Horton hears a racist

(Michelle and Barack with daughters Malia and Sasha)

Barack Obama is my choice for president. I’ve already explained why in previous blogs. But if Obama isn’t elected, it would be hard to blame racism. Republicans aren’t going to vote for him, not because he’s black, but because, even worse, he’s a Democrat. And for the most part, Obama has garnered more popular support among white voters than any other candidate. If Obama is elected, I believe that through his leadership skills and intelligence he will usher in a dynamic new era of government by inclusion rather than secrecy. Like John F. Kennedy, Obama will inspire a younger generation and invigorate the older generation to take greater part in their government, society, and community.

But there are many obstacles this New Era will have to face. A sagging economy. War abroad. Faltering education.

And, worst of all, the movie Horton Hears a Who.

This isn’t a review of the movie, it’s a review of how Hollywood sometimes contributes to the divisiveness within the country. Ironically, Horton Hears a Who has done more damage to our society than the recent slate of politically motivated movies about the war in Iraq (Rendition, Stop-Loss, Lambs for Lions, Redacted, In the Valley of Elah, etc.) has done good. For one thing, more people saw Horton than saw all the other movies combined.

How can a beloved Dr. Seuss story do so much harm? Well, the original book by Dr. Seuss is just fine, a timeless tale that has been delighting children since it was first published in 1954. The story of the brave elephant that is willing to endure the harshest condemnation from his friends and community in order to protect those in need is a wonderful lesson for children.

But then along comes the movie. To make the story long enough for a full-length movie, a subplot was added about the mayor of Whoville who has 96 cheerful daughters and one brooding son. This is where things take a nasty turn. Basically, the mayor ignores his 96 daughters in order to groom his uninterested son to become mayor. Why doesn’t he groom one of his much more enthusiastic daughters? And, of course, it is the brooding son who, in the end, saves the entire world of Whoville. The daughters? They get to cheer from the sidelines. While it’s true that in the book a “very small shirker named Jo-Jo” does add his tiny voice to the din and thus saves Whoville, but that promotes the idea that we all have our part to play in our community, not that sons are smarter than daughters.

“Hey, it’s just a cartoon,” you might say. But this particular cartoon will be seen by millions of children around the world. And they will come away with a clear impression that a single son is worth more than 96 daughters. Those boys are inherently more valuable than girls, and more likely to be successful (in this case, in saving the world) than girls.

What’s especially insidious here isn’t just that the subplot was written and approved and filmed, but that since the movie has come out, there hasn’t been a popular outcry about it. That we don’t even ask why, in the years it took to make the movie, no one along the line said, “This isn’t a good message to send to our kids.” Is it because sexism is so ingrained in our society that we don’t even flinch at it when it’s shoved in our faces?

What’s all this have to do with racism?

Well, if our society is willing to tolerate any form of social injustice and discrimination toward any single group, then they have created a breeding ground for injustice throughout society. If we allow sexism, ageism, homophobia, religious intolerance, then racism can only flourish as well. We expose our impressionable children to funny cartoons about wacky animals voiced by famous actors and what do we think is going to happen. Will a little girl step out of Horton feeling empowered and motivated, or just slightly less capable than the little boy walking beside her?

I don’t think the filmmakers are evil or that they deliberately set out to send this awful message. Somehow it seems worse that they didn’t notice.

Maybe after eight years of Barak Obama’s presidency, our society will have evolved to a place where the filmmakers and the audiences won’t tolerate even the subtlest forms of discrimination. At least with Barak Obama, we have hope that such a world might be.

(Photo credit: Barack Obama)

Comments

[ballin]

you rock

[Rocky]

Great blog.

[Steve]

What's ironic is that a majority of most of the studio "development" directors are women.

Several years ago, when I was actively producing television shows and movies, I pitched a story based on a rights package I owned. It was based on the true story of a real little girl who was the top gun pilot on the West Coast. She flew Marchetti (sp?)trainers in air combat against grown ups, mostly male pilots -- many of them Air Force pilots who had flown in the original Gulf War. The story was inspirational -- about a little girl who dreamed big and achieved her dreams, and about the support her father, who was raising her alone, gave her -- in a community that condemned him for letting a "little girl" fly.

I will never forget the final pitch meeting at a major studio. The final executive, a man, said "We will consider making this film if you change the lead character to a little boy instead of a little girl. Little girls will watch movies about little boys, but boys won't watch movies about little girls." As he said that, I looked at his desk. He had pictures of his daughters on it. I had a young daughter. I said to him "So long as you refuse to make movies with little girls in the heroic rules, you will perpetuate the stereotypes that are bad for your daughters and mine." I refused to make the change. The movie never got made. (By now, Katrina, my real life, little girl, hero has probably graduated from the Air Force Academy.)

