Porky Pig's stutter: offensive? Or subtly enlightening?
Porky Pig became a cartoon star during a time when all manner of offensive stereotypes were commonplace in popular culture. And using a speech impediment for comedic effect was not out of step with the much less-enlightened times back then.
But I wonder if, even accidentally, Porky's stammer may have taught us a little about how people who stutter deal with the difficulties it poses to communication.
Sometimes, Porky would wrangle with a difficult word for a short time before being able to speak the word he intended to use. But sometimes, if his stutter hung him up for a prolonged period, he would overcome the problem by substituting a word very different from the word we could tell he was having trouble with. And the substituted word wasn't always used for comedic effect. It just enabled him to complete his thought.
I doubt audiences in the 1940's gave it very much thought. And it's possible I'm giving it too much thought. But watching President Biden deftly using word substitution in a speech if he seems to be having trouble with a word or phrase brought this to mind.
Thoughts?
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It was Foghorn Leghorn that would say, "I say, I say boy" or "I say, Son"
You're correct about Yosemite Sam was always shooting his guns.
Here's several short videos to enjoy.
