Six Degrees of Song of the South

Songs of the south were written by a number of different song writers, which makes it difficult to deconstruct how and why they were composed. The songs are an intentional throwback to the extremely complicated tradition of the minstrel show. We will discuss what we do know about the songs of song of the south and how zipety duda specifically fits into the context of minstrel culture. Then we'll talk about how minstrelsy made its way into disney films, other cartoons and live action hollywood films in the decades leading up to song of the South. Finally, we'll explore why, though part of hollywood was desperately trying to move beyond these tired minst