Great Literature. Bad History.

“The Daily Show” senior black correspondent Larry Wilmore covers Jim’s absurd literary promotion from nigger to slave:

Did anyone know prior to this clip that CBS aired a TV movie version of  the book in 1955 that completely eliminated Jim and slavery from the story? Consider my mind buh-lown.

For sure, that’s some creative writing. Along with a healthy dose of revisionist history.

We haven’t changed so much, eh?

Joel

Joel Anderson —blackink —  writes about sports, politics, crime, courts, and other issues far beyond his competence at BuzzFeed. He has worked at media outlets in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Atlanta and contributed to a number of publications, including The Root and The American Prospect, among many others.
  • lol @ “you’d have to be pretty fast.”

  • I liked so much of this video, but the “Lil’Twain” part made me squirm.

    It was also good to have my memory confirmed–that Jim was not, indeed, a slave. Which just makes this proposed language switch all the more absurd but also offensive–you take a runaway slave–i.e., a person WITH AGENCY who has taken it upon himself to escape, and re-enslave him. WTF?

    And, no, I didn’t know about that movie either…