Archive for the ‘Brer Rabbit’ Category

The Atlanta Opera’s Rabbit Tales — Save the Date

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Rabbit Tales will premier at the Wren’s Nest on October 29th. It’s the Atlanta Opera’s first ever commissioned work and it just so happens to be steeped in the Brer Rabbit stories.

They’ve sent along a save the date worthy of this prestigious occasion —

I’d like to extend a tremendous thanks to the National Black Arts Festival for lending their expertise and African arts and crafts for the premier.

Can’t make the big day? Just bring Rabbit Tales to your school instead. Easy!

One of Eatonton’s Brer Rabbit Statues Has Been Stolen

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Brer Rabbit has been stolen from Eatonton. What’s left of the Brer Rabbit statue in front of the Uncle Remus Museum is at once a total bummer, a little funny, and an apt metaphor. Here’s a photo courtesy of Stanley —

The Macon Telegraph has had some fun with the story, which is what I imagine Joel Chandler Harris would have done when he worked there in the 1860s.

The caper has, as the author might’ve put it, caused “a considerbul flutter.”

“You can add some humor to it, but it’s a serious theft,” Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills said Wednesday. “People are calling. They’re upset about it.”

Thieves — no doubt sly Mr. Foxes — with a crowbar pried the statue a’loose Sunday night and, lippity-clippity, made off with a town treasure.

For now at least, the villains, well, they lay low.

“The briar patch is hard to find Br’er Rabbit in as you well know,” the sheriff joked. “We picked up Br’er Fox … (but he had) an iron-clad alibi. … We got Tar-Baby, but he won’t say nothing.”

Got any tips on Brer Rabbit’s whereabouts? Please give the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office a call at 706-485-8557.

In the meantime all we can do is remember Brer Rabbit as he once was — take a gander what the statue used to look like.

President Obama, Doug Lamborn, and Dealing with the Wonderful Tar-Baby Story

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This week Brer Rabbit seemed to take President Barack Obama by storm.

First, Representative Doug Lamborn (R-CO) likened the president to a “tar baby.” Then, Pat Buchanan said “don’t throw me in that briar patch” shortly before referring to the President as “boy.”

The terms stem from “The Wonderful Tar-Baby Story” and “How Mr. Rabbit Was Too Sharp For Mr. Fox” recorded by Joel Chandler Harris. In case you’re rusty, here are both stories told together (as they usually are) by Akbar Imhotep:

The phrase Akbar uses in the story and the phrase we heard from Rep. Lanborn are different.

The tar baby of Akbar’s story didn’t carry a derogatory connotation when it was told over the course of generations between enslaved Africans. Nor did it carry that connotation when Harris first heard the story while working on a plantation, nor when he wrote the story down at the Atlanta Constitution.

“Tar baby,” however, has evolved into a derogatory term when used in an insulting way. In fact, its connotation reaches so far and so far afield of its original definition that it’s difficult to say in conversation without whispering.

Just so we’re clear — I think Rep. Lamborn’s comment was offensive and intended to be offensive. Enough politicians have used the term (Mitt Romney & John McCain, for instance) that Lamborn knew the whirlwind of criticism and publicity he was entering. It’s shameless to insult President Obama through racist epithets and unfortunate to further hold America’s greatest folklore hostage with political rhetoric. (I’m less sure about Buchanan’s bumbling.)

Most media outlets that I know about have covered either the “tar baby” story or the “briar patch” one. Miss Nannie saw the story on The View, and then 50 Cent let loose on his twitter account.

While I’m thrilled that Brer Rabbit is getting a lot of attention, I’ve gotta say it’s near impossible to combat so much negative misinformation. If you run into 50 Cent, politely refresh his memory on Brer Rabbit.

You can imagine the “tar baby” is a bizarre problem to have for a small house museum dedicated to preserving the legacy of Joel Chandler Harris and the heritage of African American folklore Everyone knows it’s bad, but few are clear on its origins.

