Disney: Dreams and Racism
Darren Lang
Darren Lang
We all grew up on Disney. It was the company that made our dreams come true! Their countless animated stories invaded millions of American households from the 1950s to today. While most of the older cartoons communicated many important moral messages of the time, there always seems to be an aspect that holds these films down. That aspect is racism.
This might be most evident in 1946’s Song of the South. At the time this was visionary, being the first time in Disney history to combine animation with live-action. The movie went on to become a huge success, making over $63 million, and even winning an Oscar for the song “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah”. Hearing this, it’s likely to assume this to be another household Disney classic, but there was one problem. The film took place in the old south and portrayed slavery in a positive light. It even included terms such as “Tar Baby”. Despite this film’s best intentions for the time, which included having it’s main character be African-American which was a revolutionary act for 1946, the obvious racism in the film does not age well. Disney still refuses to release this film on DVD.
Although this may be an extreme example, it showcases many of the stereotypes Disney and a large number of Americans had at that time. These stereotypes show up in many of their more mainstream films from that time. Look no further that Aristocats, a cute movie with talking cats and catchy songs. Despite being shown to millions of kids worldwide, the Disney film included many racist Asian stereotypes.
This is most present during the song “Everybody Wants to be a Cat”. The song includes a siamese cat with buck teeth and squinty eyes. As he plays the piano with chopsticks he says the lines, “Shanghai, Hong Kong, Egg Foo Young. Fortune cookie always wrong!”. There’s also the Disney classic Dumbo, which in one scene includes talking crows who embody many racial stereotypes for African-Americans at the time. This includes smoking and talking in jive, with one of the birds named Jim Crow (a reference to the racial segregation laws).
This is offensive and unacceptable for today’s world. Not only because it is obvious to most adults that racism is wrong, but also negative stereotypes can foster the seeds of racism at an early age. This is not an easy thing to admit. Out of all the students I interviewed, not one of them remembers perceiving it that way. “I just glossed over it. I didn’t notice it until later on in my life” states student Braxton Lee. This even includes myself. When watching Aristocats at a young age I never thought the Siamese cat to be racist. To me he was just a unique character who didn’t seem to resemble any group of people. However in an isolated world where racism is common and exposure to other kids from different cultures is rare, it’s easy to start having a bigoted view.
Although these aspects have not aged well, these films are still classic, pertaining to many happy childhood moments. The most we could have asked for is a change from negative stereotypes to intelligent Disney characters who are better rounded.
Compared to the past, current Disney movies have pushed diversity much farther, and with that a respect for whom they’re portraying. Look at 2017’s Coco, a critically acclaimed Disney/Pixar film which includes mostly hispanic characters. It portrays the hispanic culture with immense sensitivity and knowledge, informing many kids (and adults) of it. Look also at 2017’s live-action reboot of Beauty and the Beast, which made history by including the first openly gay character in Disney history. This became groundbreaking, but despite Disney’s best intentions people still critiqued their reluctance to portray him more openly. “It wasn’t good enough. They're trying to get so much credit by putting a gay character in the movie, but the gay character doesn’t really do anything.” states student Braxton Lee. Still, compared to the past we have come a long way.
In conclusion, Disney still doesn’t show signs of digging deep and creating meaningful characters that represent the best within all of us. These recent movies will likely become classics for generations to come. Let’s just hope we can learn from the past, improve the present, and make good to the future.
This might be most evident in 1946’s Song of the South. At the time this was visionary, being the first time in Disney history to combine animation with live-action. The movie went on to become a huge success, making over $63 million, and even winning an Oscar for the song “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah”. Hearing this, it’s likely to assume this to be another household Disney classic, but there was one problem. The film took place in the old south and portrayed slavery in a positive light. It even included terms such as “Tar Baby”. Despite this film’s best intentions for the time, which included having it’s main character be African-American which was a revolutionary act for 1946, the obvious racism in the film does not age well. Disney still refuses to release this film on DVD.
Although this may be an extreme example, it showcases many of the stereotypes Disney and a large number of Americans had at that time. These stereotypes show up in many of their more mainstream films from that time. Look no further that Aristocats, a cute movie with talking cats and catchy songs. Despite being shown to millions of kids worldwide, the Disney film included many racist Asian stereotypes.
This is most present during the song “Everybody Wants to be a Cat”. The song includes a siamese cat with buck teeth and squinty eyes. As he plays the piano with chopsticks he says the lines, “Shanghai, Hong Kong, Egg Foo Young. Fortune cookie always wrong!”. There’s also the Disney classic Dumbo, which in one scene includes talking crows who embody many racial stereotypes for African-Americans at the time. This includes smoking and talking in jive, with one of the birds named Jim Crow (a reference to the racial segregation laws).
This is offensive and unacceptable for today’s world. Not only because it is obvious to most adults that racism is wrong, but also negative stereotypes can foster the seeds of racism at an early age. This is not an easy thing to admit. Out of all the students I interviewed, not one of them remembers perceiving it that way. “I just glossed over it. I didn’t notice it until later on in my life” states student Braxton Lee. This even includes myself. When watching Aristocats at a young age I never thought the Siamese cat to be racist. To me he was just a unique character who didn’t seem to resemble any group of people. However in an isolated world where racism is common and exposure to other kids from different cultures is rare, it’s easy to start having a bigoted view.
Although these aspects have not aged well, these films are still classic, pertaining to many happy childhood moments. The most we could have asked for is a change from negative stereotypes to intelligent Disney characters who are better rounded.
Compared to the past, current Disney movies have pushed diversity much farther, and with that a respect for whom they’re portraying. Look at 2017’s Coco, a critically acclaimed Disney/Pixar film which includes mostly hispanic characters. It portrays the hispanic culture with immense sensitivity and knowledge, informing many kids (and adults) of it. Look also at 2017’s live-action reboot of Beauty and the Beast, which made history by including the first openly gay character in Disney history. This became groundbreaking, but despite Disney’s best intentions people still critiqued their reluctance to portray him more openly. “It wasn’t good enough. They're trying to get so much credit by putting a gay character in the movie, but the gay character doesn’t really do anything.” states student Braxton Lee. Still, compared to the past we have come a long way.
In conclusion, Disney still doesn’t show signs of digging deep and creating meaningful characters that represent the best within all of us. These recent movies will likely become classics for generations to come. Let’s just hope we can learn from the past, improve the present, and make good to the future.