On 14 May 96, Kit Ballantyne wrote to Jennifer Bordelon:
 KB> I happen to love it. I don't find it racist or demeaning or anything. I
 KB> find it funny, adventuruos(?), touching and quite entertaining. It's
 KB> also quite good in Japanese.
The laserdisc isn't in Japanese!  The audio is in English - the original 
soundtrack of the movie.  The only way you can tell it's even a Japanese copy 
is that during the songs, small Japanese subtitles are on the screen.  At 
first I thought this was because Japanese production people projected that 
Japanese audiences might have trouble understanding the English lyrics tot he 
songs.  But then I procured an American reviewers copy of the film and found 
the U.S. version has subtitles during the songs, but they are in English. 
Apparently, the idea was to get audiences to sing along with the movie.
And I agree, I do not see how people can find the movie racist.  I have heard 
it said it is because of the stereotypical "poor black guy" image portrayed 
by the lead in the movie.  However, it must be remembered that generally, 
blacks in the south *were* poor and uneducated, not because they chose to be, 
but because dominent white culture denied any opportunities to these people.  
It's an unpleseant recollection for many people who do not want to be 
reminded of the blatent racism of the past - these people seem to ironically 
label anything that doesn't portray African Americans as rich, successful, 
and educated, as racist.  Anyhow, the fact is, Song of the South was never 
racist, it only used a projection of black life that was actually, sadly, 
accurate at one time.
--- GoldED 2.50
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