Read this: Space Jam is jam-packed with pro-union and labor rights Easter eggs
Aux Features Space Jam
For some odd reason, animated movies have a long history of having weird images and “subliminal messages” purportedly hidden within their film frames, from underwater penis castles to naked ladies to just straight-up the word “SEX” in big ol’ magic dust lettering, all with varying degrees of veracity to the claims. One entry that’s apparently flown under the radar for a while now is the plethora of pro-union and labor rights jokes and sight gags littering one of the most 90's movies ever made—Space Jam.
As an essay posted today on Mel Magazine explores, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and the rest of the Looney Tunes are just a hare’s breadth away from turning into commie pinko agitators.
“What Daffy Duck was talking about was very real, and it’s still happening today,” animator Charles Zembillas tells author author Steven Perlberg, which is somehow as hilarious as it is thoroughly disheartening.
Daffy, for reference, is talking about the injustices of unfair work practices and financial rights retention for laborers throughout the film, even going so far as to grouse, “If this were a union job…” at one point. Perlberg’s exploration of Space Jam’s six degrees of separation from Woody Guthrie is also a fascinating and brief recap of the history of labor struggles within the animation industry, and how—surprise—some of our country’s most iconic images and pieces of art were literally written as labors of love by underpaid, overworked working-class people.
Huh. It’s almost as if there’s a real trend of exploitation running through almost every facet of American history…
15 Comments
How Did This Get Made just went over how the toons have too weak of a union with too many meetings, like a week ago. I wonder why this is all coming up now.
Bonkers!
1/4 of AV Club content is influenced by that wonderful podcast. Just a month ago they did a video on an exact riff from HDTGM.
But this is linking to another site’s article. (Which very well could ALSO be influenced by HDTGM.)
An example would have made this article a little less pointless.
Daffy, for reference, is talking about the injustices of unfair work practices and financial rights retention for laborers throughout the film, even going so far as to grouse, “If this were a union job…” at one point.You mean like this one in the text of the article?
Literal dialogue from a film counts as an Easter Egg?
Let me specify – an example with some semblance of context and purpose. I have no idea what caused him to say that, what he’s doing, why it’s supposed to be a ‘joke’, based on this article.
We all know that you have to include a video reference or your point isn’t valid. Geez. Amateurs.
The guy with the high pants and long tie is totally nailing that (bunny?) mascot!
Compare to The Replacements, which is so cartoonishly anti-union.
I have a hard time believing a movie with this scene has any sort of class consciousness:
Wasn’t he hawking each and every one of those products at one point?
IIRC he was, I assumed that was the joke… right?
I don’t know if I’m buying it. If there were any union-related angles in Space Jam, HamNo would’ve already written about it right here in the Kinjaverse.