Okay, this seems kind of obvious, but I wanted to blog about it anyway.
First of all, I'd like to premise this by pointing out that (if you somehow had not figured this out yet) I consider myself a feminist. The right of all people, regardless of gender, race, sexuality, religion or whatever else, to have equal rights to do whatever they want within the limits of the law and what is sensible, is fundamental to me and along with free speech it is probably my deepest held value. But let me say also that, like many of you, I was raised on Disney movies, particularly the princess movies. And when feminists get up and arms about those movies, it bothers me.
And mind you, I do acknowledge that when you think about it, the messages sent by some of those movies by the behavior of the princesses are truly frightening. Largely, they are docile, submissive, beautiful, stereotypical girls. Take The Little Mermaid. Watching the movie as an adult, when you pay attention, the basic message looks something like this. But when I was a little girl, it was my favorite movie, and I watched it constantly. Though I liked the other movies too, Ariel the airhead was my absolute favorite, and I had a huge crush on Prince Eric. The reason I mention this is to point out that around the same time that I was enamored of The Little Mermaid, my sister and I were playing pretend with our Barbie and Ken dolls... by having Ken act like a misogynist pig, and having all of the barbies gang up and beat up on him. (Completely true story. Ken actually lost a leg at one point due to this behavior). Having our mother, father, and grandmother constantly tell us how important it was that girls stand up for themselves, the questionable messages sent by Ariel didn't even occur to me. I just liked the movie. As a child, what you see on TV and in movies can certainly influence how you think and behave. But the most important influence is going to be your parents. If little girls turn out like Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, it's not necessarily Disney's fault... it's her parents'.
My other complaint with people who vilify Disney is that it seems to me like, no matter what Disney does, they can't win with these people. Princess and the Frog has been accused by some as being racist, and Mulan has been accused by some as being sexist, usually for totally illegitimate reasons. Tiana is seen by some as not being black enough, with 'white' features but just dark skin to offset it. Her original name was Sarah, but when Disney got complaints that Sarah was a 'slave name', they changed it to Tiana. And now people complain that Tiana is too stereotypically black a name. Others have stated that judging by the about two minutes at the end of Mulan where she has returned to her home and her family, and to wearing female clothes, that Mulan forever returns to a role of docility after fighting the war. None of this makes any sense to me.
I mean, I do realize that early Disney princess films are about as sexist as they come. But really... cut them some slack. It's a story, not a political statement.
I've been listening to this Disney issue a lot lately (because one of the other CSP classes studied on it and everyone in their group loves talking about it) and I have to agree with Hana's sentence: It's a story, not a political statement.
ReplyDeleteIt is true that early Disney movies did contain some political incorrect statements that may upset some audience, but the main intention of these movies is to provide an entertainment to children from all around the world. Disney is an easy target for these accusations because it shocks people, and turning what we thought was once pure into evil creates a scandal we all love to hate. In reality, a lot of things, if you want to put a label on it, could be sexist or racist. The fact that Disney had changed the name Sarah showed they are listening to the public, and is avoiding at all cost to be accused of being racist (which obviously did not work out when Tiana was considered too Black).
I'm sure Disney never intended to offend anyone, and these political statements that we accuse of are purely conjectured by ourselves, not Disney. Please don't criticize Disney (at least too much). It is my childhood, and who would want to be told that their childhood is nothing but a bad fat stinky mistake?
Well Ashley, I am inclined to disagree with your last statement. It is extremely important that we analyze certain aspects of our childhood that could be offensive or dangerous. Once we analyze these aspects, we can stop things considered to be offensive, intentional or unintentional.
ReplyDeleteHowever, for the most part I agree with both Ashley and Hanna in that most of the "offensive things" in Disney are for the most part nonexistent. I have learned that some modern critical thinkers have a bad habit of over-analysis. For example, people will point out that the loud mouthed Hyenas in "Lion King" are a stereotype of black people as they laugh obnoxiously. This I consider to be a nonexistent concept because of the fact that anyone can laugh obnoxiously regardless of race. Also, the instances of Mulan being sexist is also nonexistent in the fact the whole movie was dedicated in exploring gender roles.
