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Never before in its history had Hollywood reissued so many films with so much success: Gone with the Wind (1967–68), Swiss Family Robinson (1969), 101 Dalmatians (1970), Song of the South (1972), The Sound of Music (1973), Mary Poppins (1973), Robin Hood (1974). These reissues’ formal and thematic conservatism implied the existence of a longing for traditional modes and the established mythologies they represented. Robert Ray, A Certain Tendency of the Hollywood Cinema, 1930–1980 In A Certain Tendency of the Hollywood Cinema, Robert Ray noted a “right cycle” movement in the 1970s.1 This included both new reactionary films, such as Dirty Harry (1971), and the recirculation of older films, such as Disney’s Song of the South, from Hollywood’s so-called golden age. Ray’s observation reminds us of the sometimesforgotten fact that the reappearance of a film can be more important than its first appearance. In the 1940s, the cinematic “Old South” had been anachronistic for many post–World War II audiences. But decades later, such nostalgic texts suddenly came back into vogue, changing fundamentally how these films’ histories were later perceived. The subsequent rereleases of Song of the South, especially during the 1970s and 1980s, are the most overlooked, but also revealing, parts of its reception history. There is another aspect of Ray’s argument that is important. Seemingly out of the blue, Song of the South was now popular. After its 1946 debut, the film spent twenty-five years uneventfully in and out of circulation . This included its first rerelease a decade later in 1956, which was met with a largely indifferent critical and commercial reception. The Three “Ou r Mos t R equ es t ed Mov ie” Media Convergence, Black Ambivalence, and the Reconstruction of Song of the South “Our Most Requested Movie” 87 film appeared in the 1950s not because it was in demand; rather, even before then, Disney figured out that its biggest profits often came from rereleasing the same material to a new generation of children. Song of the South was no different in that regard. Yet still the film underwhelmed. Moreover, the film’s racial politics made it even less worth the trouble. Thus Song of the South largely spent the years between 1946 and 1972 hidden in the Disney vault. Yet upon its second rerelease, Song of the South was suddenly more successful than it had ever been before. It would have made sense if Disney had left Song of the South for dead by the 1960s. Critics dismissed its lame live action melodrama, while activists lamented its Uncle Tom representations. Meanwhile, the film barely recouped Disney’s considerable investment. The film had been the company’s big postwar hope for another Snow White–sized hit, but within a few years it was largely forgotten. As late as 1970, Disney announced through Variety that Song of the South would never be released again, because of its racial insensitivity. They made this announcement only because, Disney now claimed, it was the “most requested title” in the Disney vault.2 One theater owner, Jeff Begun, was even quoted as calling the film, quite inexplicably, a “classic.”3 Not surprisingly, within two years, Disney rereleased the film in 1972. This time, it proved the biggest rerelease in company history—despite never having been successful before, and having even been briefly “banned.” In the span of three decades, Song of the South went from being a black eye to one of the company’s most valuable assets. The film earned over $6 million in only a few months after its January 1972 rerelease. This doubled its total haul from the 1940s, and surpassed the 1969 rerelease of Swiss Family Robinson (1960) as the highest-grossing Disney reissue at that point in the company’s history.4 Song of the South was on Variety’s list of “Top-Grossing Films” from January 26 to April 5 that year, reaching as high as fifth on February 2.5 The film’s success was so pronounced that Disney then rereleased it again for a limited engagement a little over a year later in June 1973.6 During the 1980s, Song of the South’s box office business was similarly impressive—grossing nearly $17 million more during two additional reissues between late 1980 and 1987.7 I will argue throughout the next several chapters that Song of the South’s reputation is really a product of the 1970s and 1980s. Although produced originally in...

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