15 Jun 2010, 4:22 am
I recently watched the Censored 11; they're these cartoons done by Warner Bros that got banned cause apparently they featured some really negative stereotypes of Black folks.
I'll be honest....with the exception of maybe 2 of the cartoons, I really didn't see anything that offensive about the cartoons.
Sure, the black characters were depicted with exaggerated physical stereotypes, but then....they usually depict white characters with certain exaggerated physical stereotypes as well.
Another way I looked at it was that it wasn't really making fun of black people....but moreso the racism & social unrest of the time; as a history fanatic, I know just how bad things really were back then.
To deny them from being aired, IMO, is to basically attempt to ignore history and how bad social unrest really was. It's why I'm glad people go online now more often than watching TV 
I won't lie...of the 11, there was one with a scene that was sort of pushing it, and 1 that--had I watched it as a kid--I would've been mentally scarred for life; those two definitely need disclaimers.
The rest however I found overly tame, and I must admit were some of the best animated Warner Bros cartoons I'd ever seen; a few of them are now favorites of mine!
Now there was one particular cartoon that was done-- apparently sort of an indirect remake of one of the Censored 11--that was considered slightly less offensive than its predecessor; what I found incredibly ironic was that the cartoon depicted certain happenings that were considered really taboo back then, but would be considered perfectly fine by today's standards! 
