Gottfredson

Olivier (M&D) mouse-ducks at orange.fr
Tue Nov 13 19:57:12 CET 2007


Gary:

>>>> It is my understanding, though, that there are restrictions
>>>> on some of the earliest strips, due to their content.
>>>> Disney does have great enthusiasm for this project,
>>>> and wants to see it happen. From what I gather,
>>>> and for what it's worth, they're as disappointed as we are
>>>> that there are some strips they just can't see their way
>>>> to allowing to be reproduced.

:(

I almost wrote "how come they can allow 'contrversial' animated shorts to be released on DVD, but cannot allow similar strips to be reprinted?", but then, I suppose the print & video media are two very separate branches.

The release of  those animated features, with Leonard Maltin's introductions, was extremeley improtant in itself, and because it meant the same could be done with the strips (with special notes).

It's a terrible shame.
Even though there *wre* stereotypes, they never served a racist ideology.
The Company's policy on this subject is rather incoherent, anyway: "The Phantom Blot" can be reprinted, even though one might also argue that the stereotype of  the Irish police officers is incorrect, especially as they are shown to be incompetent. Will the stereotypical Italian fruit vendors in several stories have their dialogue changed to proper English so as not to vex Italians?

Aren't they aware that this can only foster the illegal distribution of  scans of  those stories?

Moreover, even though the art was altered in some stories, all of  Barks' stories have been published, including the only two rejected ones (Donald the milkman and the delightful "Silent Night").
The adventures set in stereotypical Africa have been reprinted several times; will the Disney Company ban them now and prohibit their reprinting in comics or a new Barks Library, or will they make an exception for Barks?
This is most unfair to Gottfredson.

One might also argue that the Disney Company is actually perpetuating the very stereotypical superiority of  Whites over Blacks by preventing the latter to read stories they would find offending because they are not cultivated or intelligent enough to understand the context and see they are often pretty harmless.



Olivier
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