Praises Disney for warning of films with racist content – NRK Culture and Entertainment

If you subscribe to Disney + and want to see Disney classics like Peter Pan, The Aristocats and Dumbo, you will now be greeted with a note.

Observation sheds light on the fact that movies are outdated and contain negative depictions and representations of different people and cultures.

Racist caricature and exaggerated stereotypes

Disney has been criticized for several years for having stereotypical representations of different ethnic groups.

Among other things, it has been noted that the movie Aristocats contains racist caricatures of Austrian people, because they are portrayed with exaggerated stereotypical features such as narrow eyes.

When it comes to Peter Pan, the film has been criticized for portraying Native Americans as stupid.

Also, they are known as redskins, which many interpret as noisy.

In a dance number, Peter Pan is dressed in headdresses and other accessories that are native to the indigenous people.

Now Disney is taking self-criticism, calling the Peter Pan scenes a mockery and appropriation of indigenous culture. That is, cultural appropriation.

– These stereotypes were wrong then, and they are now, says the study to its own website Stories Matter.

Also read: Disney movies hurt Elle-Máijá when she was a child

Will not delete content

Disney says that rather than removing the content, it would rather acknowledge the damaging effects these movies can have. They want to encourage people and their seafarers to reflect and talk about this, to create a more inclusive future together.

– We are committed to creating stories that reflect the rich diversity of human experiences around the world, they write.

Disney + has commented on the outdated cultural representations of the films in question since the streaming service launched, but has now expanded the language and length.

It comes after consulting with an advisory body that includes several organizations working to care for African American, Asian and queer interests.

Also, they have seen a much greater focus on this topic on their Stories Matter website.

– Important and fantastic

– This is very important. It is absolutely amazing.

– Society is evolving, and to some extent Well, not removing films with discriminatory content is the best option for writing a poster that the content is offensive or problematic, says Linda Tinuke Strandmyr.

She is the deputy director of Agenda X, which is the youth department of the Anti-racist Center. They work with cultural and leisure activities for young people and anti-racist youth policy.

She hopes this can influence the decisions Disney makes in the future and that they can facilitate more inclusive content.

– If one is going to make a film based on a country or culture different from oneself, then it is important that the people from that country and culture set the tone and the premises, he says.

– But is it really necessary to have a warning in old Disney movies, don’t you think people understand that they are out of date?

– If required. It is dangerous to assume that people are aware of racism in such movies.

He adds that Disney movies are eternally relevant and that kids grow up watching old Disney movies too.

– And it is not easy for children to have a critical eye. Everything that children see helps shape their attitudes. The power of Disney should not be underestimated.