The Amazingly Racist Walt Disney
Generations upon generations of children have grown up to the wondrous tunes of Walt Disney films. More than that, many more have even ventured to the amusement parks or purchased some type of physical memorabilia that have been created in the ever-expanding corporation known as The Walt Disney Company. But, more often than not, it seems that many social issues arise in the creation of these items and yet they are just swept under the rug or overlooked altogether. While many in today’s society view Disney films as educational and stimulating for our youth, beneath these jubilant songs, personified animals, and damsels in distress lie many racist and pro-inequality themes that are being (unknowingly) taught to the future of the world. Take for example the 1941 classic Disney film Dumbo. Many may remember the cute little elephant that could magically fly and all the talking animals that are ever-so common in Disney productions. But, some of these characters take on racially stereotypical traits that, when not focused on, many people would not think anything of. Namely, these stereotypes come to light when “Jim Crow” and his 4 brother crows come into the picture. Note the name. Obviously “Jim Crow” references an African American actor in early American minstrel shows (Martin
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Once again it found great success with this Native American princess story. One of the primary songs in the film is “Savages” in which numerous hateful statements toward Native Americans in the lyrics. Over and over again the “civilized” white people refer to the Natives as barbaric, uncivilized, and even stupid (uneducated.) Potentially the worst aspect of the entire movie is the fact that it has a happy ending. While one would expect nothing less of a children’s film, doing so negates the racial intolerance and the persecution of the Native Americans that the European settlers instilled in this “new
Now we will shift gears and look at the stereotypes and microaggressions that are in the Disney film Pocahontas. Son of the late Walt Disney, Roy Disney had the following to say regarding Pocahontas: “Pocahontas is a story that appealed to us because it was basically a story about people getting along together, which is particularly applicable to lots of places in the world today” (Amy, 55). Roy Disney’s comments are intriguing considering how offensive the film is to Native Americans, and how stereotypical and violent the film turned out to be. Allegedly the Disney production team intended to immerse themselves into the native World of Pocahontas’ and the culture for which she existed to get a better understanding of her lifestyle and to make the film as authentic as possible. They were said to have conducted historical research about Pocahontas and the time she lived (Amy, 53). Pocahontas is one of the few Disney films where the stereotypes are not hidden subtly in the storyline as microaggressions, but instead are set out front and center to grab the viewers’ attention, in a clear attempt to offend Native Americans.
The classic Disney movies Peter Pan and Pocahontas have been staples in many American children’s lives. These seemingly harmless family-friendly films have taught many important life lessons and morals, however, the movies also tend to create racial stereotypes and insinuate the ideas of white settler innocence. The song “Savages” from Pocahontas and the song “What Makes the Red Man Red” from Peter Pan in particular portray these implications. Sherene Razack’s “When Place Becomes Race” explores the correlation and affect that race and space have on each other with in-depth analysis of what makes up each. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s ““The Danger of a Single Story” explains how stereotypes are not only created by a story -which is not necessarily false- but also
Disney has faced a large amount of criticism from critics over the tropes and stereotypes that it portrays in its animated films. This is not a recent event however. One of Disney’s most notorious and controversial films, Song of The South, was released in 1946. Song of the South, set during the Reconstruction Era, focuses on a young boy named Johnny who learns that his parents will being living apart for an unknown amount of time, moves to a plantation in Georgia, while his father continues to live in Atlanta. Depressed and confused over the recent events Johnny decides to run away to Atlanta, but is drawn to the voices of Uncle Remus, an ex-slave living on the plantation, telling stories of Br’er Rabbit. Although it is implied that the African American workers are no longer Johnny’s family property, the black characters are still wholly subservient and are happy to be so. James Baskett plays Uncle Remus as a blissfully, happy companion ready to please. Due to this “magical negro” trope, the characters’ ridiculously stereotypical voices, and the unrealistic happy and joyful relationship between the white landowners and their black help, Song of The South, is one of Disney’s most offensive, racist, and fictitious film. Disney’s portrayal of Uncle Remus is his veiled justification of the mistreatment that minorities received before and after the Reconstruction Era.
Disney creates gender roles, racial roles, and white supremacy through socialization within their motion pictures. For example, Walt Disney’s “Snow White”, “Fantasia”, and even “The Little Mermaid” all show females as obscenely beautiful, male dependent and flirtatious creatures who couldn’t save themselves from a Chinese finger trap. Males are the perfectly sculpted rescuers who can be easily wooed by a woman’s body; and these exaggerated roles create a false standard for children and can lead to severely underdeveloped sociological skills. Moving onto the racial roles; in the movie “All dogs go to
Influencing our youth and future world leaders, Disney can create a racist society. Disney’s films have the capability to create a racist culture in the near
Despite the fact that there are so many Disney films that are (and should be) criticized for their social imperfections, there have been some recent signs of
Psychographic –The average income families, who live in urban areas. Disney has many luxurious hotels to visit with different income levels. Disney beautiful cruise line is target for the cultured class. Disney most definitely planned, strategized and targeted to determine the appropriate way to offer satisfaction.
