We round up our discussion of social constructions of racial identity. Cultural studies scholar contend that images have a significant impact on how we view reality. Below is a video of Stuart Hall discussing the complexities of this process. What follows is a documentary about images in Disney films. What do you think? How else can you explain some of the representations that are seen?
I agree with Stuart Hall’s idea that media is based largely on images. Mr. Hall especially got me thinking when he said the term “representation” as “re-presentation.” I strongly believe that there is a large gap of representation between the true meaning of something and how it is portrayed in the media, namely, Disney films. I believe that Disney gives a skewed look at various races in their films, and Dr. Henry Giroux of Mickey Mouse Monopoly made a valid point when he said that Disney is “rewriting history.” However, I think that the analysts and critics are looking at the films from a different perspective than Walt Disney had in mind. We can look deep into any film and critique it from start to finish and find multiple different readings. That is the point of movies; they are entertainment that is left for interpretation by the viewer. For example, is Beauty and the Beast suggesting that women stay in an abusive relationship until they find their “prince,” or is it just trying to give the message to always be kind and treat people how you want to be treated? There is undoubtedly a wide representation of various races in Disney films. But I do not believe they have the intention of marginalizing minorities or misrepresenting them; I may be naïve in this but I really think Disney had the best of intentions to represent all races in their films, and the easiest way to do so is by showing the extreme side of their culture. Whether it is the Chinese, Saudi Arabian or African American cultures, each is overplayed and definitely dramatic. These movies first came out in America, the biggest melting pot in the world. We have hundreds of races, all of which have been Americanized. That makes it hard to accurately represent a specific race without going overboard to get the point across that they are trying to portray a Hispanic, Arabian or Asian character. How do you represent a Hispanic character without a thick accent? Or a Chinese warrior without their specific facial features? It would be nearly impossible. I do not think that Mulan is trying to give the image to all young girls that women have no value at all if they’re not married; however at one point in history, this was a fact of the ancient Chinese culture. I do not look at Cinderella and believe that all step-mothers are evil, but I’m sure that somewhere there is a step-mom who is a bit harsh and unkind. To sum it up, I believe that there are strong, extreme representations of many races in Disney films, and some images may be questionable. I do not think that it is to be racist, but to instead portray different cultures in different ways. After all, I bet people never thought there would be a black princess in The Princess in the Frog. So when I said that there is a strong gap between the true meaning of something and how it is portrayed, I think it is up to the viewer to determine the portrayal for themselves.Disney is indeed re-presenting information, but there is no right or wrong answer as to just how they’re doing it.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching these “Mickey Mouse Monopoly” movies, do I say Disney is to blame for things like verbal and physical domestic abuse? No. Can I say that Disney is to blame to children’s racist views? No. But, it is possible that these movies support these deep-seeded views. Do I think that we should not allow our children to watch these “classics”? Absolutely not. I definitely think that children need to watch these movies. Not because it is good for children to be saturated by media but because I believe it is important for parents to discuss what their children are watching with them.
ReplyDeleteAll media, whether it be from a mogul like Disney or an independent film, has potential for discussion and learning. I do not think that the main problem is the actual content of the films but that parents today use the films as babysitters. Instead of watching the films with our children, parents put on a movie and walk away; some not having any idea what the film I about. If parents would be aware of what they are showing their children and be willing to take the time to sit down with them and converse about what they just watched, these films could be valuable teaching tools. For example, parents could use the Lion King as entertainment, but after watching the movie, go to the library and look at books about what Africa is really like. I think it is important to tell them that the characters are simply that, made up characters.
When I was younger I did not notice these underlying messages that the characters represented with their particular qualities. I have to say that I honestly have not seen these Disney films since I was little. Now seeing parts of these films, I do see the racist stereotypical qualities particular characters in the films possess. However, I do not think that these qualities have been given to the specific characters intentionally. It's not like someone said, "We're going to make the monkeys appear to be like African Americans, or the Chihuahua to be a derogatory representation of a Latino.” I honestly think that it is majority white writers who write these films and they just write what’s “normal” to them and what they’ve always known. People write things based on their own experiences and what they’ve been influenced with during their lives. Just like the guy in the one clip that talked about how watching his son skateboard and snowboard, influenced him to depict Tarzan similar to a surfer. People make things out to be the way they see them, and that solely comes through what people have experienced in their lives.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that I took notice to, is the fact that in these clips, you see the minorities themselves talking about the particular characters given minority attributes. The Latina is making aware the characteristics and the stereotype being given to the Chihuahua, and the African American woman is talking about blacks being related to monkeys and orangutans, and the Asian woman is speaking about the discrimination of Asians with the Siamese cats. In no way am I trying to be offensive, but you don’t see a white person talking about these characters, but you see the race talking about the particular race given to the animated character. I think this is due to the fact that minorities do tend to notice when their race is being made evident through characters. Whites do not take notice of this, because whites are portrayed in all different types of roles, while minorities are usually portrayed in negative or derogatory roles. Overall, I do see the representations of the races with particular roles/characters, and I do not agree with that, however, I don’t think this is intentional and I think people read too much into these messages.
