Brad Filippone
2010-12-26 18:20:45 UTC
Most people seem to agree these days that the cuts to the Our Gang
shorts in its long run on television were political correctness run
amuck. But I'd like to point out two instances that to me don't even
make sense.
"School's Out" In the subplot, Bonedust sells test answers to the
kids. When Miss Crabtree is angered by the joke answers she demands
to know where the answers came from. Everyone identifies Bonedust as
the culprit, and he is confronted. He answers, "Out of this book."
That is where the television version ended, depriving us of the
punchline--a close-up of the book revealing it to be a collecton of
minstrel show jokes.
I realize how minstrel shows are now perceived, but if ther weren't
going to show the punchline, what was the point in showing the subplot
at all?
"The Lucky Corner" For years, having only seen the television cut I
couldn't understand why the lemonade made by Gus and stolen by Leonard
turns out to be horrible, after we were clearly told that he made
great lemonade. It wasn't until I saw the uncut version that I saw
Buckwheat sent to Gus's place for sugar, only to get starch instead
because he can't read. I presume this was cut because Buckwheat is
black. If one of the other kids had been sent on the mission and made
this same mistake, would the scene have been cut? As it is, the
edited version makes no sense.
I said two cases, but I'll give a "dis"honorable mention to the
cutting of "Spanky." I first saw these shorts when I was too young to
understand racial tensions and even then I realized something was
missing! We have a scene in which we see Spanky's miser father
getting money from his secret stash. When the scene ends, there was a
horrible jump cut to "bug hunting" Spanky discovering the hiding
place. I finally saw the uncut version a few years ago and I now know
the entire "Uncle Tom's Cabin" portion of the film!
Brad
shorts in its long run on television were political correctness run
amuck. But I'd like to point out two instances that to me don't even
make sense.
"School's Out" In the subplot, Bonedust sells test answers to the
kids. When Miss Crabtree is angered by the joke answers she demands
to know where the answers came from. Everyone identifies Bonedust as
the culprit, and he is confronted. He answers, "Out of this book."
That is where the television version ended, depriving us of the
punchline--a close-up of the book revealing it to be a collecton of
minstrel show jokes.
I realize how minstrel shows are now perceived, but if ther weren't
going to show the punchline, what was the point in showing the subplot
at all?
"The Lucky Corner" For years, having only seen the television cut I
couldn't understand why the lemonade made by Gus and stolen by Leonard
turns out to be horrible, after we were clearly told that he made
great lemonade. It wasn't until I saw the uncut version that I saw
Buckwheat sent to Gus's place for sugar, only to get starch instead
because he can't read. I presume this was cut because Buckwheat is
black. If one of the other kids had been sent on the mission and made
this same mistake, would the scene have been cut? As it is, the
edited version makes no sense.
I said two cases, but I'll give a "dis"honorable mention to the
cutting of "Spanky." I first saw these shorts when I was too young to
understand racial tensions and even then I realized something was
missing! We have a scene in which we see Spanky's miser father
getting money from his secret stash. When the scene ends, there was a
horrible jump cut to "bug hunting" Spanky discovering the hiding
place. I finally saw the uncut version a few years ago and I now know
the entire "Uncle Tom's Cabin" portion of the film!
Brad