Response to the film "Ethic Notions"

I have very rarely ever seen cartoons like the ones shown in these videos. It surprised me especially the Looney Toon characters taking part in the rude display of racism. These videos open up a whole new level of racism that runs below the surface of what most people believe to be the “old day” racism. It is understandable that during those times cartoons would be made to be insulting towards blacks but to have such stereotypes as different as Mammy and Pickaninny it is hard to believe that the human mind could work on such a level. The Mammy represented as a strong women (though unattractive) I did not find to be as offensive as the Pickaninny because the Mammy though she was still a slave or servant was a strong individual that had perhaps a small positive representation of the African American. However I find the Pickaninny to be a very harsh representation. To put any child in a position of danger is horrible in its own way regardless of race. It made the children seem like they were ignorant and stupid, and the psychological fact that the reason for the Pickaninny was to slowly kill off the African American makes the cartoon even more morbid than it already was. Though what I do find interesting is that today many of the caricatures are considered collectables because of their artist value. But what about their overall social value of that time. Back in the day they were in the black mind an insult and in the white mind just one more way try and establish dominance over another ethnicity.