by Larry Bonds
The biggest threat to blind / visually-impaired people isn’t Presidential budget cuts, stepping out in front of a moving car, accidental fires, or any natural or man made disaster that we can name here. According to the NFB (National Federation of the Blind), the greatest menace to the blind is …Mr. Magoo!?! Yes you heard right. Mr. Quincy Magoo, the bumbling, nearsighted old coot who isn’t able to distinguish between his nephew, wearing a raccoon coat, and a wild bear.
For those of you not familiar with Magoo, allow me to give you a brief history. Nobody knows for sure who created Mr. Magoo. He made his first outing in 1949with the release of the Columbia Pictures film, Ragtime Bear. Ironically, Magoo’s eyes weren’t his most prominent feature, but his voice was. Actor Jim Backus (who was best known as millionaire Thurston Howell III in the 1960s sitcom Gilligan’s Island ) supplied Magoo’s voice.
Magoo’s refusal to wear glasses, or his pig-headed refusal to consider that his sight might be failing, made him a big hit with audiences from the 1950s all the way into the 1970s. This led to several animated shorts, comic books, and several television series featuring the character. After the 1970s, Magoo’s character lay dormant until the 1990’s. At the time Hollywood was going through its fad of live action depictions of cartoon characters such as Dudley Do Right, Bullwinkle, and various others. The Walt Disney Co. decided to follow up its success with George of the Jungle by casting Leslie Nielsen as Magoo. Here’s where our story truly begins.
At the 1997 convention of the NFB, a resolution was adopted which demanded that Disney refrain from a live action Mr. Magoo movie. The NFB felt the misunderstandings of blindness caused by the Magoo character have caused chaos and heartache in the lives of thousands of blind and visually impaired people. The NFB informed Disney of its concerns. Soon, after receiving the NFB’s complaints, Disney quickly sent representatives to the National Center for the Blind. This initial meeting was followed by more meetings, and several telephone conversations.
While the NFB and Disney worked hard to iron out an agreement, the case was generating much interest from the media. Thousands of articles were written on the subject. The issue was even the focus of televised news shows such as 20/20 and Public Eye. In December of 1997, the Magoo film was released. But not before a disclaimer was added to the film by Disney. The disclaimer read:
“The preceding film is not intended as an accurate portrayal of blindness or poor eyesight. Blindness or poor eyesight does not imply an impairment of one’s ability to be employed in a wide range of jobs, raise a family, perform important civic duties, or engage in a well- rounded life. All people with disabilities deserve a fair chance to live and work without being impeded by prejudice.”
The film came and went with moderate success as both sides of the argument came away with something. Disney came away not only with their film pretty much intact, but they came away with a better understanding of our struggle. The NFB came away with a small, but important, modification of the Magoo film as well as hundreds of thousands of people becoming aware of the NFB’s cause.
Being visually impaired myself, I am sympathetic towards the NFB and its mission. But I am left wondering: WHEN DID OUR COUNTRY BECOME SO THIN SKINNED? In this age of “self help” and “political correctness,” we have become totally devoid of emotion and creativity because we are too concerned over whom we are going to offend. I can sum it up in one sentence: “No matter what you do, someone will always be offended.” SO GET OVER IT!! In these troubled times, it’s becoming more difficult by the day to find something that genuinely makes you laugh.
I cited the NFB/Magoo controversy to better illustrate my point. As a kid, I watched Mr. Magoo and thought it was funny. As an adult who has lost a good amount of his vision, I remember those old cartoons and can still find some humor in them. (For those who disagree, I challenge you to view Magoo’s Christmas Carol without exhibiting a single smile or chuckle.) Over the years, cartoons have satirized and offended. Tom and Jerry offended with its violence, and the old Max Fleischer Popeye cartoons offended with their depiction of Black people as monkeys (because they were drawn with tails). The Simpsons have had 17 years to offend everyone under the sun.
Nowadays, a movie such as Blazing Saddles (branded by many as the most un-politically correct movie ever) wouldn’t have a snowball’s chance in Hell of getting made. If Mel Brooks had decided to make his film about a Black sheriff taking over an all White town, he would be vilified and all we would have is a lackluster attempt at humor. Many of the funniest scenes in the movie center around stereotypical racial humor.
While not being racially prejudiced myself (Incidentally, I happen to be Black, or is it African American? Don’t wanna offend anyone.), I am able to laugh at myself in that context. Why can’t we as blind people do the same?
You don’t see me going after Mel Brooks for making this movie. You don’t see me boycotting western movies. Magoo isn’t the only pop culture icon being taken to task. Stutterers and fat people have been going after Porky Pig for years. Are they boycotting bacon? I don’t think so. There’s a fine line between sensitive and over-sensitive, which is being blurred because of arguments such as this. I guess it depends on what side of the fence you are on. If I walk down the street and trip, it’s a tragedy. If you walk down the street and trip, it’s a riot! Why? Because it happened to someone else.
The same people laughing at one kind of joke are pitching a bitch about another type of joke only because it could be directed at a condition, or flaw that they may have. I guess if your goose is the one that’s getting cooked, it is kind of hard to find humor in it. The NFB points out that blindness isn’t funny. They’re right. It isn’t. Blindness wasn’t the thing that made Magoo funny in the first place. It was the fact that he stubbornly refused to admit or compensate for his disability. In our quest for a more “polite” America, not only have we lost our way, we seem to have also lost our sense of humor. We are fast on our way (as a country) to becoming a sterile, bland, stagnant society.
While the NFB has a valid argument, I personally think America needs to collectively “lighten up.” Being blind can be depressing enough at times, but if we can’t take things in stride, the depression could overwhelm us. So, all the groups protesting something (whether you’re an advocate for blind people, short people, tall people, speech impaired people, height impaired people, people who wear black socks with sandals people, or anyone else I may have forgotten) just take a minute to look at the bright side of things. This is the hand you were dealt--so play it out and see what happens.
Then again, I’m just a man with a lot of opinions. Feel free to step up to the scales and weigh in on this debate. I’m looking forward to hearing from you (and I’m sure I will) on this subject and many other topics. Thank you for letting me rant.
