Tom and Jerry Cartoons labelled as racist
Amazon has recently placed a racial prejudice warning on Tom and Jerry cartoons. Is this socially acceptable as a norm for the time in which the cartoons were created, or are we teaching our children to be racist by allowing them to watch it?
Amazon has recently placed a warning of racial prejudice on Tom and Jerry cartoons, saying they may depict scenes of “racial prejudice”.
The cartoons, some made more than 70 years ago, depict a ‘black maid’ as one of the characters. According to Wikipedia, ‘Mammy Two Shoes’ is a heavy-set middle-aged black woman who often has to deal with the mayhem generated by the lead characters.
The warning claimed that such racial prejudice was once commonplace in American society. The cartoons, once a staple of children’s television across the world, is now being presented with a cautionary note about “ethnic and racial prejudices”, the BBC reported.
Amazon’s streaming subscription service, formerly branded as LoveFilm, includes the cartoons in its comedy collection.
But Tom and Jerry: 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.”
During the Apartheid era, such racial prejudice was also prevalent in our country, and some might argue is still a sore issue today.
We feel the question is not one of racism, but rather a portrayal of a character in a certain stereotype. What do you think? Is society capable of accepting the cartoon comes from a time when such things were the norm, or is it teaching our children to be racially bigoted?
Twitter users respond to Tom and Jerry racism warning:
I cannot believe that I am watching a tv programme debating whether Tom and Jerry is racist
— Liam (@liamcope1) October 2, 2014
I do understand Tom and Jerry had a mammy character, but I also understand the show was made in 1940.
— Brennan Williams (@GREATBLACKOTAKU) October 1, 2014
Tom and Jerry cartoons carry racism warning: https://t.co/9AThPimVKt | This is utter nonsense, must have been the idea of some genetic junk!
— Jaideep A. Prabhu (@orsoraggiante) October 1, 2014
Old Tom and Jerry cartoons to carry warnings of ‘racial prejudice’. Give me strength. I am a foreigner in a culture I no longer understand.
— Katie Hopkins (@KTHopkins) October 1, 2014
