I have two thoughts on this one.

One, why is it that Al Jazeera has a headshot of Hillary Clinton that's far and away more flattering than any of the ones used by American networks?

Two, I can't help but react to this, and the similar video from WV, and think that the most amazing thing about this race has been how we've now found out how much of America is not voting on race alone. We've found that what racially motivated voting there is, is mostly confined to Appalachia and the deep south, and that it's even in decline in the deep south!

I'm not saying there's perfect racial harmony elsewhere, but there's a lot of positive news from this process.

I am starting to feel like Al Jazeera is wandering into Foxian bias territory. Most of that "report" was just sticking a microphone into the face of random people in rural Kentucky, and playing for us what must have been the juiciest non-profane clips they had.

Tags for this video have been changed from 'banjo, guitar, deep south' to 'banjo, guitar, appalachia' - edited by jonny

Scorsese's quote is out of context for me, so I may be missing something important, but the notion that Blues is somehow purely derived from west African music is ludicrous. It completely ignores the influence of Scottish/Irish ballads sung throughout Appalachia, stride piano and ragtime, and numerous other "American" influences. Of course they are related, and the notion of them as cousins seems appropriate - they evolved simultaneously, and more recently have fed upon each other wonderfully. Listen to any Taj Mahal recordings and this should be clear.

You can excuse slavery with your argument. The time was different. White people weren't used to working in the sun. Grandma said it was alright. But even slavery was done away with in most nations before Bob Clampett was born.

And my assumptions are borne out by the text that you cite. This was not a person living in the deep pockets of Appalachia. Which is why you research the historical and cultural context of the time and do your best to reconstruct how people lived and what people knew. This period in American history is very, very well-documented. You must look at cultural products within this well-documented context with a critical eye.

Although you may enjoy the aesthetics of the cartoon (hell, I think it is skillfully made and interesting -- ha! i voted for it before I voted against it), to call it a mere cultural 'snapshot' rather than what it is, a rather virulent piece of racist propaganda, illustrates the inherent problem of posting without context.