Song of the South

Splash Mountain (Six Degrees of Song of the South, Episode 6) /  by Karina Longworth

28534854_1.jpg

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

After two more successful theatrical releases, in 1980 and 1986, Disney decided to put Song of the South in the “Disney Vault,” and never released it on home video or theatrically in the US ever again. And yet, at the same time, the company was developing a theme park ride around Song of the South’s characters and its most memorable song--but without Uncle Remus, or any signifiers of the complicated racial and historical dynamics the film, however clumsily, portrayed.

SplashMountain.jpg
Splash_Mountain_at_Disneyland.jpg

Sources specific to this episode:

Dream it! Do it! My Half Century Creating Disney’s Magic Kingdoms by Marty Sklar

Designing Disney: Imagineering and the Art of the Show by John Hench

Imagineering: A Behind the Dreams Look at Making the Magic Real by Disney Editions
Birth of an Industry By Nicholas Sammond

“Animation Sings In Song of the South” by Charles Solomon, Los Angeles Times, November 21, 1986

“Song not Ended for Disney” by James A. Snead, Los Angeles Times, December 27, 1986 

“Should dated films see the light of day?” Donald Liebenson, Los Angeles Times, May 7 2003

“Song of South: A Fascist Film?” by Thomas Pleasure, Los Angeles Times, August 2, 1981

“'Beulah Land' has something in it to offend almost…” by Joan Hanauer, October 7, 1980, UPI Archives

“Exploring Disney's Fascinating Dark Phase of the 70s and 80s” by Ryan Lambie

Jun 26, 2019, https://www.denofgeek.com

“Eisner's 19 Years At Walt Disney” by David Leonhardt, December 1, 2003, The New York Times 

http://legacy.aintitcool.com/node/6325

http://vintagedisneylandtickets.blogspot.com/2010/07/remembering-deborah-july-8-1974.html

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro and outro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca. The outro song this week is “South is Only a Home” by The Fiery Furnaces. 

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:

Great Hopes - Bjarni Biering Margeirsson
The Missing Pie - Jeffrey S Lippencott, Mark Thomas Williams, James Miles Hankins
Fancy Footwalk - Daniel Horacio Diaz
Curious Affairs - Daryl Neil Alexander Griffith
Gumshoe Blues - Paul Martin Pritchard
Linger Awhile - Marian Mcpartland
Mists of Antiquity - Sidney John Kay
Serene Pastoral Folk Blues - Alexandre Stephane Rusian Toukaeff, Baptiste Vayer
Sneak Easy - John Neille Rufus Altman
Whimsicality - Laurent Dury
The Setup - Daniel Horacio Diaz
Looking for Clues - Daryl Neil Alexander Griffith
Our Man in Miami - Daniel Horacio Diaz, Andre Paul Marie CHISL Charlier
Yacht Club - Alain Francois Edouard Bernard
Illustrious Prince - Laurent Dury
Lazy Pastoral Folk Blues - Alexandre Stephane Rusian Toukaeff, Baptiste Vayer
Free Stylin - Daryl Neil Alexander Griffith
The Pleasure Handiwork - Mathieu Claude Laurent

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated and produced by Karina Longworth.

Editor: Andi Kristins.

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Blaxploitation and the White Backlash (Six Degrees of Song of the South, Episode 5) /  by Karina Longworth

fzboIGgcZptpWsHXiXqokIhXJ31.jpg

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts. 

Song of the South’s most successful re-release came in 1972, at a time when Hollywood was dealing with race by making two very different kinds of movies: Blaxploitation films, which gave black audiences a chance to see black characters triumph against white authority figures; and movies like Dirty Harry, which were emblematic of a concurrent cultural and political shift away from the Civil Rights Movement and toward Reagan-style Republicanism. 

lf.jpg

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro and outro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca. The outro song this week is “Pusherman” by Curtis Mayfield. 

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:

Serene Pastoral Folk Blues - Alexandre Stephane Rusian Toukaeff, Baptiste Vayer
Cotton Flower - Paul Martin Pritchard
Yacht Club - Alain Francois Edouard Bernard
Whimsicality - Laurent Dury
Reflections Underscore - Jack Richard Pierce
Converted Livestock Farmers - Baptiste Francois Guillaume Thiry
Hanging Tree - Wayne Anthony Murray, Tobias Macfarlaine, Elmore King
Rattle Them Chains - Wayne Anthony Murray, Tobias Macfarlaine, Elmore King
Free Stylin - Daryl Neil, Alexander Griffith
Memory Echoes - Hiroki Ishikura
Foxy Brown - David Oliver Rieu
Black Gumshoe - David Oliver Rieu
Blue Sophisticate - Marian McPartland
Ain't No Money in the Blues - Eric John LaBrosse, Jason Michael Carter, Joshua Phillip Cass Matthew Robert Danbeck, Adam Patrick Tremel
Gumshoe Blues - Paul Martin Pritchard
Nightly - Ilan Moshe Abou, Thierry Oliver Faure
Monsieur Taxi - Renaud Vincent Garcia Fons
Fancy Footwalk - Daniel Horacio Diaz
South Border - Olivier Jean Roger Samoillan

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated and produced by Karina Longworth.

