The Swing Shift Shuffle is a radio program of swing, big band, jazz, boogie woogie and other popular music from the 1930's and 40's that airs every Wednesday from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. (US Central Time) on WEVL 89.9 FM in Memphis, Tennessee, with a live webcast at wevl.org. In addition to the radio show, this blog is dedicated to all aspects of the Swing Era, including art, automobiles, cartoons, comics, history, movies, music, news, science, technology, and anything else that happened during that time. It also includes announcements about events in the Memphis/Mid-South area related to the Swing Era, such as classic movies, concerts, dances, lectures, etc. If you see something that fits the description, send it to me at tim@wevl.org. If you would like more information about the radio show, just go to the Radio Show FAQ page.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Betty Boop: Language All My Own

I was a little surprised by this Betty Boop cartoon.  Although made in 1935, when racial stereotypes were common in animation, I thought that this short - in which Betty flies to Japan for a performance - portrayed the Japanese people in a very respectful manner.  In addition to the fact that Betty performs a song both in English and Japanese, the rendering of the Japanese audience members was very attractive and lifelike.  In fact, they look much more human and less cartoonish than the (presumably) American audience at the start of the short.  From the Internet Archive, here is Betty Boop in A Language All My Own

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