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Forum - View topicNEWS: Controversial Picture Book Returns to Japan
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Treeloot
Posts: 140 |
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[edit: Please don't post copyright material verbatim here, if we allow it it makes us 1) legally liable and 2) hypocrits.
If you want to avoid registration, follow the link here. -t ] You can read the story here: http://www.sterlingtimes.co.uk/sambo.htm |
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18458 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Gods, I can quite clearly remember having this book read to me (and later reading it myself) as a little kid. It was a fun story that was one of my favorites. I am not surprised that it eventually got banned as being racist, even though I'm convinced that wasn't the writer's intent.
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Nani?
 Posts: 632 |
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When i was growing up, my father mentioned the book and how he felt that it was a shame that he couldn't find it for us. The more I hear about it, the more I think the PC-ness of this is horrible. Good for the Japanese.
All the Best, Nani? |
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hikaru004
 Posts: 2306 |
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When I was growing up, "little black Sambo" was still a racist term. We need to be sensitive to all ethnic minorities.
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Haru to Ashura
 Posts: 617 Location: Termina |
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I don't see why they just change the title of the book to something less offensive...
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beast
 Posts: 102 Location: High Ground |
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I think I have a chinese copy of this booklet lying in the basement somewhere. = )
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toomanyalts
Posts: 115 |
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If they were to put the original artist's work or put a disclaimer in it about the racist history of the book (after all quite a number of the artwork changes made it very racist) then the book could be sold. Not sold in the children's section.
Little Black Samba was indeed a very racist term and there were lots of very racist children's cartoons made in the early part of the 20th century. And pretty much everyone knew they were. Oh btw the book is sold on Amazon.com. |
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Aaron White
Old Regular
Posts: 1365 Location: Birmingham, Alabama |
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This is pretty interesting stuff. I loved this story as a child, and my parents read it to me again and again. At the same time they taught me to respect people of all races, and the book didn't interfere with that. In fact I admired Sambo and consider him a positive early black role model. On the other hand there's no denying the historical context, how the term Sambo was appropriated by racism. So I agree that there needs to be a balance between making the book available while making sure everyone understands that context.
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Onizuka666
Posts: 266 Location: U.K |
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I have never read the book, nor would I. It's quite insensitive to resell it though as I'm sure there are some dark skinned folk in japan. How they will take this should be interesting.
Being a black person myself and also a big anime fan I do find it interesting the way that there are hardly any black people in japan. If this book has helped shape opinions of black people amongst the japanese public then there is a big problem. Combine that with the media and it's getting out of control. So just what do japanese people think of people black people? I'd like to know so I can quash any myths or preconceptions they have about us. |
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Treeloot
Posts: 140 |
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The Black Entertainment Television channel hurts my feelings and sends me the message white people are inferior, but I don't see anyone shutting it down. If there was a whites only TV channel there'd be a riot.
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s_j
Posts: 162 |
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The fear I have when issues like this arise is that the creative community will become so paranoid about being labled racists for depicting minority characters in a perceived bad light, that they choose not to include any minorities at all. Having never seen the book in question and going only by posts I've seen, Sambo is an endearing hero to many readers. If the major sticking point for those against the book's publication is its use of 'Sambo,' then that's a lot like criticising Huckleberry Finn for using the N word.
As for the visual stylings of Sambo, that's really something that can't be avoided in cartooning...it's just visual shorthand. It's not something the black community deals with alone...how many of us have not seen the stereotypical Asian character with slanted slits for eyes and buck tooth, or even caucasians with huge 'Roman' noses? Look at any political cartoon in any newspaper...rarely anyone is depicted in a flattering light, regardless of the message. For a book published in 1899, I'd imagine a story with a lead character that black children could relate to should have been quite exciting, wasn it? Last edited by s_j on Wed Jun 15, 2005 2:26 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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BeyonderZ
Posts: 35 |
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People need to stop trying to make everyone happy. I agree, a strong kudos to the japanese for rereleasing it. Blacks don't all ways have to be taken care of and kept happy all the time. They will at some point have to come to the understanding that they are not special and are not the worlds children that have to be kept happy.
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Aaron White
Old Regular
Posts: 1365 Location: Birmingham, Alabama |
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I don't for a moment believe that your feelings are hurt by BET, and of course the station sends no such message. Look, publish Little Black Sambo with contemporary illustrations that don't draw on outdated stereotypes and include an introduction that explains what's good about the story and bad about the racist jive that latched onto it. Then we can enjoy the good story with the negative elements dispelled. The pain of racism that exists in the USA isn't a worldwide phenomenon, so Japanese people should know about it without being held accountable for the same responsibilities white americans like myself have to correct the evils and inequities of the past. |
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s_j
Posts: 162 |
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Introduction: good idea. Replacing the illustrations: bad idea.
Speaking as someone who cringes everytime he sees a Turner-censored Looney Toons cartoon (even the Japanese-bashing WW2 era shorts), I say we need that about as much as we need a Huck Finn with all the N words changed to 'African American' or a Godfather with pictures of kittens and puppies covering James Caan's bullet-riddled body. |
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Aaron White
Old Regular
Posts: 1365 Location: Birmingham, Alabama |
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But the controversial illustrations postdate the story, and the story was published many times with many different sets of illustrations, so no one set of illustrations is an essential part of the work. It's not like Goodnight Moon or something where the pictures and story were created to go together. The story was written and then someone illustrated it.
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