Ah the poor man. He must have had the time of his life making this picture, and probably had to hold back tears while making history. Only to pass away 4 months later, have the film be banned, his historic award practically forgotten, and fade into obscurity.
@@eMCEe131 Yes in fact.. There is. But however I only found quotes from it. Here're quotes from it: 'I've never been out of show business, and pharmacology just became a lost dream" "I thought that, maybe, they'd try me out to furnish the voice for one of Uncle Remus' animals" I really wanna find that full interview.. Since people choose to quote from it on websites and such.
Song Of The South is one of the best movies ever, I visited Mr. Baskett’s grave in Indianapolis. Disney should be ashamed of themselves not releasing this and anyone saying this classic is racist are idiots!!!!
I absolutely loved Song of the South when I was a little girl. It was probably the most delightful film that Disney came up with. No, there was nothing degrading or humiliating about James Basketts role as Uncle Remus! He had dignity and talent! It is shameful that people are banning these wonderful people who gave such great contributions to our cultural heritage.
@@tylerdrainville1136 have you watched the film in its entirety? It's a really good film that many many many generations of children and adults have loved and cherished. Today's PC cry babies will change the world and destroy each other doing it. A simple film such as Song of the South deserves every respect as much as Mary Poppins, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, So Dear to My Heart and Who Framed Roger Rabbit. All films produced by Disney that were live action and animation hybrids. Before you trash a movie make sure you examine the history and every fact on your own, double and triple fact check.. otherwise you are just as pathetically ignorant as the rest of the sheep following the masses left and right...
@@tylerdrainville1136 don't tell people what they need to be watching. That's not your say, or anyone in the weak group that you're a part of. Get in where you fit in. You're the one who supports the whitewashing.
Wow. All this time I thought Sidney Poitier was the first African American to win an Oscar, but now I know that was the first "Best Actor" award to an African American. Thanks for educating me.
@@psychedelicfright85 racists are the real racists. James Baskett was doing his best, despite his health, to be a success in the industry. It's unfortunate the only roles available for black people at that time, were as offensive stereotypes written by folks who did not live the black experience and turned it into revisionist history instead.
@Just Passing Through Song of the South *is* racist, that's just a fact. The NAACP protested it at the time and wanted it revised but Disney refused to even meet with them. No one is trying to erase anyone's "legacy", it's still in every official history record. Not a single person wants to or could change that. So sure, call people 'assholes' for a grievance you just invented and ignore what they are actually talking about so you can minimize it. Or.. you could actually engage based on the facts. It's up to you.
James Baskett should be posthumously honor as a Disney Legend. Disney, stop erasing the legacy of Song of the South! Just the release the film and keep Splash Mountain at Disneyland!
On Twitter there are people saying that James Baskett wasn’t allowed to receive his honorary award. But here he is at the ceremony, being handed the award, and about to give his speech. Which makes me wonder where their getting this information from.
Because social media is full of fools who get things mixed up. It is true that Baskett was not allowed to attend the premiere due to racist segregation laws. But he did receive his award in person after Walt Disney lobbied the academy to get him one. The past is more complicated than the far left makes it out to be.
Stop pretending Song of the South never happened. It's an important piece of both film and African American history for multiple reasons. Reason 1: James Baskett was the first black man to be hired by Disney AND the first black man to receive an Oscar. Reason 2: The movie is based on authentic African American folk tales which were AGAINST racism. Reason 3: The movie is filmed on a black owned plantation and all of the cartoon characters are performed by black voice actors, (including James Baskett as Brer Fox.) The fact that people feel the need to cover up these huge achievements because of a few hurt feelings absolutely disgusts me. This film is NOT racist. People seriously need to do their research before making mindless assumptions.
Stop pretending Song of the South wasn't protested and criticized when it came out, including by the NAACP, because it was. Nobody is trying to erase the achievements, but depictions like those in Song of the South are harmful stereotypes and revisionist history. It's proper to know the FULL context, not just the context you agree with.
@@Breshvic They are not stereotypes, please research the original Uncle Remus stories before making that tired old assumption. The characters do not speak in 'stereotypical' black accents, they speak in a language called Gullah. It's a legitimate language that was used by African American storytellers. The film is more authentic than you think.
@@TheFoxFromSplashMountain my wife is from Georgia and I am very familiar with Gullah and no, that is NOT what Joel Chandler Harris wrote. He constructed his own 'eye dialect' of what he, a white man, thought 'black people sounded like' at the time. The very language became the basis for making fun of how black people talked for decades. I know people who faced that scorn due to this movie, so please do not try to censor, erase, or cancel their very real, lived experience.
