Bugs Trivia

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Still, it is regrettable to see censorship sustained under these terms. If the Cartoon Network was truly meant to be the Royal Archive of All Toons Warner, then by all means AOL Time Warner should have worked with their corporate stepchild in order to preserve the Cartoon Network's integrity. If Cartoon Network had given Warner more advance notice, and Warner possessed the bravery and sincerity of their subsidy, perhaps a position could have been reached that satisfied the Network, the fans and the money men. The Twelve could have been packaged as a separate, historical addendum to the Bugsfest (reportedly, Cartoon Network is working with Jerry Beck on just such a project). In such a context, wider issues could have been discussed and the reasons behind the disclaimers explained in full. Instead, Warner stood accused of killing the shorts to save Bugs' lucrative image, the Cartoon Network did not present a truly historic event, and (as is typical where censorship is involved) the fans were cheated.

The Greatest Crime?
The saddest part of all? These censored shorts were indeed "representative of the time in which they were created." That also means they are laughably outdated and more ridiculous than offensive. Racism is indeed a detestable moral crime; the mother of genocide and an execration upon all civilized nations. Yet, the face of racism has changed over time and the manner of its presentation has changed as well. Although racial stereotypes will never be outdated -- they are far too handy to use as icons of contempt -- their representations can be. The Twelve, particularly those unkind to blacks, belong in that class; their racism can be best found today among the residents of nursing homes. There has not been a formally presented minstrel show in this country for at least sixty years. Mammiferous mammies, shuck-and-jive dice tossers and shufflin' watermelon chompers are offensive but antiquated foolishness. Today's racism takes more serious forms: racial profiling; the dismantling of Affirmative Action; schools that are segregated de facto if not legally; the new stereotypes of the Gangbanger and the Welfare Queen; the discriminatory "crime" of Driving While Black; standardized tests that produce nothing but damage and "bell curve" mentalities; and a disproportionate population of young black males incarcerated in our prison system to name just a few. Is the most grievous offense society can commit that of showing Bugs Bunny imitating a white man imitating a black man?

No cartoons could be more outdated than those featuring anti-Japanese propaganda. In times of war it is typical to slander and dehumanize an enemy, and Japan was one of the deadliest foes America ever faced in combat. By the time WWII ended, 150,000 American servicemen -- half of those who died in the conflict -- perished in the Pacific Theater. It is impossible for those who did not live through this war to appreciate the fear and hatred of an enemy who actually did threaten our shores. So great was this terror that thousands of innocent Japanese-Americans were shamefully interred in detention camps lest they form a "fifth column;" this was a racist crime greater than any seven-minute propaganda cartoon could ever perpetrate. Today we are economic allies with Japan and most high school students can barely identify that nation as our adversary in the Second World War. Anyone who, at this late date, takes these cartoons seriously still drives a Studebaker and supports the New Deal.