We’ve come up with two strategies at the Wren’s Nest to set the record straight about this particular Brer Rabbit story and the 190 Brer Rabbit folk tales that Harris collected —

(1) Tell our entire story. Be it through storytelling performances or research like Everything You’ve Heard About Uncle Remus Is Wrong, we won’t shy away from the controversy or the awesomeness of Brer Rabbit

(2) Change the story that’s being told by bringing the legacy of Joel Chandler Harris to the 21st century. This means instituting the KIPP Scribes Program, which pairs professional writers with the 5th graders to record an important family story. It also means collaborating with the Atlanta Opera to develop their first ever commissioned work and uplift African American folklore in new ways. Or partnering with StoryCorps to record the stories of our neighbors.

Other, less publicized strategies include “drinking beers at key moments,” “sighing quite a bit,” and remembering that sometimes controversy can be a good thing.

Otherwise, I can only describe this particular situation as “a difficult problem that is only aggravated by attempts to solve it.”

What else can we do? What else should we do? What would you do?

The Kids Are Alright: Now Available For Your Listening Pleasure

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Due to popular demand (or, more accurately, the kind folks over at AM 1690) we now have the (Brer) Rabbit themed episode of “The Kids Are Alright” available for your listening pleasure!

The Kids Are Alright — “Rabbit Rabbit”

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The show features a smattering of songs with talking animals, storytelling by Akbar, and superb stuttering by our blatantly nervous executive director, Lain.  (Don’t worry — he starts to get comfortable somewhere in the last 3 minutes.)

My favorite part is the way the show’s host, Amy, put three versions of “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” back-to-back for contrast. Johnny Mercer? Louis Armstrong? Jackson 5? Yes, please! Miley Cyrus? Not in this show.

Give the show a listen and just try not to narrate your day to the tune of the Huckleberry Hound’s “Uncle Remus.”  (Example: Amelia Trace! Amelia Trace! Amelia Trace is a blog-a-writin’ gal!”) What’s your favorite moment of Lain being awkward?

Glee Season Finale — Sue Sylvester and the Briar Patch

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Last night’s episode of Glee got off on the right foot with a snarky nod to Song of the South. Sue Sylvester, the deliciously evil cheerleading coach, takes a shot at Will Schuster, the dopey glee coach:

“Your hair looks like a briar patch. I keep expecting racist, animated Disney characters to pop up and start singing about living on the bayou.”

Gosh, I’m not sure whether to buy Sue a drank or punch her in the throat.

I’m thankful that the writers at Fox (a) finally made a fresh joke about Will’s hair; (b) specified that the racist characters are Disney’s; and (c) had Sue Sylvester deliver the line on the season finale.

Yet as much as I like getting folks to think about the Uncle Remus stories, I can’t say that I’m thrilled that this dimension of Song of the South is being perpetuated in prime time. Sue Sylvester is always over the top, and this is no exception. But given the film’s, uh, reputation I don’t think people will take it as such.

And seriously, how many people watch Glee? Millions!

How many people have watched this video of Akbar telling the story of Brer Rabbit and the Briar Patch? Like, 4. And half of them can’t tie their shoes.

It’s awesome that Glee provided such a great reference to Brer Rabbit, but it’s a shame that it further brands him as something so negative.

Also, can we talk about how it’s at least a little ironic that a show so reliant on stereotypes is calling out other stereotypes?

Brer Rabbit’s Modern Recipes for Modern Living

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Because I am a woman, I wanted to write about Brer Rabbit’s Modern Recipes for Modern Living, even though it was Lain’s discerning eye that found it.

Aside from the recipes, most of which are dessert, and more specifically, gingerbread-based (“The All-American Dessert”), there are some excellent pieces of advice to be found throughout the book.

For example, did you know Brer Rabbit Molasses Aids Meatless Meals?  ”Meat and liver are valuable sources of iron.  So when meat is missing from your menu — or reduced in quantity — help keep the family’s iron intake up to par by serving plenty of Brer Rabbit Molasses.”  Delicious logic.

Oh, you didn’t think of molasses as a meat alternative?  Well, “Scientific tests have shown Brer Rabbit Molasses is second only to liver as a rich food source of iron the body can use.”  So there.