@@Breshvic Hate to break it to you, but most old stories have been heavily altered over the decades and even centuries they've been around. Harris' rendition of the Brer Rabbit stories isn't a special case, it happens to everything. In fact, I've seen modern Brer Rabbit books that ditch the Gullah entirely and use plain old modern English. It's just how stories evolve over time. Heck, just look at fairy tales. You don't see parents reading them to their kids in old English.
@@TheFoxFromSplashMountain Hate to break to you, but the racist history of Song of the South is a major facet of the history of Song of the South. You can try to cherry-pick only the good parts, or you can acknowledge ALL the parts like I did. The white men who collected the Gullah stories were Confederates and plantation owners, who did not respect the people they were caricaturing. Why didn't they just publish black people's folk tales as written by black people, without all the stereotypes and mocking the Gullah language? Seems you only want revisionist history, and to cancel the historical facts you don't like.
While it IS a honor to receive any Oscar, they(Jim Crow influenced) pulled B.S on James Baskett (Uncle Remus). He DIDN'T receive an Oscar the traditional way, his Oscar was an "Honorary Academy Award" (which is still legit) , BUT in effect it EXCLUDED him for consideration for Best Actor for that years award. Now they couldn't have a BLACK man receive the highest honor could they?
@infinityrose92 Walt actually did change and evolve his views on different marginalized groups (women, black people, etc) over the course of his life. I have no doubt that if he had not been a lifelong smoker, he would have evolved more and grown even more inclusive over time
thats what the newsreel camera people chose to film. The entire show was broadcast on radio. I have several Oscar radio broadcasts, but have yet to locate the one from that year.
By most accounts, it was largely through Walt Disney's efforts that Baskett was honored at all - I'm pretty sure the Academy then would rather have kept everything white that year, which was probably why they didn't nominate him for anything. But did Walt Disney actually care about Baskett as a person, or was he just trying to work up more success and good press for his movie? That's the thing about Walt Disney - you can't decide. It's a chicken or the egg question.
I would have loved to have heard Baskett's speech. Too bad. I first saw the Uncle Remus character when Disney broadcast the movie on my old 12 inch black and white TV in the 1950s. Knew nothing about the man then...now thanks to you we do. Sad, what Blacks had to endure to survive in the movie industry back then. Ask Hattie McDaniels, Bill Robinson, etc.
Allow me to disagree. This is a new era, not my 1950s. Whites now know that Blacks are as smart and resourceful as they are. So Madea and family are just poking fun. If you have confidence in yourself, and who you are, then you can make satire movies. If you are still insecure, than any ethnic humor becomes politically sensitive. Jews, Mexicans, and the Irish make fun of their cultures in the movies and do not have a problem because they know who they are and have cultural pride. I believe that Blacks have achieved parity in this respect. Also, notice that every Madea movie has a moral in the end. Hope this helps.
Like our master teacher Anthony T. Browder said, " The Academy Awards only acknowledge us black people when we play the most degrading characters!" I agree!
That is true but to look at the positive side of it (if there is one), black actors like Baskett did the best they could with what they were given. I recently watched song of the south and found myself conflicted. I found it disturbing on one level yet charming on another. If nothing else, this film should be released just for the historical significance alone.
How Denzel only has 2 in a 4 decade timeframe is beyond me....and for Training Day??? 🤔?..def not one of his best movies. . JOHN Q, Hurricane Carter, Malcolm X..etc...u get the picture.
God bless that man. He did so much. His stores. His character. His love. Such a tragedy what happened to that film. TWO academy awards. Timeless classic. Problematic or not. I found gone with the wind way more racist honestly.
Ah the poor man. He must have had the time of his life making this picture, and probably had to hold back tears while making history. Only to pass away 4 months later, have the film be banned, his historic award practically forgotten, and fade into obscurity.
I guess good thing he wasn’t around to have to see that madness.
Would've been nice if we heard James Baskett's speech.
Jamez Bæskett waz yn æ kategory ov hiz own
that's too bad! I would have loved to hear his speech.
are there any interviews with James Baskett anywhere?
@@eMCEe131 no he died about two years later, he wasn't even that old really
I think they sacrifice him
@@eMCEe131 Yes in fact.. There is. But however I only found quotes from it.
Here're quotes from it:
'I've never been out of show business, and pharmacology just became a lost dream"
"I thought that, maybe, they'd try me out to furnish the voice for one of Uncle Remus' animals"
I really wanna find that full interview.. Since people choose to quote from it on websites and such.
Song Of The South is one of the best movies ever, I visited Mr. Baskett’s grave in Indianapolis. Disney should be ashamed of themselves not releasing this and anyone saying this classic is racist are idiots!!!!
You can find unofficial DVD copies of it
I believe from what I have read you can thank NAACP for it being banned. I believe they're cutting their nose off to spite their face .
