Allison+Carmack's+English+Writing+Sample

The Importance and Controversy behind the //Tales of Uncle Remus//

There’s a knot in my stomach as I approach the canoe that will take my family members and I down Disney World’s famous Splash Mountain. We willingly waited in line for this ride for over an hour; and it was said to be one of the greatest water attractions that Disney World had to offer! As I take a seat in the front row of the canoe, I am taking in all of the animated characters that are surrounding me. A rabbit? Singing turtles? A fox? A bear being hung by its neck? As a ten year old, I never fully understood where the characters from Splash Mountain really came from, and to be honest, I didn’t care! All I knew was that I was on one of the greatest rides the Magic Kingdom had to offer! As the ride starts, the other daring passengers and I turn the corner in our canoe, and within seconds we pick up speed! Then all of a sudden…SPLASH! I am soaking wet with the biggest smile on my face!

As it turns out, the characters that I saw at Splash Mountain that day are the very same characters that are part of the single most important collection of African American folk tales (Lester). Published by Joel Chandler Harris, the //Tales of Uncle Remus// are a highly valuable collection of African American folk tales which have influenced countless narratives and attractions, like Splash Mountain, within the American pop culture. What is so interesting about these tales, however, is their evolution throughout history and, perhaps more notably, their images of racism through the character of Uncle Remus.

While keeping this in mind, I have found the history and adaptations of the //Tales of Uncle Remus// to be both intriguing and relevant to the image that African Americans currently hold within pop culture. In order to have a better understanding of the importance that this collection of fables carries, however, it is vital to explore their historical evolution and the controversy specifically carried through the creation and adaptations of Uncle Remus.

Historically, the tales that comprise the collection of the //Tales of Uncle Remus// originated from verbal stories, told by enslaved African Americans. In later years, Joel Chandler Harris, a white newspaperman who wrote for the Atlanta Constitution, was the first to collect and publish these stories for public audiences. Harris’s tales first appeared in 1896, in his newspaper column titled “Uncle Remus.” Uncle Remus, a “faithful darky,” was a character strictly created by Harris, and sadly this character reflected the image of the enslaved African Americans during this time period. Julius Lester, author and expert of The Tales of Uncle Remus comments further on this topic stating,"Uncle Remus became a stereotype, and therefore negative, not because of inaccuracies in Harris’s characterizations, but because he was used to a symbol of slavery and a retrospective justification for it. This reflects the times in which the Uncle Remus tales appear" (Lester).

Even though Uncle Remus’s image was born from a stereotypical image, it certainly does not mean that the tales themselves have been, or should be, viewed as an African American stereotype too. In fact, Harris’s work as a whole is “varied in the depiction of blacks and their attitudes towards slavery” (Lester). Furthermore, Harris made sure that all of the tales which were published in his column only came from individuals who were familiar with the tales. Authenticity was very important to Harris, and he would often collect “two or three versions of the same tale, and then chose the best version to publish” (Lester). In addition to this, Harris also made sure that the dialect within the tales was realistic and relevant. Since these tales originated from the black communities of the Southern America, he wanted to make sure the African American and Southern dialect was properly portrayed within his stories.

Later down the road, The Tales of Uncle Remus were popularized again with Disney’s film titled “The Song of the South.” Released in 1946, this film was loosely based off of Harris’s image of Uncle Remus and the tales. Like Harris’s column, however, this film was also born from stereotypical images of African Americans. For example, Uncle Remus's character represents a man who is content with slavery. It is important to note however, that Disney’s image of Uncle Remus and Harris’s image of him are very different. Both articles, argue that Disney’s image of this specific character is not only inaccurate portrayal of Harris’s work, but it demonstrates even further the racial prejudices held against African Americans within Hollywood during the mid-1900’s.

What is most interesting about the "Song of the South" is that the character of Uncle Remus ensures that the tales will live on through a white boy. It is important to reiterate the fact that Harris's work came strictly from a black community. The purpose of these folk tales was to help younger generations, of enslaved African American communities, understand the world of slavery. They also served as form of entertainment and for young children, while hoping that they would bring some kind of happiness and hope to listeners' lives.

During the beginning stages of production for the "Song of the South," African-American actor Clarence Muse was hired by Disney to help with writing. According to the article “Uncle Walt's Uncle Remus: Disney's distortion of Harris's hero,” Muse made “’suggestions for upgrading the image’ of the black characters of the film.” Sadly, however, Muse's ideas were rejected; and soon after his suggestion, he resigned stating “he believed the movie would be ‘detrimental to the cultural advancement of the Negro People’” (Russo, 22).

In order to help eliminate stereotypical images that were once carried with Disney’s and Harris’s published works, //Tales of Uncle Remus// enthusiast, Julius Lester, made it his goal to restore characters like Brer Fox and Brer Rabbit In order to help solve this problem, Lester published many contemporary books including, (1) //The Tales of Uncle Remus: The Adventures of Brer Rabbit//, (2) //More Tales of Uncle Remus: Further Adventure of Brer Rabbit, His Friends, Enemies, and Others//, and (3) //Further Tales of Uncle Remus: The Misadventures of Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, Brer Wolf, the Doodang, and Other Creatures//.

Within the forward of //Lester’s The Tales of Uncle Remus: The Adventures of Brer Rabbit//, Lester states the purpose of his books as the following: “The purpose in my retelling of the Uncle Remus tales is simple: to make the tales accessible again, to be told in the living rooms of condominiums as well as on front porches in the South” (Lester). In addition to these books, Lester also participated in the creation of the film titled “The Adventures of Brer Rabbit.” Produced by Universal Studios and released in 2005, the writers of this film have completely eliminated the character of Uncle Remus. The children’s movie has strictly focused on the tales themselves; and viewers escape to the world of Brer Rabbit through the main character’s imagination. Famous tales like “Brer Rabbit Tricks Brer Bear,” “How Brer Rabbit Tricks Brer Fox Again,” and “Brer Rabbit’s Laughing Place” have all been incorporated into this film for viewing pleasure.

After reading through the researched articles, Lester’s novels, and watching the two films about Brer Rabbit and his animal friends, one would argue that the character of Uncle Remus may be the tale's primary source of the controversy. Perhaps the true identity of these tales can only be seen through the elimination of this “faithful darky.” As Lester and Universal Studios so clearly point out in their film, the original source of these tales should never be forgotten, for they are extremely important in preserving the history of American Literature.

Many people of the United States, sadly live in a disconnected world. We trust institutions in order to provide certain needs and wants like food, shelter, literature, and music. Younger generations easily forget the original creators of classic pieces of literature and music, which needless to say are being reinvented and “stolen” by Hip-Hop Artists and Hollywood entertainers. More importantly, the research behind this project has been a reminder that major corporations, like Disney, are never going to fully disclose their products' accurate “historical background.” In other words, as one waits in line for the famous Splash Mountain, Disney will not tell its consumers about the original source of the animated characters or that the film, which this ride has been based upon, has been discontinued for racial discrimination. With that being said, it is important to know where our literature comes from and how our nation's future generations can preserve the true identity of these written works.