I found the article called "The 10 Biggest Disney Controversies", which is a pretty self explanatory title. In this article, the author includes a quote that I believe sums up most of the controversy with Disney as a whole in two ways. The author writes, "Unfortunately, many Disney films have not aged well." I believe this is the central problem with Disney films because kids rarely watch a movie and are outraged by the racism and stereotyping- only adults have this reaction. The author did not mean for this quote to mean "aged well" as in aged with the audience, but I feel it also applies to this interpretation. The author meant that the old Disney films, such as Cinderella, are not as well received by audience's now, but why should they be expected to be? They were made for the audience in those times, so how could the writers anticipate what would be socially acceptable in the future? The answer is they could not so this is an unfair standard to hold these movies to. If these messages are so outdated why do we keep watching them today? It is because people still get enjoyment out of these movies so maybe the viewers should be held accountable for keeping the old movies relevant, because the makers movies themselves could not have anticipated them to still be watched.
Number 10 talks about the crows in Dumbo and how they were all voiced by African-American actors, and the leader is voiced by a white actor. This is certainly a controversial issue for the people who picked the voices for these roles; however, to say that these voices had any effect of the viewers of the movie would be racist in itself. The audience should in most cases not be able to tell the race of the actors by their voices. I do not remember the movie well and this may be a naive point of view but the only thing the choice in voices should effect is the internal thoughts of the company on itself, or people who happened to have heard this information.
Number 9 talks about the drug references and imagery in the movie Alice in Wonderland. Alice eats mushrooms, and the caterpillar smokes Hookah. I think that the creators of Disney movies sometimes forget that adults, although they aren't the intended audience, do also see the movies. Adults who get the references to drugs see this movie. Maybe I should write a letter to Disney to let them know.
Number 8 discusses the racism towards Native Americans in Peter Pan. The red faced are just so wrong and not even accurate. I have never met anyone with a face color of that hue, that was just a major mistake.
Number 7 talks about Lady and The Tramp and the Japanese racism shown by the siamese cats. Even though these racist ideas are awful, it is kind of interesting to see how the thoughts of the country are shown through these movies, almost like a historical record. I wonder if studying Disney movies alone could be turned into a history class.
Number 6 discusses the apes in The Jungle Book, who some say represent African-Americans in American society and their struggle to be seen as more civilized. I have seen the movie and this connection seems fairly accurate. The movie is just general enough to not blow the cover off of this racism; however, there is definitely a vibe that is felt almost as if the apes are a gang.
Number 5 talks about the phallic symbols in The Little Mermaid. Apparently the castle looks like it has a penis on it. If this is on purpose I just do not understand. Were the animators bored and wondering if anyone would catch it?
Number 4 discusses Pocahontas. I knew we weren't getting out of this list without that movie being mentioned, for obvious racial reasons. I've already talked about this one in depth- to see more on that reference my reflection on the movie.
Number 3- Aladdin. Yes, another obvious choice for the list. The racism is just laughable to Arab groups who do not even take the movie seriously. Tom Cruise was the model for Aladdin, a Middle Eastern character- enough said.
Number 2 is a movie I haven't seen commentary on before, although I can imagine what would be said: Tangled. The argument in the article is about the female villain obsessed with being young and the unfeasibly skinny, young blonde princess. I don't really think this movie should be number 2 on the list, there really isn't that much material there.
*Sound the trumpets!*
Number 1 is......... The Disney Princesses! Not a movie but all of the princesses as a whole. The Disney Princesses have been said to set a bad example for all women by conforming to stereotypes; however, I feel this view will fall out of favor because Disney is getting smarter and evolving every day. There will always be criticism because of the size of the company and its relevance to society, but hopefully the criticism will start to gain less traction as Disney improves.
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