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Universal PicturesScrub Me Mama With A Boogie Beat (1941)

Scrub Me Mama With A Boogie Beat is a public domain cartoon centering around a port city of black people. The cartoon is satirizing black people in a racist manner.

The quality of this is rather low and there may be better a better quality version of this on the net/ if you have a better quality version please upload it.

For more info on this cartoon see: http://www.publicdomainmotionpictures.com/content/view/249/26/

For more information about public domain films and where you can download and watch them, visit: http://www.publicdomainmotionpictures.com/


This movie is part of the collection: Animation Shorts

Producer: Universal Pictures
Audio/Visual: sound, color
Keywords: racist black cartoon universal

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: jeffzkrazie - - February 12, 2011
Subject: Trash
Yeah, this was accepted in 1941 because bigotry was preferably still legal in 1941. Trash do as Trash does and THIS trash STINKS!

Reviewer: DoctorBotanus - - February 8, 2011
Subject: fun.
Reminds me of Lena Horne!!

Reviewer: BoopBoopaddoop - - February 8, 2011
Subject: 4 stars
I could have swore this was called Lazytown... then the unknown black woman appears and everyone starts to get motivated. Apart from all the other characters she is the only one who doesnt look fugly the rest are all scary, but then again its the animators and creators who wanted them to look that way so i guess not much can be said.

Reviewer: JD Kay - - September 5, 2010
Subject: Git It Now
It's funny cause it's true?
I'd like to see this updated with a rap/hip hop soundtrack. Also, the voices should be supplied by Amos & Andy type characters (of course, voiced by white actors).
It's funny cause it's true....right?
SHABLEEM!

Reviewer: johojo - - January 16, 2010
Subject: as historical mirror
I grew up in the South of the 40's and 50's. Then and now, stereotypes were and are ridiculously unfair. They testify to the stupidity of white racists and their enablers (the great silent majority): any people ruthlessly suppressed and deprived of all opportunity would naturally gain such a reputation as depicted in this cartoon. After all, why work when it's only for the oppressor's gain? And since music and dance are the only real joys left, that's where energy and spontaneity goes. This cartoon as historical mirror actually is an indictment of Walter Lantz, his organization, and all the exhibitors and viewers who stupidly used it to stoke their own sanctimonious superiority.

Reviewer: belovmari - - January 15, 2010
Subject: This is history
I enjoy the big band era and I like this because of the beauty of the style of music and expression. As far as the interpretation of my race; black. I find it amusing of how stupid we were labeled to be lazy, with big hips, big butts and big hips. Now people are paying big money to have high paying jobs so they can have time to be lazy, and have surgery to have big hips, big butts and big lips.

Reviewer: waza - - June 15, 2009
Subject: One of my favorites.
The great thing about cartoons like this is that they're FUNNY. We can watch them now and see how ridiculous it is that people actually believed this is how actual African Americans looked & behaved. Am I the only one who sees beauty in that?

Propaganda only has as much power as you give to it. If we see this as simply a silly cartoon, that is all it can amount to.

Reviewer: Meatpies - - December 11, 2008
Subject: I just love Classic Radio and TV Fan!
Man, you nailed this on the HEAD!

People, you need to realize that this sort of thing was accepted in the 1940s. Was it right? no. But, it was accepted. And also understand that some things we do now will NOT be acceptable 60 years from now. So, we just get over it and enjoy some entertainment.

Read more of Classic's reviews... this person knows what they're talking about.

Reviewer: Classic_TV_and_Radio_Fan - - December 5, 2008
Subject: Stupid
This cartoon would make an EXCELLENT demonstration of the worst kind of racial stereotyping in the early 1950s.

You're an idiot, this is from 1941. You are porbably the same kind of person who thinks "My Mother The Car" was as popular as "I Love Lucy", you revisionist dumbass.

Reviewer: LeGrande - - December 5, 2008
Subject: Audio is way off in streaming version
not that it really matters, because you get the idea this video is espousing that "duh KNEE-grows caint git nuttin' dun 'less day gaht deyr jive ta day-ants ta." And yes, I made that as offensive as I could, trying to remember how "colored dialect" was written out in the days of Jim Crow and before. If what I just wrote was offensive to you, the video will be 10 times as offensive. This cartoon would make an EXCELLENT demonstration of the worst kind of racial stereotyping in the early 1950s. Lantz does an effective production and Alex Lovy's (later with Depatie-Freleng and Warner Bros.) animation is acceptable and professional for what it aimed to do. The voice doubles are good enough to recognize who they're supposed to be.

Reviewer: goth_Snob - - October 18, 2008
Subject: Trash...
yeah, I'm not easily offended either, but good Gods this is horrible!

I just watched a Betty Boop cartoon that had racial stereotypes as well, but they were benign in comparison.

Laziness, watermelons, is there a stereotype they DON'T use?????

Bloody awful...

Reviewer: Seto-Kaiba_Is_Stupid - - August 20, 2008
Subject: Rotten Garbage
I love old time animation, and I'm not easily offended. But oh sweet Buddha, This cartoon is garbage. Everybody condemns the 50's but a quick look at "Beulah" and "The Jack Benny Program" show just how far America had come since 1941. Both of those shows feature black people in dignified roles, and although they play servants, the charactors they play are actually quite smart. This 1941 cartoon is unintentionally hilarious in it's horrible stereotypes. I'm glad it was preserved, but frankly I can't understand a 4-star rating.

Reviewer: Spuzz - - August 5, 2008
Subject: MORE WATERMELON?
Probably THE most controversial and racist cartoon ever made, it's still quite amusing AND amazing to catch who is who. Like the riverboat female is obviously Lena Horne, the ship's captain is Louis Armstrong.. There was a few others. Plenty and PLENTY for you to be offended at. By the guy who gave you Woody Woodpecker.