Tom And Jerry Racist? Amazon Warns Viewers On 'Ethnic And Racial Prejudices' in Cartoon, Do You Agree?
Tom and Jerry, the cartoon with the comical cat and mouse rivalry, is being deemed politically incorrect.
The animated series, which premiered in 1940 and has won seven Academy Awards, was recently added to Amazon Prime Instant Video with a warning for viewers.
"Tom and Jerry shorts may depict some ethnic and racial prejudices that were once commonplace in American society. Such depictions were wrong then and are wrong today," the caution for Tom and Jerry: The Complete Second Volume reads.
The cartoon character in question is Mammy Two Shoes, a black maid considered by some to represent racial stereotypes.
However, this isn't the first time the cartoon's controversial content was addressed. The Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection, Volume 2 included a introduction by Whoopi Goldberg in 2005 to explain certain elements that could be viewed as offensive in today's age.
"The outrageous brand of humor shown here comes to us from a time when racial and ethnic differences were caricatured in the name of entertainment," she said. "Now while humor may have been the intent of such caricatures, they also had the effect of revealing societies unfair and hurtful representations of people of color, women and ethnic groups."
Yet, the View host also explained why a character like Mammy Two Shoes is important to keep in the cartoon.
"Removing Mammy Two Shoes from this collection would be the same as pretending that she never existed," Goldberg said.
Mammy Two Shoes and other sensitive content "are presented here to accurately reflect a part of our history that cannot and should not be ignored," she added.
Do you agree with Amazon's decision to place a warning? Let us know in the comments below.
