Amazon warns Tom & Jerry fans to beware ‘racist’ scenes
Amazon is warning viewers of classic Tom & Jerry cartoons from the 1940s that episodes may contain scenes of ‘racial prejudice’ after it included the content on its Amazon Prime Instant Video streaming service.
Anyone wishing to view the classic cat and mouse show is presented with a disclaimer from the internet firm which reads: “Tom & Jerry shorts may depict some ethnic and racial prejudices that were once commonplace in American society. Such depictions were wrong then and wrong today.
The warning follows concerns that the representation of a black maid on early episodes of the long-running show was an example of the era’s prejudices but others warned of an insidious new form of censorship.
Produced by MGM the show opened in 1940 with more than a hundred cartoons produced until the show was pulled in 1957. It was later resuscitated for a modern remake.
Criticising the measure Prof Frank Furedi of the University of Kent, said: "We're reading history backwards, judging people in the past by our values.”
The show has long courted controversy with complaints that it glamorises violence and smoking, with key characters depicted enjoying cigarettes inbetween the homicidal mayhem.