I absolutely loved Song of the South when I was a little girl. It was probably the most delightful film that Disney came up with. No, there was nothing degrading or humiliating about James Basketts role as Uncle Remus! He had dignity and talent! It is shameful that people are banning these wonderful people who gave such great contributions to our cultural heritage.
Carol Bradshaw Uh, no, Carol. Song of the South is a white washing racist piece of trash that nobody needs to watch in 2020.
@@tylerdrainville1136 have you watched the film in its entirety? It's a really good film that many many many generations of children and adults have loved and cherished.
Today's PC cry babies will change the world and destroy each other doing it.
A simple film such as Song of the South deserves every respect as much as Mary Poppins, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, So Dear to My Heart and Who Framed Roger Rabbit. All films produced by Disney that were live action and animation hybrids.
Before you trash a movie make sure you examine the history and every fact on your own, double and triple fact check.. otherwise you are just as pathetically ignorant as the rest of the sheep following the masses left and right...
Beautiful film
@@tylerdrainville1136 don't tell people what they need to be watching. That's not your say, or anyone in the weak group that you're a part of. Get in where you fit in. You're the one who supports the whitewashing.
💙
Wow. All this time I thought Sidney Poitier was the first African American to win an Oscar, but now I know that was the first "Best Actor" award to an African American.
Thanks for educating me.
Honorary Oscar Sindey Poiter were the first to win an Oscar in 1963
Not only did James Baskett
act as Uncle Remus, he also was the voice of the character Brer fox
James Baskett - Legend erased by fools. Now they are coming for Hattie McDaniel
It makes your wonder who the real racists are.
@@psychedelicfright85 racists are the real racists. James Baskett was doing his best, despite his health, to be a success in the industry. It's unfortunate the only roles available for black people at that time, were as offensive stereotypes written by folks who did not live the black experience and turned it into revisionist history instead.
@@Breshvic that doesn't mean that what he did meant nothing.
@@psychedelicfright85 never once did I say it did, friend
@Just Passing Through Song of the South *is* racist, that's just a fact. The NAACP protested it at the time and wanted it revised but Disney refused to even meet with them. No one is trying to erase anyone's "legacy", it's still in every official history record. Not a single person wants to or could change that. So sure, call people 'assholes' for a grievance you just invented and ignore what they are actually talking about so you can minimize it.
Or.. you could actually engage based on the facts. It's up to you.
Everyone spoke so politely and eloquently back then
James Baskett should be posthumously honor as a Disney Legend. Disney, stop erasing the legacy of Song of the South! Just the release the film and keep Splash Mountain at Disneyland!
1:09 I know it's politically incorrect, but I support James Baskett's 1948 Oscar.
I don't see how it would be politically incorrect to support the first black man winning an honorary Oscar
Thank you for posting this. :-)
On Twitter there are people saying that James Baskett wasn’t allowed to receive his honorary award.
But here he is at the ceremony, being handed the award, and about to give his speech. Which makes me wonder where their getting this information from.
That's the terminally online for you.
Because social media is full of fools who get things mixed up. It is true that Baskett was not allowed to attend the premiere due to racist segregation laws. But he did receive his award in person after Walt Disney lobbied the academy to get him one.
The past is more complicated than the far left makes it out to be.
Stop pretending Song of the South never happened. It's an important piece of both film and African American history for multiple reasons.
Reason 1: James Baskett was the first black man to be hired by Disney AND the first black man to receive an Oscar.
Reason 2: The movie is based on authentic African American folk tales which were AGAINST racism.
Reason 3: The movie is filmed on a black owned plantation and all of the cartoon characters are performed by black voice actors, (including James Baskett as Brer Fox.)
The fact that people feel the need to cover up these huge achievements because of a few hurt feelings absolutely disgusts me. This film is NOT racist. People seriously need to do their research before making mindless assumptions.
Stop pretending Song of the South wasn't protested and criticized when it came out, including by the NAACP, because it was. Nobody is trying to erase the achievements, but depictions like those in Song of the South are harmful stereotypes and revisionist history. It's proper to know the FULL context, not just the context you agree with.
@@Breshvic They are not stereotypes, please research the original Uncle Remus stories before making that tired old assumption. The characters do not speak in 'stereotypical' black accents, they speak in a language called Gullah. It's a legitimate language that was used by African American storytellers. The film is more authentic than you think.
@@TheFoxFromSplashMountain my wife is from Georgia and I am very familiar with Gullah and no, that is NOT what Joel Chandler Harris wrote. He constructed his own 'eye dialect' of what he, a white man, thought 'black people sounded like' at the time. The very language became the basis for making fun of how black people talked for decades. I know people who faced that scorn due to this movie, so please do not try to censor, erase, or cancel their very real, lived experience.
