A column in The New York Times; put at the center of controversy some of the remembered Looney Tunes animated characters. Among them is the skunk Pepe Le Pew; who is accused of normalizing the culture of rape.
Le Pew is the protagonist of a series of episodes that show him chasing a cat who accidently gets a white stripe painted on its back, and Pepe confuses the feline with a female skunk. The skunk kisses the cat forcibly, hugs her and force her to be near him.
The character’s behavior was brought up by New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow, who argues that the animated character, dating back to 1945, “normalizes rape culture.”
Le Pew isn’t the only “troublesome” Looney Tunes character mentioned in the column. There is also the mouse, Speedy González, who presumably “popularize the corrosive stereotype of drunk and lethargic Mexicans,” as well as a minor character from ‘Tom and Jerry’, Mammy ‘Two Shoes’, a’ burly Afro-descendant worker who talks with a strong accent.
According to the columnist, these characters and others who are mentioned in the column promote offensive and racist stereotypes. “Racism must be exorcised from culture, including, or maybe especially, from children’s culture.”
Thus, he also attacks the ‘Tarzan’ films which, in his words, show “a half-naked white man in the middle of an African jungle who conquers and tames it and outwits the Black people there, who are all portrayed as primitive, if not savage. ». Or the ‘Western’ movies that depicted “Native Americans as aggressive, bloodthirsty savages against whom valiant white men were forced to fight.”
The columnist’s article was aired a few days after six books by author Dr. Seuss were withdrawn due to perceived racist depictions of ethnic minorities.
“Teaching a child to hate or be ashamed of himself is a sin against his innocence and a burden against his possibilities,” he concluded.
Some social media users pointed out that there are other pop-culture characters and even music, which should also be held accountable for having similar, negative, and degrading references.
https://twitter.com/thatumbrella/status/1369059936366432272?s=21
If you're offended by Pepe Le Pew but listening to Cardi B's WAP… You are what's wrong with America…
— Matt Couch (@RealMattCouch) March 8, 2021
https://twitter.com/asoftstar/status/1368998737175932929?s=21
WAP devalues women more than Pepe Le Pew ever did.
— The American Girl (@TheAmericanGrl) March 8, 2021
https://twitter.com/yekayuriy54/status/1368995488083623937?s=21
Pepe Le Pew is a caricature of an egotistical guy who thinks he’s a ladies’ man, like Johnny Bravo. The cartoons don’t condone his behavior, and he frequently gets his comeuppance. If there’s any moral to the cartoons, it’s that if you act like Pepe, you stink. pic.twitter.com/Sw95BdSEho
— Vincent Alexander (@NonsenseIsland) March 8, 2021