While Disney in the past has had some offensive portrayals, they are not all blatant. Once again, over-analysis is connecting concepts to Disney that are somewhat nonexistent. This over-analysis is a dangerous way a thinking because it can twist and replace anyone's critical thinking skills with a fantastical imagination.
I'm very glad I stumbled upon this post because this was an issue we talked about in MSI. Having only seen Mulan, Disney has never had a profound affect on me, in fact; at first, I thought racism in Disney was a ridiculous accusation. However, after watching of all the parts "Mickey Mouse Monopoly," i wouldn't say it changed my view completely per se, but it did indeed open my eyes to some of the subliminal messages it sends. I agree that almost everything can be portrayed in a "racist, sexist, etc" manner, and it is true that some critics are a little too harsh in their criticism, but it would be a mistake to completely let Disney off the hook. When you said, "when girls turn out like snow white and sleeping beauty, it is the parents fault," is not entirely true. For me, my parents barely know what Disney is, and on top of that they would never be able to analyze hidden messages masked by cartoon characters. I also think an essential part of this discussion has been missing, that is, the fact that Disney is a corporation, and like most corporations in the world they are out to make money. I think an important question to ask is whether or not Disney should be responsible for what the general "public" interprets their products as, because in the end profit is the driving factor in their intent. Having said that, I also believe that Disney has been getting better in their "political correctness," and however much we critic it, it is unlikely this Fortune 500 Company is going anywhere.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgxVvbai_nI
Has anyone taken a gander at some of the older, pre-Princess Disney movies? I'm not sure if it should be argued that Disney is getting less offensive and less purposefully derogatory to any specific minority group.... but if they haven't, they've gotten much more subtle about it. For example, we look at more recent Disney movies and question their reoccurring portrayl of a female too beautiful for her own good and wonder why only one of the heroine's has brown hair-- they are all much more exotic than that!
ReplyDeleteBut that's merely one stance. It's difficult for me to wrap my head around some of the blatent sexism or racism that many people argue is in the Disney movies, simply because I've grown up with them and loved them.
But seriously-- those early Disney movies? Anyone seen the original "Three Little Pigs"? If you can find it (which might be difficult, because the only versions out there now appear to be editited), note the anti-Semitism readily apparent in the wolf.
How about Disney's "Song of the South", which portrays Uncle Remus as a happy-go-lucky, uneducated black man (note the uncle archetype from Monday's video!!) living contentedly on a plantation post Civil War. Uh, yeah right.
You can find about a zillion examples if you want to-- Fantasia, Mulan, Lady and the Tramp... even Mickey Mouse. The stereotypes run rampant.
@HeMan: I can see your point, but let me clarify: when I say that little girls turn out as Snow Whites or Sleeping Beauties because of their parents, not the movies, I don't mean the earlier, more sexist movies couldn't possibly influence young girls. They easily can. I just think that if the parents tell their little girl (or boy for that matter) something that is contradictory to what the child sees in a movie, they will listen to the parent. That doesn't necessarily mean the parent has to specifically put everything in context in regards to the movie... my parents never did... but just in general, if you teach your child the right thing the influence they receive from a TV program or movie will lose a lot of strength.
ReplyDelete@ Becca: You're definitely right about that. And it's interesting to note (for me at least) that even though I will defend most Disney movies to the death, in the ones I did not watch when I was little, the sexism/racism bothers me more. To be specific, we didn't often watch Snow White (the witch scared my sister the one time she saw it) Sleeping Beauty (my parents were afraid the dragon would scare us) or Pocohantas (we just didn't like it). When I see Snow White and Sleeping Beauty now, the heroines drive me insane. When I see Pocohantas now, the stereotypes drive me insane. I imagine this would be different if I had liked them as a child.