Before Cartoons were PC…

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Back when I was a kid, cartoons meant the Looney Tunes and Hanna-Barbera franchises rather than Dora the Explorer, Simpsons & Spongebob and they occasionally carried less than model minority stereotypes.

A friend of mine recently posted this cartoon on his facebook wall. Although originally published in 1971, I’ve got hazy memories of it still being on the air in the late 70s / early 80s (dating myself.. I know) –

Classic animation short from Sesame Street’s third broadcast season. An Indian guru counts from 1 to 20 on his four arms, accompanied by sitar music and a lot of psychedelic visuals. As a bonus, there’s a recap in Spanish!

One other desi portrayal I remember from the era was Johnny Quest’s sidekick Hadji – an arguably positive character. On a similar note, although mistaken for Afro-American, Little Black Sambo was actually about a Tamilian boy but, AFAIK, was never made into a TV toon. A different, non-PC example I particularly remember wasn’t desi but definitely pushed ill Mexican stereotypes was Slowpoke Rodriguez (Slowpoke was Speedy’s less famous, less athletically-inclined cousin and although he appeared in fewer cartoons, for some reason I recall him a bit better).

So, I thought I’d cast the net open and see if mutineers had examples of non-PC desi portrayals in TV cartoons back in the day? Before 3rd grade name callers invoked Apu, what other ill desi cartoon characters fed our childhood angst?

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57 thoughts on “Before Cartoons were PC…”

  1. Wow…I just finished watching the clip. They insulted not one, but both groups at the same time…Indians (South Asians) and the so-called “American Indians” (Native Americans). Popeye punches the Indian chief so hard, that he flies out of his clothes and turns in to Gandhi…

    wow indeed – I don’t ever remember seeing this and it’s so strange and insulting. Somehow I don’t think Popeye was written with the same sense of social irony as say the Simpsons (in which I’m not offended by the Apu character).

    Tipu – that was so interesting about Sabu. There is also a famous movie star of the 30s and 40s that also was desi – or half desi and I believe she tried to hide it – I’d be curious to read a bio about her — Merl Oberon Ms. Cathy from Wuthering Heights.

    And this is OT – but the new Ms. America is also half-Indian, one of her parents is white and the other is Indian.

  2. And this is OT – but the new Ms. America is also half-Indian, one of her parents is white and the other is Indian.

    You sure that wasn’t “Indianan?” I checked Wiki to confirm and while it says nothing about her race, blue eyes, brown hair, and being a member of 4H who raises dairy cattle all hint that she’s not desi.

    And on topic: I actually find Apu more offensive than the Popeye thing. The Popeye thing was a one-shot joke that just comes across as “not funny.” Apu, on the other hand, is just annoying.

  3. This is a great post Vinod and all the comments too.

    Tintin was one of my favorites comics but looking back from the eyes of an adult mind it appears that maybe many depictions were not PC – Tintin in America

    Tintin and India –

    But Tintin first brush with India inhabited by the ubiquitous snake charmers, saints and sacred cows — was in Cigars of The Pharaoh, where an argument with a cow nearly ends Snowy’s career until he is saved by the bumbling detectives, Thomson and Thompson. Tintin ends the adventure dressed in a turban and shervani, in a victory procession with the Maharaja of Gaipajama (cow’s pyjamas).

    Inspite of “desi” cliches there are many admirers amongst artists and writers for his attention to detail.

  4. I personally thought Amrish Puri’s character was great in indiana jones. I dont know why some of us get so touchy. However, Gunga Din pissed me off because it went beyond comedic exagerration common to many movies that involve a foreign culture. To see that freaking monkey in Gunga Din salute the british troops at the end and be their Uncle Tom was offensive to me. I was glad that freaking character died. Actually, come to think of it, I wasn’t too pleased with British troops saving the day at the end of Indiana Jones.

  5. 52 · PS said

    There is also a famous movie star of the 30s and 40s that also was desi – or half desi and I believe she tried to hide it – I’d be curious to read a bio about her — Merl Oberon Ms. Cathy from Wuthering Heights.

    In fact Merle was discovered by, & later married to, Alexander Korda. Her imdb page has some reference to her biographies.

  6. i remember being very confused when kids asked me if i was the kind of Indian that said “how” or the kind of Indian who had a dot on their head… I never knew the difference and so I said neither. Plus, my mom’s bindis were always more than a dot so I didn’t completely understand the dot head thing. Ha! Even now people will talk about native Americans and say “Indian”, look at me and correct themselves…