ImageNation Cinema Foundation is hosting a night of rare animation and discussion on race at. Known at the “Banned 11,” the foundation highlights cartoons depicting African Americans in a negative light.
In 1968, United Artists chose to withhold the distribution rights for 11 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons due to the offensiveness of racial stereotypes presented in them. Since that time, successive rights holders have upheld this ban on broadcast and theatrical screenings, and the short cartoons have only been shown once, in 2010, in a screening held by Warner Bros. However, copies do exist in the hands of collectors and ImageNation is screening all 11 of the controversial works.
Reelblack TV’s Michael Dennis and Charles Woods will lead the discussion that will feature a conversation on art, culture, race and history. Dennis is a filmmaker and the founder of Reelblack, a full-service film and video production company dedicated to creating and promoting “good movies” about Black people. Woods is a NYC-based archivist, historian and collector Black film and memorabilia for over 40 years.
The screening will take place on Tuesday, March 14 from 7pm to 9pm at ImageNation’s Raw Space, 2031 Adam Clayton Powell Jr., Blvd.,
between West 121st and 122nd Sts. Admission is free. Go to imagenation.us for more information.