Tom & Jerry

[Bonzo 2000]

Who is the big woman who appears in Tom & Jerry, usually shouting "Tammiss!" while standing on a stool and lifting her skirts. Is she the housekeeper or the owner of the house?

[Tippimum]

She is supposed to have been the house keeper - she is depicted as one of those "mammie" types from yester year - very un PC now though !

[makemesmile]

Yes, but in later cartoons, they gave her an Irish accent. Like that made it better!

[andy-hughes]

The interesting point is the perspective - you only ever see the lady's legs, never her face or upper body. This is because that is the perspective from which both Tom and Jerry would see her, but also the perspective from which a child sees an adult. Because the cartoon is aimed at children, this viewpoint would seem perfectly natural to them

[feebal]

Back in the 60s when the Tom and Jerry cartoons (which were originally shown in cinemas) were broadcast on American telly they removed any trace of Mammy Two-shoes and replaced her with a thin white woman instead using a process called "rotascope". They did this on the grounds that the housekeeper was a racist stereotype. They are now digitally removing scenes that show Tom and Jerry smoking.

The fact that when these cartoons were made, some people would have had black housekeepers who would have talked exactly like that and everybody smoked seems to be overlooked. It's like they're trying to erase history.

[makemesmile]

I think it's a shame they're changing them. Part of their charm (for me) is the 50's atmosphere. But I guess some people feel they're not fit for today's children. Shame, sometimes the best way to illustrate progress is to look at how things used to be: who doesn't cringe when they see something like 'Love Thy Neighbour'. Can Tom & Jerry really be accused of promoting smoking/stereotypes? Just the age we live in, I guess.

[heathfield]

Yep, she deh maid.

[jamesy boy]

Several years ago when I was still drinking heavily, I used to jump on stools in pubs and shout 'Thomas!!! Thomas!!!" for a laugh.
You've just brought back memories of my binging years...