After watching these clips, I have a better perspective of what people mean when they say Disney films are racist or sexist. Growing up we watched every disney movie and never once did I see the films as having a negative affect on me or my perspective of other races. Disney movies take place in different countires all over the world however the writers are mostly American people who probably havent traveled or been to the places they are writing about. The writers of Disney are aiming to entertain young children using animals and princesses. They aren't trying to drill into kids that African Americans are bad or that latinos are bad, they are just writing childrens movies. The part of the clip where they show the responses of children are interesting however I would like to know what the girls were asked because I feel that they were probably led to that answer, as a child I never saw the beast as abusive, just angry and mean because he was cursed. I think that there are people who analyze these films so much that there is nothing Disney could do to make these critics happy. Disney films are mostly derived from other fairy tales that were written long ago. They aren't intentionaly trying to be racist or make littler girls believe that its ok to be in an abusive relationship, they arent evil people set out to make the world a bad place. They are writing childrens stories and songs and judging by their success, they have done a pretty good job.
ReplyDeleteDisney movies were always the highlight of my childhood, I rarely missed one until I turned 10.I watched them multiple times, bought the read along book, and even went to Disney on ice. Only last year when I worked at an inner-city daycare as an assistant teacher did I start to think twice about Disney movies and their stereotyping. During my time there I was a minority as a white woman and was stereotyped many times but mostly as positive traits.
ReplyDeleteDuring the time I was teaching there the movies “the princess and the frog” was released. I started noticing the girls wearing Disney brand clothes with Princess Tiana on them. I thought there was racial progress happening because they finally made a ‘black’ princess movie, but then I realized that was the problem…it was completely different from all the other Disney movies.
As these educated analyst mentioned in their discussion of Disney these movies create a social conscious of racial identities and whether intentional or not they have the same out come. Another example of Disney’s social constructs in action was “Beauty and the beast” as a child this was my favorite princess, mostly because she had an amazing library, but also because she ‘tamed the beast’. This theme later echoed in 2 abusive relationships. When re-analyzing the over-arching theme of “Beauty and the beast” I could point out tell-tale signs of psychological and physical abuse perpetrated by the beast.
Disney must take accountability and create a new ontology to be able to make realistic films.
Disney movies have always been movies that I have watched my whole life, I believe that Disney is leading in their field as far as entertainment goes, but I think their portrayal of minorities in these movies is not supposed to be racist but just a way of showing distinction between the races. I feel that when Disney started placing minorities in their films, they had to create characters that were stereotypical because this was the only way people could see them. But at the same time I don’t believe that this was the right thing to do. I really don’t know what the exact right thing to do to portray characters because I have never seen a movie or show that has showed me an accurate depiction of any people. I feel that the consumers just taking the movies for what they face are to blame. I believe that this problem is something that takes time to change. I think people need to understand that things are not going to change over night and need to be patient. But my opinion is that of a person who has grown up in a world that is completely different from the ones of the people who were around for Disney’s earlier films.
ReplyDeleteWithin the first two minutes of the 2nd video I was appalled with what the way the woman interpreted the video. The way she looked at it as Belle being accepting and able to stick around the "rude" beast even though he was mean. If she took in consideration how he became a beast, she could understand the reason he was the way that he was. A beautiful woman lures the handsome wealthy prince and she ends up being a witch and casting a spell on him. He had been a beast for a long time. By the time he met Belle he was frustrated that he could not be a real human, was secluded to his castle with only furniture to talk to. This essential MAN was frustrated. If the opposite sex did you wrong, don't you think you could have a bias opinion of all the opposite sex? Its how radical feminists treat ALL MEN. They don't all respect men, and they try and do whatever it takes to be better and be higher than they. I believe that the movie was not trying to portray that representation to little girls that they should essentially be doormats for men.
ReplyDeleteA somewhat decent example of the role reversal, could be Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, where the suitors are demeaned by Katherine, but yet in the end she is broken and becomes a lady. So in this case would she make the same argument for men to not take that from women!?! Just a thought.
