Racism in Disney Animated Films

After watching the excerpt of documentary from class, I keep thinking about it. Maybe I can’t stop thinking about it because I never consciously noticed the racist views in Disney animated films as a child. Or, maybe it is because I have loved Disney my whole life and now have come to realize that some of my favorite films have racist ideas. I want blog about some of the ideas presented in the documentary in my conflicted state.

I found the comment made by one of the professors on the documentary that we watched in class very enlightening. She said something like it doesn’t matter if the racism in Disney animated films was intentional or not, the fact of the matter is that it there and has the same effect as if it were intentional. This quote made me realize that either the creators of past Disney movies (the more recent ones have been more progressive and sensitive and less racist) are either ignorant or blatantly racist. Honestly, I am not sure which one is worse.

The documentary also pointed out that real people write the scripts and draw the cartoons of Disney animated films. Too often we assume that Mickey Mouse himself writes Disney animated films. In this way, Disney animators and writers hide behind the innocent and harmless face of Mickey Mouse. The public then assumes that Mickey Mouse and transitively the Disney animators and writers can do no wrong. This assumption is dangerous and gives Disney animated films the benefit of the doubt and the license to produce pretty much anything. It is imperative that we remember that Mickey Mouse does not make Disney animated films. Rather, the creators are adults with human like tendencies. They make mistakes, have prejudices, and develop stereotypes. Unfortunately, whether intentionally or unintentionally, these prejudices and stereotypes are expressed through the animated films they create.

Those who defend Disney animated films and their racist views often cite that these films are simply a reflection of the times. Many of the most racist films were created during the 40’s and 50’s when segregation and discrimination were rampant. Many animated films after the 50’s that have racist views can often be attributed to who the United States was at war with at the time. For instance, the movie Aladdin was being made during the Gulf War and was released shortly after the war ended. The movie reinforces false stereotypes about Arab culture and characterizes the whole culture as violent, barbaric, and oppressive towards women and the poor which is simply not true.

The reason that the racism in past Disney films is problematic today is because children still watch those films. Often, these films are American children’s first exposure to other cultures. For instance, a five-year-old American child may have little experience with Arab culture. When this child sees the movie Aladdin and is presented with stereotypes and prejudice views, the movie will affect their perception of Arab culture in a negative way. Even though most of the Disney animated films were created over 20 years ago, they can still influence children today.

While I still love Disney and most its films, I am glad that I learned about the darker side to its animated films. It is becoming more apparent that there are multiple perspectives and sides to everything in the world including Disney animated films, and it is imperative to listen to every side of an argument to get the full picture. Hopefully, Disney will continue to release films like Zootopia and no longer include racist views in their films so that they are a positive influence on children.