ReFrederator Blog

Every medium, it seems, must have its lingering controversy. In the cartoon world, it’s the issue of ethnic portrayals. This week, ReFrederator presents five cartoon shorts many people have never seen, because they all contain stereotypes of black people. The controversy about how we’ve been portrayed throughout the golden age of cartoons has ebbed and flowed over the decades, but it’s remarkably easy to distill to four simple points:

1. Back in those days, America was racist.

2. Cartoonists were created using the stereotypes and imagery of the day.

3. These cartoons are hateful/hurtful/offensive/insensitive and, especially as cartoons are generally the province of children, should not be shown—or at least not shown with the original racist imagery.

4. These cartoons are historical and cultural artefacts that deserve to be seen in their original forms. To do otherwise would be to whitewash (he said, noting the irony) history.

As an analytical, political, black cartoon fan, I can tell you that my relationship with these cartoons is anything but simple—but then, any issue where politics, culture, history, and entertainment meet rarely is. Conveying the complexity of this issue is, I think, beyond the scope of this blog, but throughout this week I’ll attempt to provide a glimpse of those mixed feelings with each short, exploring the context of each one and why they make the hairs on the back of my neck tingle (or not). It won’t be entirely subjective, or entirely objective; it’s just what I think and what I know. I’m sure other analytical, political, black cartoon fans will come away with different conclusions, and I hope they’re reading this and will comment. After all, the pool of reasons why these cartoons are problematic is both wide and deep, and not everyone has the same issues with them; however, we do all draw from the same pool.

- Emru Townsend
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