The Atlantic Magazine recently named Six Degrees of Song of the South one of the best podcasts of the year. The series focuses on the Disney movie Song of the South set in the Reconstruction Era. According to The Atlantic:
The host, producer, and writer Karina Longworth narrates meticulously researched forgotten histories of Hollywood’s first century, and this season, she dives into Disney—specifically the controversial 1946 film Song of the South. Longworth examines the movie’s reception upon its release; its blend of live action and animation; the whiplash career of Hattie McDaniel; and the film’s mid-century revision by Maurice Rapf, a known communist. Unlike other cinephile programming, Longworth’s podcast doesn’t require advanced viewing. The host goes to great lengths to recontextualize the earworm “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” and even raises questions about the insidious history of Splash Mountain, a now-sterilized feature from the movie. The podcast’s arrival is especially well timed with the debut of the Disney+ streaming service, which doesn’t include Song of the South. In the hands of Longworth, history doesn’t get distilled or archived—it gets blown up.
I have links to all six episodes of the podcast here.
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