Charlie Brown cartoon labelled racist over depiction of Thanksgiving dinner (New York, news)
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I'm not sure which is odder - that you would need explained to you the potentially racist implications of the lone black child isolated in an inferior chair, or that you think it's important to dredge up a cartoon that's a half-century old at a time when national attitudes were different.
Did you read the Snopes link? You might find it illuminating.
I'm not sure which is odder - that you would need explained to you the potentially racist implications of the lone black child isolated in an inferior chair, or that you think it's important to dredge up a cartoon that's a half-century old at a time when national attitudes were different.
Before I saw the Snopes link, I was trying to ascertain why the people that called it racist consider it racist.
Did you read the Snopes link? You might find it illuminating.
Suzy_q, I hope you're not waiting for some enlightenment followed by a post declaring, 'oh, thank you for pointing that out - now that I understand the context I see it wasn't at all racist!'
Interesting. I never noticed that Franklin is sitting all by himself while four other Peanuts characters are sitting together on the other side of the table. Part of me thinks that it could be seen as a subtle form of racism and yet, part of me thinks, the point is heis at the table. Peanuts was in print for 22 years before Schulz put in a black character. But he did it. Something to think about.
Whadya mean? He's sitting on his own side of the table in a throne-like chair holding court over his subjects/food tasters like some nubian prince. It's obviously a feast in his honor!
ALL HAIL PRINCE FRANKLIN!!!!
Suzy_q, I hope you're not waiting for some enlightenment followed by a post declaring, 'oh, thank you for pointing that out - now that I understand the context I see it wasn't at all racist!'
That isn't very likely.
The Snopes link clearly explains that Franklin was created in direct response to a a request from a white fan of Peanuts to do something to help foster racial harmony. Schulz responded that he did not want to appear "patronizing" and was advised by one of the African Americans he consulted that including a black child would have far more beneficial effects than any risk of looking like he was being patronizing. That gentleman actually suggested gradually introducing black kids as background characters. Instead, Schulz made Franklin a member of the Peanuts gang immediately.
Also, Schulz did not personally do the animation for the Thanksgiving movie, which you can see in its entirety here. I draw your attention to Charlie Brown greeting Franklin when the kids come to Charlie's house and the scene with the kids in the station wagon on the way to grandmother's house at the end.
No way that is a racist cartoon. Seeing racism where there is none is about as divisive as you can get.
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