Your blog has nailed this one. It makes me sad that what I ran into then is still in force, today. Thanks for writing your take on the subject of the subtle sexism in mainstream films.

sjh

[frank napoli]

Hey take it easy its just a movie if no body else is sensitive to the point you made oh well they just dont see it.

[apennysaved]

Are you serious? I asked my 10year old daughter what she got out of the movie. She said that "...even small people can be big..." I asked how and she said you just have to be yourself.
No comment from her about boys or girls. So, in my opinion, a very positive message came across. Her impression was that people can make a difference.
Too much reading between the lines on your part.

[OK]

Thank you for the insightful musing.... I am 57 and fought hard against sexism for many many years, raising 2 children alone and working in the film advertising business... sexism is insidious, and it is alive and well despite all the years of our efforts... thank you for noticing.
(and "frank" your outlook is exactly why sexism still lives, because "oh well you just don't see it"....)

[Mr. Educator]

Kareem,
Thank you so much for the blog. I don’t have daughters. In fact, I have no biological children. However, each school year I “adopt” 25-30 children. Each year my third grade students become a part of my family (I place them right under my wife, and just ahead of my dog). I do all I can to help them achieve academically, but I find myself caring even more in the fact that they believe in themselves when their time with me is done.

You comment about Horton Hears a Who really struck me. After initially seeing the title of the movie in your blog, I assumed that it had something to do with the pro-life controversy. Instead, I found myself running upstairs and reading the entry to my wife (we went and saw the movie last week) I really felt enlightened by the question that you asked: “Why doesn’t he groom one of his much more enthusiastic daughters?” As you put it, “The daughters? They get to cheer from the sidelines.”

I wouldn’t see any problem in having a movie out like this presented to millions of children, if (and a big if here), there were plenty of movies that carry the same message with the roles reversed. The problem is, there are very few such films that I am aware of. For every Matilda (a girl heroine), there are a dozen Monster’s Inc, Shrek, Cars, Nemo, Toy Story, and Snow Whites out there where female characters do nothing more than sit on the sidelines as the male characters save the day.

If you have an opportunity, please stop by my new blog (I am a rookie) and comment on a post. It would mean a lot!

Mr. Educator
www.educatormr.blogspot.com

[alyceclover]

Did not see the movie, but sometimes art reflects life. Who knows, maybe that was the exact point the film makers wanted to make.

My young granddaughters are already into the Disney fairy tale princess message. I was happy to find a coloring book with girls playing various sports to send them (they live on the other coast). Children's books have much improved, but still a long way to go, as does television.

Sadly, I think bigotry is playing much more of a role in this election then it should be. I read a bit of something Pat Buchanan wrote and noticed his motto "Right from he beginning" which reminded me of Barry Goldwater's "you know in my heart I am right". Buchanan's words are a throw back to when Goldwater voted against the 1964 Civil Rights Act that ended Jim Crow in southern USA.

Buchanan ended his blog post: "Sorry, Barack, some of us have heard it all before, about 40 years and 40 trillion tax dollars ago."

I do not want to defile your blog by repeating anymore of his blog post. Simply put, white superiority at it's ugliest.

[ann]

Perhaps among the age group of parents who have children who will be watching this movie there is some conversation about this. I'm sure that I would not have let my young children go to a movie with this story line and I know most of my peers would have felt the same way. On the other hand, there are so many problems for today's parents to worry about, maybe they've given up. Perhaps they are working too hard to really think about these crucial issues. I hope not.

[Aaron]

That's one gigantic leap.

[dave fouser]

outstanding blog.

and to frank, guess what: the mechanisms that subject us are not always visible at the level of the subject. basically, you don't have to notice that you're being controlled, and no one has to actually control you. it's the very modality of the system that does it, and mr. abdul-jabar has absolutely nailed it.

[Steve]

I'm pretty sure the aspect you criticize was no accident or oversight. You did not consider that overseas sales are a huge portion of a movie's profits, and sexism is much stronger in some other parts of the world. Right or wrong, it was a marketing decision.

[ajax]

Kareem-

Why hasn't the United States ever outlawed racism? I think they should have done it after WWII. Do think Obama, if elected, will want to make racism illegal?

-Ajax

[Lisa Bartoletti]

OPB (Oregon Public Broadcasting) had an excellent commentator who had two daughters and took them to see Horton Hears a Who, a father, he was outraged, and made the same points you have. I agree and am also shocked that the studio would change such an excellent story and message upside down!

[Deborah]

Wow. I haven't seen the movie yet (and now I won't). I am thoroughly surprised that this hasn't come up in other venues (call me naive). It's sad to think that this decision was made (one son more valuable than 96 daughters) purely as a business decision for its international sale value. Recently I have been learning more and more in what ways racism plays a role in this country and it is absolutely mind boggling (I know, I know, I've been wearing rose-colored-glasses). While there are many things I love about being American, we have a long way to go before America becomes the country it was truly meant to be... Thank you for a great article!