Editor: Andi Kristins.

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

White Allies and the Blacklist: Maurice Rapf (Six Degrees of Song of the South, Episode 4) /  by Karina Longworth

Screen+Shot+2019-11-06+at+2.27.05+PM.jpg

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts. 

Concerned that his movie about a former slave devoting his life to a white child’s emotional needs might be perceived as racist, Walt Disney hired known Communist Maurice Rapf to rewrite Song of the South. Rapf, the son of an MGM exec, was radicalized as a college student and, shortly after Song of the South was released, he was blacklisted. Today we’ll discuss Rapf’s life and career, and talk about how white leftists in Hollywood tried to subvert the industry’s racial status quo--and how their mission to “make movies less bad” led to their own persecution.

Walt Disney, c. 1940’s

Walt Disney, c. 1940’s

UncleRemusStories.jpg

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro and outro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca. The outro song this week is “Jesus Was a Communist” by Reagan Youth.

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:

Whimsicality - Laurent Dury
Illustrious Prince - Laurent Dury
Serene Pastoral Folk Blues - Alexandre Stephane Rusian Toukaeff, Baptiste Vayer
Lazy Pastoral Folk Blues - Alexandre Stephane Rusian Toukaeff, Baptiste Vayer
Blue Moan - Keith Charles Nichols
Dance Of The Peasants - Keith Charles Nichols
The Iron Curtain - Anthony J K Hymas
Solutions - Anthony J K Hymas
Ambitions - Anthony J K Hymas
Disney Land - Johnny Pearson
Gumshoe Blues - Paul Martin Pritchard
Cotton Flower - Paul Martin Pritchard
Hanging Tree - Wayne Anthony Murray, Tobias Macfarlaine, Elmore King
Crime and Danger Sign - Hans Conzelmann, Delle Haensch
Prologue Of A Drama #1 - Hans Conzelmann, Delle Haensch -

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated and produced by Karina Longworth.

Editor: Jared O'Connell.

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

“Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah,” Minstrels in Hollywood and the Oscars (Six Degrees of Song of the South, Episode 3) /  by Karina Longworth

ZipadeedoodahSquare.png

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

Song of the South’s most famous element is “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah,” a song written for the movie but reminiscent of a racist standard popularized in blackface minstrel shows of the 1830s. Today we’ll explore this song and the other ways in which minstrel imagery and tropes made their way into Song of the South and other animated and live action films of the first half of the 20th century. And, we'll talk about how all of this is related to Walt Disney's push to net Song of the South Oscars.

James Baskett in Song of the South (1946)

James Baskett in Song of the South (1946)

Jackson5Zip.jpg

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro and outro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca. The outro song this week is “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” sung by Rik Ocasek.

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:

Jackson 5 - Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah
Doris Day - Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah
Los Lobos - Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah
The Hollies - Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah
Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans - Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah
Miley Cyrus (as Hannah Montana) - Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah
Paul Martin Pritchard - Gumshoe Blues
Manuel Galvin, Jean-Jacques Marcel, Maurice Milteau - Memphis Minstrels
John Neville Rufus Altman - Sneak Easy
Jahzzar - Railroad's Whiskey Co
Wayne Anthony Murra, Tobias Macfarlaine, Elmore King - Hanging Tree
Paul Martin Pritchard - Wandering Nights
Daniel Horacio Diaz, Andre Paul Marie, Charlier - Our Man In Miami
Daniel Horacio Diaz - The Setup
Daniel Horacio Diaz - Fancy Footwork
Robert Bernhard Hauser - The Piano Bar Player
Rik Ocasek - Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated and produced by Karina Longworth.

Editor: Jared O'Connell.

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

MV5BY2MyMTMyNzAtOTJjMC00YTIwLTkyMWEtNzdjNjdlMmExYTI5XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMzU0NzkwMDg@._V1_UY1200_CR32,0,630,1200_AL_.jpg

Hattie McDaniel (Six Degrees of Song of the South, Episode 2) /  by Karina Longworth

In 1940 Hattie McDaniel became the first black performer to be nominated for and win an Oscar, for her role in Gone with the Wind.

In 1940 Hattie McDaniel became the first black performer to be nominated for and win an Oscar, for her role in Gone with the Wind.

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts. 

Song of the South co-stars Hattie McDaniel, the first black performer to win an Oscar, for her supporting role as “Mammy” in Gone with the Wind. By the time Song of the South was released, McDaniel was the subject of much criticism in the black community for propagating outdated stereotypes in her roles. But McDaniel actually began her career subverting those same stereotypes, first in black minstrel shows and then in Hollywood movies.

