So, rather then doing my six page essay for English, I decided to look up random videos on Youtube and I was surprised to find a large variety of videos that explained how Disney was racist, violent, sexist, etc. I watched a few of them, out of curiosity, but none of them made a valid point. All they managed to do was disgust me.
One of them claimed that Disney promoted male dominance. I'll admit that many of the OLD Disney movies, such as Snow White and Cinderella, made men look so much stronger, but even those have their good points. For example, Snow White's prince didn't come until the end of the movie. Up until that point she, a young girl, was able to fend for herself in the woods. Yes, she had the seven (male) dwarves, but they were more like children then dominating men. The video I watched also gave Gaston, from Beauty and the Beast, as an example and I'm still wondering how that proves his/her point. Gaston was a VILLAIN who ends up dead. Yes, he was a sexist pig but he shows kids that being sexist is bad, if anything. The video also showed the songs 'I'll Make a Man out of You' and 'A Girl Worth Fighting For' from Mulan. Yes, these songs show that they prefer big strong men and that men prefer women that just listen to them. But the whole point of the movie is that these songs were wrong. The guys singing them realize at the end that women can kick a** too.
Another video promoted the idea that Disney is racist. They gave the example of Dumbo, specifically the crows (apparently the leader is named Jim Crow) and the song 'Song of the Roustabouts'. I won't say that the movie doesn't have some racist scenes, but this movie was made in 1941. When this movie came out, racism was socially acceptable. My knowledge of old movies is very limited, but I'm almost 100% sure that there are plenty of other movies, maybe even other kid's movies, with similar themes that were made during that time period. (I know there's plenty of literature with those stereotypes.) Of course it seems terrible now, but that's because it's totally anachronistic in our time period. That's like judging the special effect or whatever of an an old movie, and pitting it against a new movie. Of course the old effect seem terrible now; they've improved and changed since then. Moral, too, have changed and it makes no sense to compare the morals of the 40s to the morals of today. Another, more modern, point that this person made was in Aladdin. (S)he claimed that Jafar was made to look more Arabic, while Aladdin and Jasmin looked more Caucasian. Personally, I don't see how Jafar looks more Arabic. All three characters were similar clothing, they all have tanner skin tones, they all have jet black hair... If anything, Jafar is the one that's more Caucasian, since he has a slight British accent. (S)he also pointed out he fact that in the song 'Arabian Nights' there's a line that says "Where they cut off your ear if they don't like your face; It's barbaric, but hey, it's home". However, the lyrics were changed when the movie was rereleased on DVD, so clearly Disney, too, has changed it's standers since 1992. The new lyrics are much more "politically correct". They now say "Where it's flat and immense, and the heat is intense; It's barbaric, but hey, it's home". So even those lyrics say nothing against Disney. Again, standers were just far looser then, which is something that can be seen in anything, not just Disney. Watch any old (and old could be as early as the 90s) cartoon or kid's show/movie, and I'm sure you'll find themes that current cartoons wouldn't dare to touch. (For example, the first season so Sesame Street is sold with a warning label on it, because it's no longer suitable for kids of today.)
The reason those Youtube videos bothered me so much was not because I am a Disney fan, but because I think kids these days are far too protected. I grew up on Disney movies and, look at that!, I'm not submissive to men nor am I a racist. In fact, I consider myself very open minded. It's absolutely moronic, in my opinion, to look for these kinds of themes in kids movies. Little kids aren't going to be watching Aladdin and think "Hmm, Jafar is darker skinned and this movie clearly takes place in the Middle East. Therefor, Arabs = evil." Most little kids won't even know what the hell and Arab or the Middle East is. (Well, maybe with the "War on Terror" going on they might, but you get my point.) People are overanalyzing and destroying these poor movies in an attempt to protect the youth, when really they're taking away stories that actually give good messages, or at least wonderful entertainment.
tl;dr version: Disney isn't racist or sexist. People need to stop looking for this kind of stuff in kids movies.
One of them claimed that Disney promoted male dominance. I'll admit that many of the OLD Disney movies, such as Snow White and Cinderella, made men look so much stronger, but even those have their good points. For example, Snow White's prince didn't come until the end of the movie. Up until that point she, a young girl, was able to fend for herself in the woods. Yes, she had the seven (male) dwarves, but they were more like children then dominating men. The video I watched also gave Gaston, from Beauty and the Beast, as an example and I'm still wondering how that proves his/her point. Gaston was a VILLAIN who ends up dead. Yes, he was a sexist pig but he shows kids that being sexist is bad, if anything. The video also showed the songs 'I'll Make a Man out of You' and 'A Girl Worth Fighting For' from Mulan. Yes, these songs show that they prefer big strong men and that men prefer women that just listen to them. But the whole point of the movie is that these songs were wrong. The guys singing them realize at the end that women can kick a** too.
Another video promoted the idea that Disney is racist. They gave the example of Dumbo, specifically the crows (apparently the leader is named Jim Crow) and the song 'Song of the Roustabouts'. I won't say that the movie doesn't have some racist scenes, but this movie was made in 1941. When this movie came out, racism was socially acceptable. My knowledge of old movies is very limited, but I'm almost 100% sure that there are plenty of other movies, maybe even other kid's movies, with similar themes that were made during that time period. (I know there's plenty of literature with those stereotypes.) Of course it seems terrible now, but that's because it's totally anachronistic in our time period. That's like judging the special effect or whatever of an an old movie, and pitting it against a new movie. Of course the old effect seem terrible now; they've improved and changed since then. Moral, too, have changed and it makes no sense to compare the morals of the 40s to the morals of today. Another, more modern, point that this person made was in Aladdin. (S)he claimed that Jafar was made to look more Arabic, while Aladdin and Jasmin looked more Caucasian. Personally, I don't see how Jafar looks more Arabic. All three characters were similar clothing, they all have tanner skin tones, they all have jet black hair... If anything, Jafar is the one that's more Caucasian, since he has a slight British accent. (S)he also pointed out he fact that in the song 'Arabian Nights' there's a line that says "Where they cut off your ear if they don't like your face; It's barbaric, but hey, it's home". However, the lyrics were changed when the movie was rereleased on DVD, so clearly Disney, too, has changed it's standers since 1992. The new lyrics are much more "politically correct". They now say "Where it's flat and immense, and the heat is intense; It's barbaric, but hey, it's home". So even those lyrics say nothing against Disney. Again, standers were just far looser then, which is something that can be seen in anything, not just Disney. Watch any old (and old could be as early as the 90s) cartoon or kid's show/movie, and I'm sure you'll find themes that current cartoons wouldn't dare to touch. (For example, the first season so Sesame Street is sold with a warning label on it, because it's no longer suitable for kids of today.)
The reason those Youtube videos bothered me so much was not because I am a Disney fan, but because I think kids these days are far too protected. I grew up on Disney movies and, look at that!, I'm not submissive to men nor am I a racist. In fact, I consider myself very open minded. It's absolutely moronic, in my opinion, to look for these kinds of themes in kids movies. Little kids aren't going to be watching Aladdin and think "Hmm, Jafar is darker skinned and this movie clearly takes place in the Middle East. Therefor, Arabs = evil." Most little kids won't even know what the hell and Arab or the Middle East is. (Well, maybe with the "War on Terror" going on they might, but you get my point.) People are overanalyzing and destroying these poor movies in an attempt to protect the youth, when really they're taking away stories that actually give good messages, or at least wonderful entertainment.
tl;dr version: Disney isn't racist or sexist. People need to stop looking for this kind of stuff in kids movies.
