Tom & Jerry
Tom and Jerry is an American animated franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios. Tom and Jerry join a long and growing list of old favourites that are suddenly denounced for failing the test of contemporary sensitivities. This is the cue for an argument that cuts through attitudes like a cheese wire: mirth and derision at political correctness on the one hand, and agonised uncertainty from everyone else.[1]
Synopsis
the series centers on the never ending friendship and rivalry between the titular characters of a cat named Tom and a mouse named Jerry. Many shorts also feature several recurring characters. Which one of them is Mammy Two Shoes[2].
Controversy
Considered having a very good cartoon animation, there are some black stereotypes shown in the series as part of the comedy, which is considered controversial for many. On Amazon and ITunes, The Complete Second Volume is accompanied by the caution: "Tom and Jerry shorts may depict some ethnic and racial prejudices that were once commonplace in American society. Such depictions were wrong then and are wrong today."[3] .” In 1949—when being politically correct meant supporting segregation—the NAACP began protesting the studio over Mammy Two-Shoes. By the 1980s protests by groups representing communities of color against the lack of representation and a tide of misrepresentation became routine. Soon, talk in entertainment company boardrooms shifted from defusing demonstrations to discussions of how to address the nation’s changing demographics. They wanted to pivot toward “emerging” and “underserved” populations without losing their core white suburban audiences.[4]
In “Casanova Cat” and “Mouse Cleaning,” two episodes from 1951 and 1948 has obvious race references that had previously been censored on broadcast television, were cut from the collection. “Casanova Cat” features Tom wooing a glamorous female feline by darkening Jerry’s face with cigar smoke and making him do a minstrel dance. And in “Mouse Cleaning,” Tom uses his “blackface” to trick Mammy Two Shoes. There are also plenty of other outdated stereotypes in “Tom and Jerry” to be pointed out.[5]
Reference
- ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/02/tom-and-jerry-racism-diversity-modern-storytelling
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_and_Jerry#Mammy_Two_Shoes
- ↑ https://www.bbc.com/news/education-29427843
- ↑ https://slate.com/culture/2014/10/tom-and-jerry-racist-of-course-warning-on-amazon-and-itunes-is-appropriate.html
- ↑ https://www.thedailybeast.com/is-tom-and-jerry-really-racist
