The humor that stuck: The Little Rascals
I grew up concurrently with the Little Rascals television series. I was in grade school when the show first appeared on TV. The Little Rascal characters were ostensibly in grade school as well. The thing about America in those days was there were a lot of children. I hung out after school with enough kids to field both sides of a pick-up baseball game (with about ten kids in the outfield alone). The Little Rascals gang was big like that, too. IMDB lists the names of nearly sixty actors, most of them children, associated with the show (of course there was Petey the dog, Mrs. Crabtree the teacher and various school truancy officers). That’s what I liked most about the show. It was just a big gang of kids getting into all kinds of mischief just like me. And it was funny. Funny then and funny now. I rarely see the Little Rascals on television these days, but when I do, I stop whatever else I’m doing to watch and gleefully relive a little of those bygone days. Damn, life was simple then.
I discovered a long time ago that my good friend, Bev Wirtz, has a passion for the “Our Gang” stories that easily exceeds my own. There was no way I could post a story about Spanky and the gang without her input. So without further ado, please welcome Bev’s blogging debut with her tribute to the Little Rascals.
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“You only meet your once in a lifetime friends... once in a lifetime.” – Alfalfa
As a youngster I watched the Little Rascals because they made me laugh. I never really thought about how they represented practically every walk of life - male, female, rich, poor, black, white, and even canine. I just knew that Spanky was cute, Darla was adorable, Froggy’s voice was hilarious, Alfalfa was obsessed with his grooming habits, Waldo was obnoxious, Chubby was so fat that his eyes were mere slits, Buckwheat was - well Buckwheat - Wheezer was the classic tag-along, Stymie should’ve been a lawyer, Mary Ann was the classic tomboy, Miss Crabtree was every child’s dream teacher, and Petey was the perfect pet.
During a time when America was so very segregated, and so very much divided by class, the Little Rascals presented us with an integrated neighborhood, something unheard of when they appeared on the silver screen in the 1930s and 40s. When they first adorned television screens in 1964 - thanks to King World Television - America’s cities were literally ablaze during the beginnings of the Civil Rights movement. They were far ahead of their time and we who watched them learned some tolerance - whether we knew it or not.
The Little Rascals episodes have been declared racist by some, and while there are obviously some racially stereotypical scenes - Farina licking his chops when contemplating the summer’s watermelon crop; Spanky, ruing the fact that he has to wash his face so often telling Stymie that he’s lucky - they are not presented maliciously. While not excusing these blatant stereotypical presentations, you see Stymie on a fairly regular basis getting the best of his mates. One of my very favorite episodes shows him, tired of eating mush for breakfast, convincing his white pals that he can make ham and eggs talk. Of course, the episode ends with Stymie getting his belly full of ham and eggs with the others wondering how they could’ve been so naive. There is also an episode where he and his sister Marmalade dupe Wheezer - who is trying to teach them math - out of half a dozen or so apples. These scenes are reminiscent of the old Uncle Remus stories where the rabbit always “outfoxes the fox.” Hal Roach, the Rascals producer, was no racist, yet many of these episodes are not shown in today’s politically correct climate.
Of course, the episodes may - and should - be enjoyed for their simple humor rather than looking for underlying themes! Anytime Alfalfa is on screen you know you’re going to laugh out loud - particularly if he’s singing! His crooning “I’m in the Mood for Love” to Darla is classic. He was the consummate geek, yet you had to love him as much as Darla did. Stymie and Porky standing at Miss Crabtree’s desk greeting her with the classic “Hiiiii Crabby” is priceless - what kid didn’t want to let a teacher have it with both barrels on occasion - particularly one name Crabtree?
The Little Rascals were seemingly always in trouble with the truant officer - none of them wanted to be in school. Usually by the end of an episode, the kids realized how important it was to get an education and that while fishing was great, it was something better suited to Saturdays and summertime. While it’s not clear whether the appeal of school was the lessons learned or the smile on Miss Crabtree’s face, it was always clear that school was the place for kids to be and they knew it.
The Rascals were innovative. They had an answer for every question and a solution for every problem - and all it involved was usually some string, a bed sheet and an adult looking the other way. Having Petey pull the wagon (or the lawnmower!) helped, too.
They had their spats - and their rivalries - yet they always managed to work out their problems and stick together. Above all, the Rascals were about friendship and loyalty. Nothing separated these kids for long - not gender, class, ethnicity or economic status all the while, teaching those of us watching about love and laughter, and – to quote Stymie – that’s “not too shabby.”
(You can comment directly to Bev at bhwirtz@yahoo.com)
9:41:05 PM  Stories
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