Growing up means facing realities about things or people we love. That could mean not being shielded anymore from family arguments, or realizing that most of the beloved toys we played with encouraged a lifelong adherence to oppressive gender roles.
As for me, I loved Disney movies, and I still do. Unfortunately, part of the aforementioned cynicism has been realizing the problematic representations of different ethnic groups by Disney films. If you own a first-edition copy of Aladdin, you'll notice that, in the song, "Arabian Nights," the lyrics say, "where they cut off your ear if they don't like your face," in reference, of course, to the Middle East (the lyric has since been changed). The Jungle Book contains its own blatant approval of imperialism when the 'savage' apes sing that they want to be like the 'civilized' Mowgli. And of course, who can forget Jim Crow from Dumbo?
Aside from Native Africans and African-Americans, the most poorly represented group in Disney are probably the Native Americans. Perhaps the worst representation is from Peter Pan, during the song, "What Makes the Red Man Red?" The song says that, long ago, Native Americans were the 'normal' color of white. One day, a girl kissed a Native American man, making him blush and turning his skin permanently red. It would be cute if it weren't so offensive. This is also a slight to other non-Whites because it implies that white is the natural color that human skin should be.
One of my favorite movies from childhood, Pocahontas, seems to be a source of contention among the Native people as well. While certain historians claim that it is relatively accurate, this Native writer begs to differ. Because I generally believe in the media's ability to royally screw up everything, I'm going to put my money on the Native writer's account.
This can be, needless to say, disappointing. How can we reconcile our love of these films with the truth not only for ourselves, but more importantly, for our children? Where does a cute story end and racial insensitivity begin? Any thoughts?