[George]

Mr. Abdul-Jabbar,

If you get the chance, I'd encourage you to meet Prof. Russell Robinson at UCLA's law school, he can regale you with tales about the racism inherent in casting decisions in Hollywood and how they're "justified" by resorting to the "artistic freedom" and "sales" rationales. Similarly, I would not be surprised to discover that the same "artistic freedom" and "sales" rationales with regard to the decision to re-write Dr. Seuss's tale with a sexist storyline. Doubtless that's also why MGM, in making the movie 21, decided to change the main characters from Asian-American characters (as they originally appeared in the book Bringing Down the House) to white characters. Simply put, Hollywood is sexist and racist. Now the question remains, "What can be done to change this?"

[cissie]

so well-said, so well-written. you absoLUTEly rock!

[Bart]

Ajax..racism is already illegal in action.

Outlawing thought would be an act as evil as racism. The very foundation stone of liberal western society is freedom of thought. All thought. Good thought. Evil thought. Banal thought.

The best way to battle what we consider vile thought is to meet it head on in the marketplace of public discourse.

[elmer fudd]

kareem, i've been a fan for decades, but this is just plain nuts. if you go forth seeking racism, you can find it anywhere, in just about any cartoon ever made.

consider pepe le pew, one of the most charming, personable cartoon animals ever created - but he faced prejudice due to personal attributes beyond his control, which he was born with. it would be easy to deconstruct him as a proxy black person, a skunk trying to keep it real in a world of kitties and doggies. it doesn't help him either being french. the white male overlords can use this as a symbolic token to demean his masculinity. the little-known steamy outtakes of him and sylvester the cat would surely threaten the worldview of complacent white hetero manimals.

shrek the green ogre has a beef with you. he sees you as being one of several very tall basketball gods, but not entirely unique. he's old enough to compare you with wilt chamberlain, conquerer of 20,000 women and the standard of basketball dominance for cartoon characters of a certain age. kareem, you don't know racism until you wake up green with ears like trumpets.

when you don't like art, fighting it with criticism puts you at a disadvantange. the best way to fight art is with art. how about a kareem versus shrek one-on-one cartoon smackdown? you know he can't defend a skyhook lofted over his head.

[Handee]

I've been around since before the modern feminist movement, and as far as I can tell, the biggest obstacle in our woman's fight for equality is... other women.

[Monique]

I like your story about Horton. I e-mailed it to my kids, who have seen the movie. My 17-year-old daughter disagrees. She says; "The sisters all had done great things and came across really well compared to the brother. He was the oldest and that is why he was in line to be mayor (so the issue is not male-female but hereditary stuff which i disagree with also). The portraits of previous mayors portrayed many women". She acknowledges there was apparently a supervisory board consisting of only men, but, she says, they were all portrayed as nasty and kept the power from the mayor.
Still, I haven't seen Horton but I remember my excitement upon reading 'The paperbag princess' about a girl who saves a prince from a dragon, and finally realised what had been missing from all the stories i had read in my life. Best wishes.

[mamaM]

Barack Obama's message is the exact opposite of JFK's. JFK said we should ask what WE CAN DO for our country and Barack says we are all bitter because government is not doing enough FOR US. Maybe their charisma is comparable but certainly their messages are not.

[AmbroseKalifornia]

Kareem-

You write a great blog, it's thoughtful and insightful without being forcefull or assuming. I had heard about the abortion controversy and now this? Dr. Suess' family should really stop letting people butcher his legacy. Thank God no one makes Shel Silverstein movies...

And Ajax, you can't police thoughts. You can only stop hamful actions. If you want to end racism, laws can't do it for you. Remember the "War on Drugs"?

[Adam]

Kareem, I must admit that I read your blog with the thought, are you kidding me? Im glad I took the time to read it, and to understand your point of view. Thank you for pointing this out. Its a lesson that I will pass on to my children.

[Kasey B]

No doubt Kareem, you were a great basketball player and role model, and you're writing is above par. But, your legacy does not preclude you from criticism as most of the comments have suggested. If it had been 96 boys and 1 misfit girl, I believe your message would have read somewhere along the lines of "society is messed up because a girl was singled out for thinking outside of the box." Adulterating an innocent movie with myriad positive messages is what is wrong with America. How about the message to the millions of young men who prefer art and music to their (no shot at you) sport-loving, politicking rough-neck fathers; the message that if they stick to their guns even under the pressure of the person they are supposed to admire most, they will prosper. Of dozens of positive messages to glean from a movie that in all probability entertains children exclusively through talking animals, random slap-stick comedy and a wide spectrum of colors, we are debating the tiny speck that, sorry to say, does not breathe life.