Episode 04: The Censored Eleven

**The Censored Eleven** is the 4th episode of the Black N' Animated podcast. It was released on May 20, 2018.

## Episode description

*Hello world!*

*We're excited to present to you the fourth episode of the Black N Animated podcast! In this BW episode (WB? BW? still figuring that out) Bre and Way discuss the Censored Eleven. These are animated shorts origanilly produced and released by Waner Bros.and withheld from syndication by United Artist in 1968, for it's racially insensitive content. We watch five of the shorts and discuss what makes them offensive, Is there any salvaging them to  make them better?  and why acknowledging these shorts is important.*

## Highlights

The episode immediately starts with Bre saying she's tired, as she and Way had watched five of the famous "Censored Eleven" cartoons by *Looney Tunes* and *Merrie Melodies.* They give some exposition about these cartoons and also bring up other stereotypes in old theatrical cartoons, such as the usual blackface gag in *Tom & Jerry,* as well as Mammy Two-Shoes*,* and some of Speedy Gonzales, who they believe is a more comfortable Mexican depiction than Slowpoke Rodriguez. They list the cartoons that they watched: *Hittin' the Trail for Hallelujah Land, Jungle Jitters, All This and Rabbit Stew, Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarves,* and *Tin Pan Alley Cats.* Way previously admits while some things made him uncomfortable, there were also some things in the cartoons that were fine to him.

First they talk about *Hittin' the Trail for Hallelujah Land,* seeing why it was pulled from syndication with the Uncle Tom stereotype. Bre says that she doesn't really know why the cartoon was given the title it has, although states that the audio of the cartoon was muffled so there could've been something they missed. They think if the grandpa had a different name than Uncle Tom the cartoon would've survived as they didn't find the characters on the ship problematic. The cartoon is given a "2 out of 5". Afterwards Bre and Way discuss *Jungle Jitters,* mentioning the wafer-thin plot of the cartoon, the jungle monkey setting and dehumanizing Africans, as well as weird characters such as the queen and the parody salesman. Bre gives it a "10 out of 5", it being so bad it's lost on the list, also saying that there can't be anything to fix the cartoon.

Afterwards, *All This and Rabbit Stew* is discussed. Summarizing, the cartoon is basically a Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd toon, but in place of Fudd is a nameless Black Hunter, with stereotypical jokes such as playing dice and a black lollipop labeled with "sucker". They rate the cartoon higher (4 out of 5), stating that removing the dice and lollipop jokes, as well as removing the characterization of the hunter, would make the cartoon harmless. Then they talk about *Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarves,* a clear parody of *Snow White.* Despite what the title says, the character's name is actually "So White". The queen is also depicted as a stereotypical gorilla-like figure as well as the "Prince Charming" who has dice in his teeth. In the middle of discussing it, they also bring up Whoopi Goldberg's PSA in *Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 3* about how despite these cartoons being wrong, they shouldn't be covered up for future generations to learn from them. For the score, they give the cartoon the same rating as *Rabbit Stew*, citing that a lot is okay except jokes, namely blatant WWII ones.

Lastly they get to the last cartoon of the five they've viewed: *Tin Pan Alley Cats.* Despite the usual stereotypes seen in this cartoon, Bre and Way thought that this cartoon was boring and all over the place and only give it a 5 out of 5 because of nothing extraordinary. The episode closes out with why they were talking about these cartoons, going along with how people should know about them. They also state that even if stereotypes weren't meant to be offensive, it could still be to some audience members.

## Listen

https://blacknanimated.podbean.com/e/04-the-censored-eleven-black-n-animated-podcast/