Analyzing The Movie 'Song Of The South'

Imagine the happy and sugar coated world of a Disney movie. Multiply that times ten during a time of deep racial turmoil in the South. “Song of the South”, directed by Wilfred Jackson and Harve Foster, is an almost painfully sweet story of friendship between a white little boy and his old colored friend, Uncle Remus. Full of forced heartwarming and sensitive moments, it’s difficult to get through this movie without wanting to close your eyes and take a nap. It is not, in fact, "mighty satisfactual." “Song of the South” is the first Disney movie that is a real-life drama story, all previous movies being cartoon stories. Additionally, it is the first movie in film history to incorporate animation into real-life images. The movie begins when

Frequent glances at the camera, severely delayed reaction times, and over-exaggerated expressions are just of the many failed attempts of the majority of the actors to represent their characters effectively. Bobby Driscoll, who played little Johnny was adorable, yet he lacked any tangible acting skills, other than the occasional deep brow furrow or obnoxiously sneaky smile. Most of the child actors and actresses in this movie were chosen based on the way they look, rather than their skill level. While they are all undeniably adorable, this does not and cannot mask the atrocious and cheesy acting that plagues almost every second of the

The overly repetitive and never ending “Zipadeedoodah” tune persistently rings in the ears of listeners long after the end of the movie. Most of the other songs are cheerful and unsuccessfully serve to enrich the movie and engage the audience. Although the movie does include religious and powerful African American spirituals, they are whitewashed and “disneyfied” to better fit the lighthearted and naive tone of the movie. In fact, the interaction between the two races is completely “disneyfied” as well. The title itself, “Song of the South”, puts a positive spin on a violent and corrupt place during reconstruction. The movie is not representative at all of the situation between blacks and whites in the South. Southern blacks are dealing lynching, Jim Crow Laws, and mass murders yet this movie chooses to portray the lovely yet subordinate treatment of blacks by whites. The intentions of the directors were most likely to encourage a positive and synergistic relationship between blacks and whites in a time of deep segregation and hate. However, depicting a false reality of an awful situation does not encourage change or improve that situation in the