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The crows in Dumbo

marksiegel
Fri, 08 May 2020 18:49:23 GMT

After listening to the segment (in Six Degrees of Song of the South, Episode 3) about the crows in “Dumbo”, I had to speak up. I think Carina’s interpretation is way off-base. The crows are not caricatures based on minstrel traditions at all. They’re based on Black jazz musicians of the period. Their costumes are more in the style of Zoot suits, reminiscent of jazz great Cab Calloway, as is the style of their singing and the way they move. These are the cool characters of the time. Not at all depicted as shifty or lazy, but rather as clever and extremely intelligent. In fact the crows are the heroes of the film. They are the brains who come up with using psychology to fool Dumbo into believing that the “magic feather” gives him the ability to fly. As to the style that — to some — may look racist now: Black music and music culture has long been ahead of the curve in American music. Blues, jazz, rock & roll, hip-hop, rap all grew from Black musical traditions. Each one had its distinctive style not only of music, but of dress and language. And every one of tho se styles, pioneered by Black artists, have filtered down into American culture and have been widely adopted. But every one of those styles might appear to be racial stereotypes as years pass and styles change. Take a look at, for example, current rap artists, gangsta rap in particular. The dialect is unique, extremely different from mainstream language. The styles of dress are extreme, and often outrageous. It’s already filtering into American culture, and often emulated (parodied?) by White performers. I’m pretty sure I can guarantee that in 20 years, maybe less, when Black music has moved on to new styles, depictions of this rap culture are going to look like a racial stereotypes, just as the crows in “Dumbo” may appear now — to some people who aren’t willing to take a historical perspective. Oh, yes… and the casting of Cliff Edwards as the lead crow: He was cast because he was a brilliant singer and character voice actor, with great comic ability, and with a very wide range. He was an extremely famous performer at the time in his persona of Ukulele Ike. Also because he had a long track record with Disney, beginning with his portrayal of Jiminy Cricket, and Disney knew he could be relied on to give a stellar performance. And the fact that he was the only white performer among the other Black singers who played the other crows was not lost on the Disney writers and artists. He was named “Jim” intentionally to play on that irony.

brianblack
Sat, 24 Apr 2021 04:10:01 GMT

You, sir, make perfect sense. But I think you may have the word "not" out, preceding "as shifty or lazy."

brianblack
Sat, 24 Apr 2021 04:27:32 GMT

I misread "Not at." You are correct.