Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Huh?

Nope... nothing racist here...

So for this week's installment I am feeling a need to hate on Disney... I don't know why. Maybe it has something to do with lingering resentment over the Star Wars acquisition and the tepid rumor by the Internet that Disney may bring back Darth Vader for Episodes VII to IX, (even though I am pretty sure that is really just a rumor.) The real truth is: I guess I am just in the mood to throw stones and after my visit to Disneyland in California a few weeks back I still have the giant mouse-run megalithic entertainment corporation on my mind. Also I noticed something after riding Splash Mountain for the third time (or fourth, I forget,) The Br'er Rabbit story is kind of screwed up... I'm just saying...

For all of those not in the know (or for those who just never noticed that Splash Mountain contains an animatronic story before the inevitable five-story drop,) Br'er Rabbit is a rabbit who lives in the Deep South during reconstruction (roughly 1870's.) He is constantly pursued by Br'er Bear and Br'er Fox. He spends the entirety of his story and the ride outwitting the two simple hillbilly stand-ins until the end when he finds his "laughing place," and let's his guard down. He is then captured by them, but before they can cook him up, Br'er Rabbit uses reverse psychology, (as rabbits are known to do,) and convinces Br'er Fox to throw him in the briar patch. This is represented on the ride by the all-important log-flume drop. Br'er Rabbit then escapes unharmed from the briar patch because he was raised in the briar patch. He the returns home to anthropomorphized southern stereotypes singing his welcome, and the two villains get their just deserts, being pursued by an alligator.

The stories come from the Disney movie Song of the South, a 1940's Disney film that combined animation, live-action, and racism, into a surprisingly forgettable movie. (It's only claim to fame, despite spawning the premise for Splash Mountain, is the song Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah.) Beyond that the story of Br'er Rabbit comes from African-American children's tales and southern slave folklore. The rabbit in the story often represents the famous archetype of the Trickster, which was very prevalent in African stories, (the most famous, and my personal favorites, are the ones being about Anansi the spider,) but the Disney version of the Br'er Rabbit story is not an African tale, it is adaptation and a homogenization of them, and much like how The Little Mermaid glosses over the questionable and inevitable conversation about fish reproduction versus human reproduction that Eric and Ariel have on their wedding night, the Song of the South tends to glance over the messier aspects of southern black life and racism, both pre and post-Civil War. However, for now let's ignore the obviously flawed racial aspects of the Br'er Rabbit story and concentrate on some of its more other questionable aspects.

First off, Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear are chasing down Br'er Rabbit to cook him for dinner. This makes them the villains, but think about that for moment. The Bear and the Fox are only just hungry. This is the circle of life people ( you, know... that thing that was sung about by the unseen omniscient voice at the opening of the Lion King.) The two antagonists are only trying to get their dinner and for that they get branded as the bad guys. Even Elmer Fudd (who is a human only hunting for sport) is seen as less of a villain than the Fox and Bear who have no other option but to hunt rabbit for food, and in turn get eaten by an alligator for their troubles. I suppose this is a minor argument, as the story needs villains but I mean... c'mon. Br'er Rabbit could just as easily be the villain. In fact, even the old African stories acknowledge that the trickster character is an extreme character that can be as bad as he is good if the tricks are used for improper means. Br'er Rabbit antagonizes Fox and Bear and then purposely leads the two dimwits into the snares he sets up for them. That seems a lot like entrapment in my book. They are only trying to survive. What else are they supposed to do for Jafar's sake? This story could have easily been about the unshakable bond of brotherhood between a bear and a fox as they face the villainy of the devious rabbit that keeps terrorizing them.

The irony of the Southern Temperance movement was that
most of these women probably would not be kissed at all
if not for alchohol.

Secondly, (and granted it is slightly different between the ride and the cartoon,) but Br'er Rabbit is looking for his laughing place, which in Splash Mountain is done in black light and is about as psychedelic as you can imagine. A mild interpretation of this section of the ride is that your "laughing place," is alcohol, and a more literal interpretation is that it is LSD, but (since the ride is clearly trying to mimic the Post-War South situation of poor black Americans,) let's just assume that Br'er Rabbit's "laughing place" is in fact found at the bottom of a bottle. This idea is reinforced by the fact that as you near the inevitable drop you are met with an animatronic possum-mother singing the Laughing Place song in a mournful warning tone to her animatronic possum children. It is the tone of Southern Temperance (which was also an aspect of southern life.) The ride seems to suggest that Br'er Rabbit got drunk and was captured by Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear while inebriated. This could be interpreted as a lesson against drunkenness, but then Br'er Rabbit makes his aforementioned escape into the briar patch and it never really gets mentioned again. I'm not sure how to take any of this.

Lastly, there is something unsettling about the racial aspects of the whole ride. Splash Mountain really does a lot to try and ignore all the black stereotyping which the movie, Song of the South, got criticized for (and in 1946, you know that had to be a feat,) but it’s still there in some form. For instance the word, "br'er" is really just the word "briar" said through poor Southern African American inflection. All three main characters have racially distinct voices (they all sound like southern black people) and the fact that Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear are portrayed as simple and stupid while Br'er Rabbit (though clever) is portrayed as lazy, seems to harken back to racial stereotypes that should at least make us fidget a bit.

The whole ride ends with a big riverboat dance number and our rabbit "hero" relaxing at home. He is unharmed and unaffected for all the trouble he caused everyone. The ride comes to an end and everyone dutifully files down the hall to the gift shop and to look at their photo with secret hopes that the girl in front flashed the camera. It’s just another wholesome Disney day.

Now, I am not at all suggesting they remove Splash Mountain, the ride (like all things Disney,) has its place. It has a wholesome exterior concealing a confusing and questionable inner-meaning. It is much like how Mr. Toad's Wild Ride pretends to not be about sexual innuendo or how the Aerosmith Ride pretends to not be about gross narcissistic commercialism. I guess all I'm saying is that it's amazing the things you notice when you're forced to ride Splash Mountain half a dozen times.