149: White Allies and the Blacklist: Maurice Rapf (Six Degrees of Song of the South, Episode 4)

149: White Allies and the Blacklist: Maurice Rapf (Six Degrees of Song of the South, Episode 4)

149: White Allies and the Blacklist: Maurice Rapf (Six Degrees of Song of the South, Episode 4)

You Must Remember This - November 12, 2019 - 47:34

Concerned that his movie about a former slave devoting his life to a white child’s emotional needs might be perceived as racist, Walt Disney hired known Communist Maurice Rapf to rewrite Song of the South. Rapf, the son of an MGM exec, was radicalized as a college student, and shortly after Song of the South was released, he was blacklisted. Today we’ll discuss Rapf’s life and career, and talk about how white leftists in Hollywood tried to subvert the industry’s racial status quo -- and how their mission to “make movies less bad” led to their own persecution. This episode is sponsored by Parcast - Mythology (www.parcast.com/MYTHOLOGY).

Previous Episode

148: “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah,” Minstrels in Hollywood and The Oscars (Six Degrees of Song of the South, Episode 3)

November 5, 2019 - 50:17
Song of the South’s most famous element is “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah,” a song written for the movie but reminiscent of a racist standard...

Next Episode

150: Blaxploitation and the White Backlash (Six Degrees of Song of the South, Episode 5)

November 19, 2019 - 47:51
Song of the South’s most successful re-release came in 1972 at a time when Hollywood was dealing with race by making two very different...

About The Show

You Must Remember This is a storytelling podcast exploring the secret and/or forgotten histories of Hollywood’s first century. It’s the brainchild and passion project of Karina Longworth (founder of Cinematical.com, former film critic for LA Weekly), who writes, narrates, records and edits each episode. It is a heavily-researched work of creative nonfiction: navigating through conflicting reports, mythology, and institutionalized spin, Karina tries to sort out what really happened behind the films, stars and scandals of the 20th century.