Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Of the all the Disney stereotypes...
...which ones are the most problematic to you? Also, if or when you have kids, are Disney movies fair game to keep them busy and inspire imagination? or will you censor and look to other routes? Also, feel free to comment if their stereotypes aren't problematic to you...
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3 comments:
the pictures are a nice touch I must say. Just so you know, they are introducing an african-american princess to the mix this year. If I ever had children, I would probably try to find some alternatives
Here's the problem, Blair. The pic you used of the Indian Chief from Peter Pan is from one of my favorite scenes.
I absolutely love that song "What Makes the Red Man Red?" It's catchy, upbeat, and snappy. Unfortunately, it's also incredibly, incredibly racist.
And as for the African-American princess this year, I'm a bit disappointed. Instead of using a good African legend - like the Mali legends of Sundiata Keita - they're adapting the Frog Princess and setting it in New Orleans during the Jazz Age.
Um...wtf?
Yeah, William, but they did do "The Lion King" where they loosely adapted a dead-old-white-guy's story to be set in Africa. That makes Nala an AFRICAN princess. But of course she gets no play. No play at all.
And maybe instead of stereotype, Blair, you should use caricature. I'm not sure on that, though.
And the most offensive...watch "Song of the South" (which features Zippa-dee-doo-dah, not that the song itself is offensive) and "Dumbo" (the crows). They're awful.
Disney, however, didn't just do full-length animated movies, either. "Song of the South" is combined live-action and animation. There are live-action movies where they depict women in very stereotypical "home-maker" roles, and flagrant caricatures of African Americans. He also produced animated shorts that used animated depictions of "black-faced" cartoons.
Disney was by no means perfect. Let's not forget he's accused of being antisemitic. But most of his work came out of a time that was less sensitive to stereotypes. It wasn't politically incorrect to stretch gender and race depictions to extremes. For clarification purposes, though, do realize I'm not forgiving it.
But as far as letting my kids watch Disney...HECK YES. Disney is magical. You can always talk to your kids about stereotypes and racism where those parts come up. Use it as a learning tool.
Also, I revise my answer and say first mermaids. How stereotypical to think the UPPER half is human?
Also chimney sweeps.
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