Racial Reckoning

The times they are a changing. I'm sure you've noticed it too.

News of a racial reckoning has come from the most innocuous of places of late-streaming media. The Disney company made headlines when it launched episodes of “The Muppet Show” on its Disney Plus service. The controversy: eighteen episodes now have a disclaimer about racially offensive content. The disclaimer reads, in part:

"This program includes negative depictions of/and or mistreatment of people and cultures. These stereotypes were wrong then, and they are wrong now. Rather than remove this content, we want to acknowledge its harmful impact, learn from it and spark conversation to create a more inclusive future together."
https://www.vulture.com/2021/02/18-muppet-show-episodes-have-a-content-warning-on-disney-plus.html

When I first heard this story, I was shocked. I could not imagine anything offensive about the show. “The Muppet Show” was a staple of my childhood, as it was for millions of children who grew up in the 1970s. What could merit a disclaimer? How were the shows racially insensitive?

I watched several episodes of the series, including all episodes with a disclaimer. I meticulously watched the episodes in question, listening to song lyrics, looking for racist content. The racially offensive content in the episodes ranged in severity. One episode had one offensive word uttered; another episode had a song that celebrates British colonialism. Then again, there were episodes that had no obvious racially offensive content.

There were also episodes with potentially racist content that were not given a disclaimer; namely, episodes with the Swedish Chef. Jim Henson performed the character on “The Muppet Show”, in a made up Swedish accent and language. Mocking the sound of speech and language could be seen as offensive. Disclaimers were put on certain episodes, like the Steve Martin episode, for just this reason. Using the same criterion, why were episodes with the Swedish Chef not given a disclaimer? How is that character not equally racially offensive?

https://www.theatreartlife.com/film/disney-plus-adds-content-disclaimer-on-the-muppet-show/

Films have been the subject of scrutiny as well. The cable channel Turner Classic Movies has created a program entitled “Reframe”, which airs discussions regarding movies with racially offensive content. Some movie titles in their discussions are: “Gone with the Wind”, “The Jazz Singer”, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, “Tarzan the Ape Man”, and more.

https://www.tcm.com/articles/Programming-Article/020930/reframed-classic-films-in-the-rearview-mirror/

There are, sadly, more movies that should be given disclaimers for offensive content:

“Holiday Inn”, “White Christmas”, “The Good Earth”, “West Side Story”, “The King and I”, “Silver Streak”, “Soul Man”, “Nina”, “The Last Samurai”, “The Jazz Singer” (the Neil Diamond version), “Green Book”, “Tropic Thunder”, “Planet of the Apes”, “Rocky”, "King Kong", “Birth of a Nation” (D.W. Griffith version), to name but a few.

There is another example of racial reckoning of content of late, with the books of Theodore Geisel, known to the world as Dr. Seuss. There are six books that will no longer be published, as they contain content that could be seen as racially offensive. They are:

-“And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street”

-“McElligot's Pool”

-“If I Ran the Zoo”

-“On Beyond Zebra”

-“Scrambled Eggs Super”

-“The Cat's Quizzer”

As a librarian I have seen these titles, and other books by Dr. Seuss, come through my library thousands of times.

I recently had the opportunity to thumb through three of the books in question:

-“And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street”

-“Scrambled Eggs Super”

-“McElligot’s Pool”

Most of the illustrations in the books are of creatures in the imaginary world created by Dr. Seuss. When human beings were depicted, I found his drawings to be quite subtle. That being said, there was content that could be seen, or be construed, as racially offensive.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/02/us/dr-seuss-books-cease-publication-trnd/index.html

These are but a few of the many examples of how our society is experiencing a racial reckoning. The U.S. finds itself in a world of cancel culture, where an offending person is blacklisted from their industry in one form or another. Punishments in the world of cancel culture run the gamut of an apology for a hurtful comment to termination from employment to imprisonment for criminal wrongdoing.

While cancel culture is currently the morally right thing to do, questioning these examples of art, staples of American popular culture, makes many uncomfortable:

“Aren’t we all being a little too sensitive about all of this? Give me a break!

You can’t cancel the Muppets! You can’t cancel Dr. Seuss!”

To be clear, this isn’t censorship, and this is not an example of cancel culture. None of the episodes of “The Muppet Show” were canceled; they are shown in their entirety. They can be viewed by anyone with a Disney Plus membership. The six books in question by Dr. Seuss were not canceled either. The publishing company, run by Geisel's family, chose to no longer publish the six books. They can be found in bookstores and libraries all around the country.

It is important to remember that art is a time capsule. “The Muppet Show” aired from 1976 to 1981. The books in question by Dr. Seuss date back to 1937. They were created a different time, with different standards. We have to look at this art through the lens of today. They can be wonderful pieces of art, staples of American popular culture, and they can be seen as racially offensive. Both are equally true, and both have to be true. And that's okay.

The important part of this racial reckoning is not the art in question; rather, it’s the discomfort in having the discussion at all.

Discomfort at these changes, in this time of racial reckoning, is an example of white privilege. We (I now use the word “we” to mean all white people) weren’t being ridiculed, mocked, or stereotyped in the episodes of "The Muppet Show". We don’t look like the drawings of the people in the Dr. Seuss books. When we aren’t the subject of ridicule, it’s not on our radar. We can’t see it; it doesn’t affect us, we don’t even think about it. The truth is, we don’t have to think about it.

The world is changing, and we need to change with it. What we need in this country, in the world, is a philosophical shift. We need to change how we look at life, and everything in it. We need to look at the world with a fresh set of eyes, and a willingness to learn.

Watch “The Muppet Show.” Read the books by Dr. Seuss. Watch a movie that is reported to have offensive content. Can you identify the offensive content? Who is the object of the offense?

We need to look at policies and issues that don’t affect us. We need to look at life through the eyes our families, our friends, our neighbors, our fellow Americans. We need to ask ourselves how life is different for those that don’t look like us. What is their daily life like? How are their rights being infringed? How are they being stereotyped in popular culture?

I am reminded by a quote by activist Daryl Davis:

“..our society can only become one of two things;

it can become that which we sit back and let it become,

or it can become that which we stand up and make it.”

In this time of racial reckoning, positive change can only happen with you. It’s your choice. You can make a difference. You can embrace this time, educate yourself, learn from what is being said, open your eyes and your heart, and help create a better society. Or, you can choose to not participate. It’s up to you.

“No matter how open-minded, socially conscious, anti-racist I think I am,

I still have old, learned hidden biases that I need to examine.

It is my responsibility to check myself

on my stereotypes, prejudice and, ultimately, discrimination.”

-Maite Z. Alday

https://www.instagram.com/shes_mightymighty/