, still described as a “primitive savage rhythm.<ref>[https://looneytunes.fandom.com/wiki/The_Isle_of_Pingo_Pongo Looneytunes Fandom] retrieved December 18, 2020</ref>
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A cruise ship departs from New York for the island of Pingo-Pongo, which is likely in the South Seas. To reach the isolated island, the ship sails past the Statue of Liberty, who serves as a traffic officer, as well as the "Canary Islands" and "Sandwich Islands." The bulk of the tenants are tall, black, and have huge feet and lips. They begin with drums and then turn into a jazz beat, which is still represented as a "primitive savage rhythm." <ref>[https://looneytunes.fandom.com/wiki/The_Isle_of_Pingo_Pongo Looneytunes Fandom] retrieved December 18, 2020</ref>
This short actually doesn't really has a plot, half of the cartoon only showing the "primitive" behavior of the native from Pingo Pongo island which all the natives portrayed black and have enormous big lips.  
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This short doesn't really have a storyline, with half of the cartoon just showcasing the "primitive" action of the inhabitants of Pingo Pongo Island, all of whom are shown as black and with huge wide lips.  
  
 
[[File:Pingo pongo.png|thumb]]
 
[[File:Pingo pongo.png|thumb]]
 
==The Controversy==
 
==The Controversy==
When Associated Artists Productions and then United Artists brought the cartoon to television through syndication in the late 1950s, its imagery was no different from other syndicated fare that had once run in theaters. But by 1968, Europe had started to decolonize Africa, and the sight-gags about the lip sizes of dark-skinned figures and the “primitive” behavior of the indigenous hinted at the colonialism from which the continent had started breaking free.<ref>[https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/the-censored-11-the-isle-of-pingo-pongo-1938/ Cartoon Research] retrieved December 18, 2020</ref>. Hence, this kind of gag is no longer accepted by modern society.
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The cartoon's imagery was similar to other syndicated fare that had originally run in theaters until Associated Artists Productions and then United Artists took it to television via syndication in the late 1950s. By 1968, however, Europe had begun to decolonize Africa, and sight gags regarding dark-skinned figures' lip sizes and indigenous people's "primitive" attitudes pointed at the colonization from which the continent had begun to break free<ref>[https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/the-censored-11-the-isle-of-pingo-pongo-1938/ Cartoon Research] retrieved December 18, 2020</ref>. As a result, this kind of joke is no longer acceptable in contemporary culture.
  
 
==External Link==
 
==External Link==

Revision as of 13:43, 11 March 2021

Osle-pingo-pongo-lobby600.jpg

The Isle of Pingo Pongo is a Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Tex Avery back in 1938. Warner Brothers released the film on May 28, 1938. This cartoon is the sixth in the Censored Eleven, a list of eleven cartoons that United Artist banned and withheld from syndication in 1968 due to the use of racial stereotypes in the cartoons that were deemed too offensive for society.

Plot

A cruise ship departs from New York for the island of Pingo-Pongo, which is likely in the South Seas. To reach the isolated island, the ship sails past the Statue of Liberty, who serves as a traffic officer, as well as the "Canary Islands" and "Sandwich Islands." The bulk of the tenants are tall, black, and have huge feet and lips. They begin with drums and then turn into a jazz beat, which is still represented as a "primitive savage rhythm." [1] This short doesn't really have a storyline, with half of the cartoon just showcasing the "primitive" action of the inhabitants of Pingo Pongo Island, all of whom are shown as black and with huge wide lips.

Pingo pongo.png

The Controversy

The cartoon's imagery was similar to other syndicated fare that had originally run in theaters until Associated Artists Productions and then United Artists took it to television via syndication in the late 1950s. By 1968, however, Europe had begun to decolonize Africa, and sight gags regarding dark-skinned figures' lip sizes and indigenous people's "primitive" attitudes pointed at the colonization from which the continent had begun to break free[2]. As a result, this kind of joke is no longer acceptable in contemporary culture.

External Link

Watch The Isle of Pingo Pongo at Dailymotion
The Isle of Pingo Pongo at IMDb

References

  1. Looneytunes Fandom retrieved December 18, 2020
  2. Cartoon Research retrieved December 18, 2020