So today I was browsing through some TV channels, and came across the show entitled: The Misadventures of Flapjack. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's a cartoon about a little boy who goes through life in a comical port setting, while being raised by a whale named "Bubby."
Where is the racism in that, you might ask? It's in Bubby's character. It is painfully obvious that Bubby's identity is that of a black woman. At first when I thought about this, it did not strike me as anything odd. If anything, I thought it was great that a black woman was represented in a cartoon that is overwhelmingly populated by white characters. However, when I thought further into Bubby's character, I was reminded of the film we saw in class "Color of Fear" and the Mammy character described in that film.
Bubby's character totally reminds me of that Mammy character that was so prevalent in our past. Although Mammy's character has faced a lot of criticism, all of which has been warranted, this example is one that proves that her existence has not yet been completely filtered out of our society yet. This specific example of Mammy's extended existence through the years, however, is not as overt as it has been in the past, but just because Mammy's presence is not seen visually does not mean that it is more acceptable. On top of that, the fact that her presence in a popular children's cartoon means that she could have an impact on our children, which would definitely be a step in the wrong direction.
What are your thoughts?
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12 years late to this :) but I was recently rewatching the show and had the exact same thought! Wasn't sure if I was overreacting but the Mammy stereotype was quite clear to me :/
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