I have a whole new perspective on Disney movies after watching the YouTube clips. As I have grown up I have heard more and more about how Disney movies are racists and inappropriate. I have recently watched a few and I noticed inappropriate jokes and gestures that I never noticed when I was younger. Disney movies take place in all parts of the world but never did I pay attention to how incorrect they really are. They may have made a character that was supposed to be dark skinned a little bit lighter to appeal to the audience. It’s sad that movie producers feel that they have to appeal to the masses when in reality these movies are being watched by little kids who don’t pay close attention to those details. However, I can understand where some of the criticism is coming from. You have to question things to fully understand them. I would like to think that today Disney takes greater consideration into how they portray race in their movies. We have come a long way since “The Lion King” and “Lady and the Tramp.” Just recently Disney made a movie called “The Princess Frog” which had an African-American girl as its main character. Disney has come a long way from their first movies. I don’t think that they have intentionally portrayed race incorrectly but they need to be more aware of how they portray it today and be more respectful to other countries and their cultures.
ReplyDeleteAs a kid, almost everything that I watch was Disney, whether it is movies or the channel on TV. I think that these Disney movies teach children valuable life lessons, like not to judge people for what is on the outside, but what is on the inside. Still to this day as a 21 year old, I still enjoy watching Disney movies and enjoy their plots and messages for what they are, not what people construed them to be. For example some people think that the movie Beauty and the Beast teaches girls to say with abusive people and to look past all of that and see men for what is on the inside. This to me is just ridiculous! At no point did I ever think that the Beast was an abusive person towards Belle, yes I thought he was angry. This anger Belle helped him work past and to become someone who was much nicer and pleasant. Also I agree with the person who said that many of the Disney movies are based off of old fairy tales and other old stories, and that back then that was the way that people referred to other groups, and that Indians for a long time was the terminology that was used for Native Americans. People just need to relax and enjoy these movies for what they are and stop looking at them with a fine tooth comb. Also they need to take into consideration when the movies were made and from what they were biased off of. Maybe if these critics would do that, they would enjoy things much more.
ReplyDeleteI actually see this problem from two different perspectives. First, when I first watched these clips I finally understood what everyone has been talking about for years when it comes to Disney movies being controversial and on the lines of racist. For filmmakers to portray certain animals, how they speak, act, etc. as one culture is a bit risky really. At the end of the day everyone on this earth is different; no matter what culture, background, or class someone comes from there is at least one trait separating and bringing people together. So it is a bit of stretch to imitate in disney films a culture, and say this is how they act, talk, etc. So I understand the argument and frustrations people have with Disney, and to really think about it; it is wrong and teaches our children the wrong impressions of other cultures other than their own. My second view of this argument is all my life I have grown up watching Disney Films, and I can honestly say I never once really looked into the films as deep as this argument has brought it out to be. Just because disney portrayed two siamese cats to represent asiansin the movie, I didn't interpurt that all asian culture was actuallly like that; nor did I even really think anything of it other than disney was trying to portray several different cultures in their movies to avoid discrimination perhaps?? It could be a far-fetched idea, but both perspectives are viewable.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the video clips I can see the misrepresentations that is being presented in some of the Disney films. As a child, I watched a lot of Disney movies and none of these racist or sexist factors came to mind, but that was because I was a child. When watching the movies as a child, it was about your favorite character or the sing along songs. As the two little girls in the video clip explained that they never see black people in the movies, this is an example of how children might not recognize the animals as black or white, but they see them as good or bad, and in most cases they were viewed as bad. Now that I am older I can recognize that the animals are represented as African American, Asian, and Hispanic. The way the animals are portrayed in the films are misleading and discriminating. One of the most recent Disney films I watched was Princess and the Frog. I did find that movie to be very discriminating in many ways. From the princess's name, to the voodoo that took place, the fact that she worked for the whites and there are plenty more examples. I'm not saying that Disney is racist in any way, but the way some of the characters are represented could make you think otherwise.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Mickey Mouse monopoly, watching this video is almost mind blowing. Growing up primarily watching these Disney films we never notice the underlying messages. They are sexual, racist, and give children the perception that they need a prince or that special man in their lives to make them special. I think the biggest issues between these films are the underlying sexual, and racial aspects. Being a child you don’t typically notice these things, but I do remember being in high school and someone telling me that there was a hidden penis on the cover of the little mermaid case in the castle, I spent 20 minutes one day looking over this case cover determined to find this so called penis, and sure enough it was there hidden right on the cover for all to see. Also I can remember different sexual messages being hidden in Aladdin and other classic Disney movies.
ReplyDeleteRace is also a factor in these films they typically make characters portray stereotypical roles. The characters that are supposed to be Latin are typically involved in some kind of crime, and they give characters that are supposed to be black deep voices, and great dance moves. But the white characters are just there as characters they are typically the main roles and act vastly different from the characters portraying a different race.