Using the language of the moving image, which includes cinematography, editing, sound, music and mise-en-scene, this essay will investigate the ideology of Racism in film. OxfordDictionaries.com describes racism as “Prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior.” When we, the audience think of racism in film, we traditionally think of movies for adults and often overlook the sinister aspect of racism in children’s films. I have chosen to contrast a recent R-rated film with a G-rated Disney movie from the 1990s. Disney films, even up until the 1990s have persistently reinforced the image of blacks or latino and asian races as being below whites. The
Apart from the stereotypes, recent Disney princesses have been counteracting the stereotypical images of a Disney princess. They are no longer waiting around for their prince to come and be with them. Instead, they are using their intelligence to achieve their dreams and aspirations. Also, they can be independent and that they don’t always need a man (Bowser n.p.). The portrayal of love in these films are different from the others. The characters are not focused in waiting for their prince. Rather, they were trying to achieve their dreams. In "The Princess and the Frog", Tiana pursues her dream in becoming a restaurant owner. She didn't need a male counterpart to be able to feel happy but only wanted to fulfill her dream to feel happiness.
What images come to mind as one reflects upon his or her childhood? Playgrounds, blackboards, and soccer balls may be among the fondest of memories. Yet, for many, mermaids swim their thoughts, princesses get swept off their feet, and lions roar to their royal place in the animal kingdom. Disney films have captivated the American culture for years and have become a pivotal part of popular culture as well as a form of education. However, these films have devoured the youth of America and, in the process; have perpetuated an institutionally racist society based on harsh stereotypes. Minorities are often underrepresented, and even completely left out, of many Disney films such as Dumbo (1941), The Lion King (1994), Aladdin (1992), and
During the last several decades, the media has become a strong agent in directing and controlling social beliefs and behaviors. Children, by nature, can be particularly susceptible to the influencing powers of the media, opening an avenue where media created especially for children can indoctrinate entire generations. Disney movies, like all other media “are powerful vehicles for certain notions about our culture,” such as racism. (Giroux 32). Racist scenes in Disney movies are often identified as simply being “symbols of the time” when the films were produced. Furthermore, Disney racism is often passed over as simple humor, or as a simple guide to
Hollywood’s leading animation studio has had many instances of stereotyping and being racially insensitive. Two main examples of their racism towards Native American tribes have been Peter Pan and Pocahontas. In both instances, there have been controversial songs that have the Native Americans at the center. Both depict the stereotypes that are not necessarily true of the tribes.
A little girl sits on the floor with her gaze fixed on the television screen in front of her, watching magical images dance before her eyes and catchy songs flow through her ears. Even though she had seen it at least twenty times before, she still loved The Little Mermaid just as much as she did the first time she watched it. As she watched it, she longed to be a beautiful mermaid with a curvy body and wonderful singing voice like Ariel. She longed to be saved by the handsome Prince Eric, and fall in love and live happily ever-after like Ariel did. In today’s society, women strive to achieve equality between the sexes. Despite the tremendous steps that have been taken towards reaching gender equality, mainstream media contradicts these
Background: The history of Walt Disney, and the Disney Corporation, is one shrouded in admiration and accolades for the accomplishment of the American dream. Walt Disney himself is an icon for the American work ethic, i.e., hard work pays off. He is seen as a Horatio Alger, "rags to riches," success story. Beginning his work in animation in the 1920s, Walt Disney gained fame worldwide for his films and theme parks. But Walt Disney created more than films and theme parks. By infusing them with an ideological stance glorifying "the American way of life," his brand of democracy and conservatism, he created a cultural institution. The moralistic stance of his enterprise became common knowledge and it is said that his 1933 version of Three Little Pigs was the last of his cartoons in which the film’s moral messages were open to interpretation [3]
Not many companies can influence the childhood development of many Americans like the Walt Disney Company. Disney, named after their founder, began as just an animation studio called The Walt Disney Studios, which the company describes as “the foundation on which The Walt Disney Company was built”. Today, Disney produces various items targeted at children like toys, clothing, and animation (“Company”). In the paper, Images of Animated Others: The Orientalization of Disney’s Cartoon Heroines From The Little Mermaid To The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Celeste Lacroix of the College of Charleston assesses the portrayal of female heroines from Disney animated films that depicts human main characters, examining the sexualization of non-European or the “exotic” others, and brings to light Disney’s strategy to instill an attitude of consumerism in children. Despite my memorable sentiment with Disney animations as a child, I agree with Lacroix’s assertion that Disney impose consumerism onto children, especially with DVD commercials, tie-in products and “apps” on smartphones and tablets.