@@Breshvic Hate to break it to you, but most old stories have been heavily altered over the decades and even centuries they've been around. Harris' rendition of the Brer Rabbit stories isn't a special case, it happens to everything. In fact, I've seen modern Brer Rabbit books that ditch the Gullah entirely and use plain old modern English. It's just how stories evolve over time. Heck, just look at fairy tales. You don't see parents reading them to their kids in old English.
@@TheFoxFromSplashMountain Hate to break to you, but the racist history of Song of the South is a major facet of the history of Song of the South. You can try to cherry-pick only the good parts, or you can acknowledge ALL the parts like I did. The white men who collected the Gullah stories were Confederates and plantation owners, who did not respect the people they were caricaturing. Why didn't they just publish black people's folk tales as written by black people, without all the stereotypes and mocking the Gullah language? Seems you only want revisionist history, and to cancel the historical facts you don't like.
what a shame all the important stuff gets lost
Baskett: 🎵 Pretty good, sure you’re born 🎵
While it IS a honor to receive any Oscar, they(Jim Crow influenced) pulled B.S on James Baskett (Uncle Remus). He DIDN'T receive an Oscar the traditional way, his Oscar was an "Honorary Academy Award" (which is still legit) , BUT in effect it EXCLUDED him for consideration for Best Actor for that years award. Now they couldn't have a BLACK man receive the highest honor could they?
Isshman Garcia Stop capitalizing words for emphasis. It makes you sound like an idiot.
@@tylerdrainville1136 He's not wrong though. Although the capitalisation is perhaps overdoing it, James Baskett was 100% wronged.
@@tylerdrainville1136 Would he still sound like an idiot if he used italics instead?
True but that was not Disney's fault. It was just the way society was at the time.
@infinityrose92 Walt actually did change and evolve his views on different marginalized groups (women, black people, etc) over the course of his life. I have no doubt that if he had not been a lifelong smoker, he would have evolved more and grown even more inclusive over time
Best. Disney. Movie. Ever.
He looked older than he was
He really did. Way older. He was only in his 40s looking like that with white hair only to die 2 years later from diabetes.
Was James Basketts speech cut off intentionally because of the crew or is that just the way this recording has been preserved?
thats what the newsreel camera people chose to film. The entire show was broadcast on radio. I have several Oscar radio broadcasts, but have yet to locate the one from that year.
Safe to say intentionally given the time period.
By most accounts, it was largely through Walt Disney's efforts that Baskett was honored at all - I'm pretty sure the Academy then would rather have kept everything white that year, which was probably why they didn't nominate him for anything. But did Walt Disney actually care about Baskett as a person, or was he just trying to work up more success and good press for his movie? That's the thing about Walt Disney - you can't decide. It's a chicken or the egg question.
I would have loved to have heard Baskett's speech. Too bad. I first saw the Uncle Remus character when Disney broadcast the movie on my old 12 inch black and white TV in the 1950s. Knew nothing about the man then...now thanks to you we do. Sad, what Blacks had to endure to survive in the movie industry back then. Ask Hattie McDaniels, Bill Robinson, etc.
r g did you say 'back then'? Tyler Perry often, gives us the most degrading stereotypes of Blacks l've ever seen; and most of us applaud him.
Allow me to disagree. This is a new era, not my 1950s. Whites now know that Blacks are as smart and resourceful as they are. So Madea and family are just poking fun. If you have confidence in yourself, and who you are, then you can make satire movies. If you are still insecure, than any ethnic humor becomes politically sensitive. Jews, Mexicans, and the Irish make fun of their cultures in the movies and do not have a problem because they know who they are and have cultural pride. I believe that Blacks have achieved parity in this respect. Also, notice that every Madea movie has a moral in the end. Hope this helps.
@@H.pylori right
Like our master teacher Anthony T. Browder said, " The Academy Awards only acknowledge us black people when we play the most degrading characters!" I agree!
Dang they cut out the man's speech smdh.
I whole heartedly agree with you. It's a shame this is still going on in the film industry. Just ask spike Lee. What a talented director.
That is true but to look at the positive side of it (if there is one), black actors like Baskett did the best they could with what they were given. I recently watched song of the south and found myself conflicted. I found it disturbing on one level yet charming on another. If nothing else, this film should be released just for the historical significance alone.
How Denzel only has 2 in a 4 decade timeframe is beyond me....and for Training Day??? 🤔?..def not one of his best movies. . JOHN Q, Hurricane Carter, Malcolm X..etc...u get the picture.
How was it degrading uncle reemus was a lovable story teller you really don't want to acknowledge his hard work? And amazing performance
Ahh Zippity doo dah zippity ay...goddamn it!
Back when people had class.
wtf...
God bless that man. He did so much. His stores. His character. His love. Such a tragedy what happened to that film. TWO academy awards. Timeless classic. Problematic or not. I found gone with the wind way more racist honestly.