When I was growing up, Disney movies and shows were great entertainment. I just remember watching Tarzan every day before school and never thinking twice that these movies have racist and sexist elements in the movie. I disagree with the women’s interpretation of Beauty and Beast and completely agree with everyone else on this blog about how ridiculous her analysis was. It was only one scene from the entire movie. Beast was not verbally abusive the entire film and never physical hurt Belle. Yes Beast may have had a few outbursts but who has not. Besides the movie had a much strong message of seeing pass outer beauty and to look for inner beauty. When we were doing that exercise in class of picking ritualism out of Disney films like the Lion King and Sharks Tale, I just thought that no child is going to even know what is going on. Oh the Lion’s are the white people, Hyena’s are Hispanic, gender misrepresentation and class hierarchy our in this the film or in Shark’s tale, mafia voices are portrayed using Italian American voices. I completely agree with some other people on the blog, it is too hard to pick these messages up as a child. It is only as adult that we are able now recognized that Disney movies have stereotypical images of minorities. But in addition, we as adult have the knowledge to know that that these stereotypes are not true.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with Stuart Hall media is based on images, but when I was younger I never linked race to the Disney characters. When the lady was explaining how her friend's son saw a group of black kids I was surprised because I would have never put two and two together like that. I mean these kids are young, I'm twenty years old and I don't even think that far into a movie, especially a Disney movie. Watching these video and seeing what they have to say really brings your attention to it. When they were talking about the Beauty and the Beast they had an amazing point saying that if Belle looks past the violence and keeps being nice to him, it will change him. What is that telling the girls who are nine/ ten years old? Could that possibly lead them into an abusive relationship and they will just stay with the guy because they think that being nice will fix everything. I'm not really sure how much of an impact Disney movies are really making on children, but now that I see it through these people's eyes, Disney movies are really giving a bad outlook of the world.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteTo Stuart Hall does have a good point on images, since now we have talked about it in class? One cartoon I can recall is Scoop Do of how the creator stereotyped Thelma because she was smart by making her look average the glasses knee high socks, short hair, and freckles on her face. To me they were trying to play down Thelma due to her intelligent. As oppose to how Jane was made up attractive looking tall skinny long hair very and didn't have a brain. As a young child I have been brain washed that looks do matter but in reality they do so type extend. But this cartoon over all did make an impact on me as child by silently saying you should pay more attention to Jane because of her looks. My question is Dose the way female cartoon characters are portrayed can be damaging to a young girls mind as far as looks and self esteem?
ReplyDeleteI agree with a lot of what was said in these videos. We should look at these films like art in a museum and be sure not to assume the values or direct intentions of the creators. I believe that Americans operate with massive blinders on. White America has created a status quo for all who live in and outside of its boundaries, and in turn is not only the reason why we usually don't recognize this stuff, but the reason we create it as well. Until people are able to code and decode these messages in an unbiased manner we will only be able to see through these messages, like smudges on a car window, we only notice when we directly focus our attention on them. It is important to know that these messages exist, but it is also important to understand that there are much more outright racist and biased messages being sent through other texts. This points to the solution this this is a cultural problem and not one of the media in and of itself. People who let these issues go unnoticed are just as much of a problem as the people who create the messages. That being said, yes it is still okay for children to view these films. I think we can all take comfort in the fact that Disney films are not our children's primary source of education. Fortunately parents and the schools should (and usually do) have more influence than cartoons. Problems only become problems when we decide to diverge and create them. Had the people in this film never done this, then maybe our view of these films would still be the way they were when we were 5. But we are only human, we love creating problems because we love solving them, so talk about these films to your kids when you have them, talk about them if you don't, because talking about these things is the only way we can develop a well-rounded outlook on the media.
ReplyDeleteThe Mickey Mouse monopoly video really made me believe that Disney movies are racist. The underlying messages, intentional or not, really do impact children. When the one lady explained how a child said that African American boys they heard laughing on the play ground sounded just like the hyenas from the Lion King I was blown away because she said that the child knew the hyenas were bad in the movie. If it is not explained to a child that these are just fictional characters they can grow up with these negative stereotypes. Another thing that caught my attention was how it was said that all characters representing minorities in Disney films have poor slurred speech making kids think that minorities are uneducated or slow. In the end, I think that it is very irresponsible for Disney to not catch these underlying messages and that so many of their films carry similar racist messages. Children retain everything they learn especially from things they like so I believe that Disney should be required to have their films evaluated and approved by a board of persons qualified to make sure that these messages are avoided.
ReplyDelete