Plus, “authorities tell us a surprising number of people need to get more iron.”  Time is clearly of the essence, especially since “plenty of iron in the diet is more important than ever now — when national good health is vital to America’s future.”  Thank goodness we’ve jumped that hurdle.

And if you’re worried about your food tasting a little too heavily of a syrup that’s 60% natural sugar, rest assured: “Not much molasses is necessary … but what a tremendous difference just a little makes.  Meats take on a new flavor … rich and zippy.  Vegetables step out of the humble, plain tasting class.”  I hate that class of vegetables.

If you see any recipes that strike your fancy in the index above, let me know and I’ll send you the text.  Brer Rabbit molasses is still defeating anemia from coast to coast, making lard the only elusive ingredient in these bad boys.  Yum!

I’m Not Really Leaving the Wren’s Nest in September

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April Fools’, y’all. I appreciate the kind words though, both in the comments and on our Facebook page.

I know some of y’all might not like April 1st foolin’, but let’s be real for a second — it’s probably Brer Rabbit’s favorite holiday, and we have to represent. Trickery is in our by-laws.

Let’s consider this a trial run for when I do leave the Wren’s Nest. Though given your reaction, maybe I should leave now. After all, Akbar always says: “Sit down while they still want you to stand.”

Previously:

• Disney to Release Song of the South on Blu-ray and DVD in 2009
• Atlanta History Center to Acquire the Wren’s Nest, Move it to Buckhead

1906 Brer Rabbit Illustrations by Harry Rountree

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Lately I’ve been having a hard time deciding which Brer Rabbit illustrations are my favorite.  These illustrations from Harry Rountree are certainly giving Fritz Eichenberg a run for his money, mostly because of Brer Rabbit’s impressive commitment to smoking.

Look at that cigar!  And those pants!  Did M.C Hammer grow up on Brer Rabbit or what?

Lauren, designer of our website and fashionable friend, calls the pin/single suspender combo “a genius sartorial decision!”  I agree!

This picture combines two things I love – little rabbits performing manual labor for nefarious purposes and matching red jumpsuits.

Brer Rabbit and the dark night of the soul.  I really like this one’s composition.

I can’t help but laugh at this little rab crying over spilt milk, with Mrs. Rabbit rushing to the rescue.

Brer Rabbit has never looked so noble and proud as after enlisting his children to steal milk from Sis Cow, who is stuck in a tree.  Hooray raping and pillaging family outings!

Brer Bear is dressed perfectly for a picnic.  A+.

This last illustration is on the cover of our 1913 French copy of L’oncle Remus.

Ugh, I just don’t know — do you like these illustrations best?  Or A.B. Frost’s? Or Eichenberg’s?  Or Don Daily’s?  Or Barry Moser’s?

1937 Uncle Remus Illustrations by Fritz Eichenberg

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This 1937 Uncle Remus book illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg is quite handsome.  Apparently, the Peter Pauper Press only made 1100 of ‘em.

The Lil’ Rabs on the cover caught my eye, and the illustrations inside didn’t disappoint.  I’ve included nine of them below. For some, I’ve added the audio from our storytellers that corresponds to the illustration.

Donald Griffin – The Wonderful Tar-Baby Story

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Woodie Persons — Brer Rabbit’s Riding Horse

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Akbar Imhotep – Mr. Fox Goes Hunting, But Brer Rabbit Bags the Meat

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I love how innocent yet entirely malicious Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox look.

The next illustration is also deliciously evil — the Lil Rabs look on with glee as their father steams Brer Wolf alive.  Yippee!  Everyone in the back — throw ya hands up!

I love everything about Brer Wolf in this picture!  Just look at him!  Is this picture exactly like Harvey Keitel and Robert DeNiro in Taxi Driver or what?!

Walt Disney’s Giant Golden Book: Uncle Remus Stories (1949)

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These illustrations of the Uncle Remus Golden Book are a delight.  Thank you, International Animated Film Society.

It’s a Disney book, but instead of having 3 stories like Song of the South, it’s got twelve.

Coincidentally, this particular illustration reminds me of Fantastic Mr. Fox too.   Oh!  And look: compare this picture from Disney to this one from Sid and Marty Krofft(!).