You may want to think twice before you allow you kids to watch Tom and Jerry, the classic cat and mouse cartoon. Amazon Prime Instant, the Amazon video streaming service similar to Netflix, has included a disclaimer about the cartoon’s racial and gender-based stereotypes.
The disclaimer states, “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.” Tom and Jerry first aired in the 1940s, a time when offensive stereotypes were widely accepted on television. This type of entertainment would not be welcomed today, but that does not stop Tom and Jerry from airing on children’s channels and now on online streaming services.
In a Tom and Jerry DVD, released by Warner Home Video, Whoopi Goldberg gives another disclaimer. She speaks about the changing times and how race was caricatured. Mammy Two Shoes was a popular caricature of a black maid in the show. This character is arguably the most offensive. Regarding Mammy Two Shoes, Goldberg says, “Removing Mammy Two Shoes would be the same as pretending she never existed. The same is true for the other images and jokes that we wouldn’t normally include in a mainstream cartoon today.”
The offensive stereotypes may just appear as fun to a young child unfamiliar with the context. Regardless, kudos to Amazon Prime for warning parents and viewers before allowing them to watch something that may or may not leave them uncomfortable.
Image: Amazon/ The Wrap