Hattie McDaniel, Gone with the Wind (1939)

Hattie McDaniel, Gone with the Wind (1939)

song-of-the-southMLobbyCard.jpg

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro and outro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca. The outro song this week is “Boo Hoo Blues” sung by Hattie McDaniel.

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:

Manuel Galvin, Jean-Jacques Marcel, Maurice Milteau - Memphis Mistrels

Manuel Galvin - No More Baby Please

Paul Martin Pritchard - Gumshoe Blues

Geoffrey Peter Gascoyne - Stripper

Manuel Galvin - Cotton Flower

Manuel Galvin - Keep The Blues On

Johnny Pearson - Disney Land

Daniel Horacio Diaz - Fancy Footwork

John Denis Hawksworth - The Depression Years

Jahzzar - Railroad's Whiskey Co

Eric John LaBrosse, Jason Michael Carter, Joshua Phillip Cass,Matthew Robert Danbeck, Adam Patrick Tremel - Ain't No Money In The Blues

Jules Ruben - Early Morning Blues

Didier Francois Dani Goret - Eyes Only For You

Hattie McDaniel - Boo Hoo Blues 

cbs-radio-1.jpg

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated and produced by Karina Longworth.

Editor: Jared O'Connell.

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

HattieMcDanielStamp.jpg

Disney’s Most Controversial Film (Six Degrees of Song of the South, Episode 1) /  by Karina Longworth

song-of-the-south.jpg

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

Disney Plus is launching with the stated intention of streaming the entire Disney library...except for Song of the South, the 1946 animation/live-action hybrid film set on a post-Civil War plantation, which was theatrically re-released as recently as 1986, served as the basis for the ride Splash Mountain, but has never been available in the US on home video. What is Song of the South, why did Disney make it, and why have they held the actual film from release, while finding other ways to profit off of it? Across six episodes of our new season, we’ll dig into all facets of Song of the South’s strange story. Join us, won’t you?

SongoftheSouthmoviecard.jpg

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources for the whole season:

Walt Disney by Neal Gabler

Disney's Most Notorious Film: Race, Convergence, and the Hidden Histories of Song of the South By Jason Sperb

Birth of an Industry by Nicholas Sammond

Stony the Road by Henry Louis Gates Jr.

White Screens/Black Images by James Snead

Slow Fade to Black by Thomas Cripps

Making Movies Black by Thomas Cripps

Bright Boulevards, Bold Dreams: The Story of Black Hollywood by Donald Bogle

Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, and Bucks: An Interpretive History of Blacks in American Films by Donald Bogle

Joel Chandler Harris: A Biography and Critical Study by Bruce R. Bickley Jr.

Sources specific to this episode:

Who’s Afraid of the Song of the South by Jim Korkis

“What’s the Historical Background of ‘Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah’?” by Debi Simons, September 10, 2018, https://www.behind-the-music.com

“10 Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Facts About Song of the South” by Stacy Conradt, November 12, 2016, http://mentalfloss.com

Diversity in Disney Films: Critical Essays by Johnson Cheu

“The Magic Kingdom: Walt Disney and the American Way of Life” by Steven Watts, The Hollywood Reporter, April 22, 2019

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro and outro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca. The outro song this week is “Controversy” by Prince.

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:

Laurent Edmond Gaston Bacri & Jean-Louis Négro - Snow White & The Dwarves
Laurent Edmond Gaston Bacri & Jean-Louis Négro - Tic Tock Clock
Johnny Pearson - Disney Land
Frank Bernard Woodbridge - Creepy Corner Ghost
Jahzzar - Railroad's Whiskey Co
Paul Martin Pritchard - Wandering Nights
Daniel Horacio Diaz - Fancy Footwalk
John Greaves - Serie Noir
Gooding, Charlie H. Bisharat & Jennifer Anne Wood - The Late War
Joel Vandroogenbroeck - Ghost Town
Joel Vandroogenbroeck - Chain Production
Marc-Olivier Nicolas Dupin - Lola Lola
Alexandre Stephane Rusian Toukaeff, Baptiste Vayer - Serene Pastoral Folk Blues
Daryl Neil Alexander Griffith - Freestylin'
Daniel Horacio Diaz - The Setup
Prince - Controversy

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated and produced by Karina Longworth.

Editor: Jared O'Connell.

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Screen Shot 2019-10-14 at 4.55.29 PM.png

A preview of the new season of You Must Remember This is out NOW! /  by Karina Longworth

SongoftheSouthposter.jpg

This season, we explore the most controversial film in the history of Disney Animation.

With the launch of Disney Plus, the company's entire library could be made available for streaming. The one film promised to remain locked away is Song of the South, the 1946 animation/live-action hybrid set on a post-Civil War plantation. 

What is Song of the South? Why did Disney make it even amidst protests? And why have they held the actual film from release for the past thirty-plus years, while finding other ways to profit off of it?

Join us, won’t you? As we uncover this hidden film in the Disney vault. New episodes of You Must Remember This will be released every Tuesday. Subscribe via Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts to hear it!