All classic disney movies are racist
- Thread starter Some bullets
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So what you're saying is that we're somehow supposed to excuse the racism, because it was a long time ago and a lot of people thought it was right? Seriously?The_root_of_all_evil said:
Pretty sure there was a scene Disney had in Dumbo (it was cut from the major release), which had black construction workers singing about being worthless, etc.
When the older Disney films were made everyone was racist, most older Disney films weren't racist anyway (Wait, or is not having a token black guy racist?), and the one's that were weren't that bad except Song of the South.
I can perfectly understand why they've waited so long to have a black Princess, just look at all the controversy they've had about Princess and the Frog. Her names too steriotypical, her voice has too much af an accent, she looks too black, she doesn't look black enough, OMFG she's a maid? Evil Disney, EVIL!!11!
They can't do right for doing wrong. Seriously, people are too picky.
I can perfectly understand why they've waited so long to have a black Princess, just look at all the controversy they've had about Princess and the Frog. Her names too steriotypical, her voice has too much af an accent, she looks too black, she doesn't look black enough, OMFG she's a maid? Evil Disney, EVIL!!11!
They can't do right for doing wrong. Seriously, people are too picky.
It was just a sign of the times. I really don't think they were going out of their way to be racist. This doesn't mean I disagree with the OP's statement, it's just that I don't think they were doing it purposely.
It's no different than other movies at the time, like say, the Charlie Chan movies.
It's no different than other movies at the time, like say, the Charlie Chan movies.
What you seem to fail to realise is there WERE black people in early Disney films like Songs of the South and Dumbo but the problem was not their lack of representation but is what are now considered hackneyed racial stereotypes. Not necessarily negative stereotypes but certainly not appropriate today.Some bullets said:
But it is not like film of today are beyond racial stereotypes of black people:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magical_negro
Yes, I'm not making this shit up. In many years from now people are probably going to look back on Morgan Freeman and shudder at how movie after movie he is reduced to helping the white protagonist rather than helping himself, even though this stems from liberal guilt rather than bigotry, it still fails to give black people a fair representation in films.
I'm saying that a lot of the stuff we view as racist now was quite liberal then. Otherwise in 20 years we're going to be pointing the finger back again and saying "Oooh we were so racist then".The Infamous Scamola said:
I'd be targetting the lowest forms of racism still around long before I tackle the perceived racism from long ago. I'd rather get people of today to ban crap like Meet The Spartans rather than airbrushing Mammy Two Shoes [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammy_Two_Shoes] out of Tom and Jerry.
The Lion King had several layers of racism in there...
The master race of light colored lions were being displaced by the dark colored hyenas from the bad part of the savanna. The hyenas were lead by a dark colored lion. I think they tried changing that and had more racial friendly undertones in the sequel but that movie sucked too much to fix anything.
Also, the Lion King ripped off Kimba.
The master race of light colored lions were being displaced by the dark colored hyenas from the bad part of the savanna. The hyenas were lead by a dark colored lion. I think they tried changing that and had more racial friendly undertones in the sequel but that movie sucked too much to fix anything.
Also, the Lion King ripped off Kimba.
I doubt that will ever happen, especially with the sensitivity to racial issues we have developed in these years. You gotta keep in mind that most of the flms being discussed in this thread are between sixty and forty years old, not twenty.The_root_of_all_evil said:
Possibly situations will have reversed in that time. Attitude changes are becoming much faster in this world, while sociological ones are still taking decades.The Infamous Scamola said:
Italian-Americans still have to deal with "a prejudice they can't refuse". And how many Americans still think us Brits drink warm beer and cups of tea?
Ok two points. First of all anything can be seen as racist if you look at it a certain way. That doesnt mean it was intended as such.
On the anti-semitism issue. Its claimed he was, its not fact. Its an idea first presented by the biographer Marc Eliot and has been disputed by people who had access to the same reference material. It is a well documented fact that he was a right-wing activist but thats no proof of anti-semitism. I consider myself on the right of the political spectrum but im neither racist or anti-semitic.
On the anti-semitism issue. Its claimed he was, its not fact. Its an idea first presented by the biographer Marc Eliot and has been disputed by people who had access to the same reference material. It is a well documented fact that he was a right-wing activist but thats no proof of anti-semitism. I consider myself on the right of the political spectrum but im neither racist or anti-semitic.
It's not just Disney, quite a lot of the cartoons from the 1940's and earlier were racist, like this Warner Brothers take on Snow White.
Also, it's worth noting that when there's a world war taking place, racism... especially de-humanising or demonising your enemy was more culturally acceptable.
Also, it's worth noting that when there's a world war taking place, racism... especially de-humanising or demonising your enemy was more culturally acceptable.
Can people stick to the topic? The question is: are the classic Disney movies racist. The answers are, primarily, about how Disney makes That's So Raven.
And as far as it goes, yes, they were racist, as was much of the material from the period.
And as far as it goes, yes, they were racist, as was much of the material from the period.
When i was younger (and before the advent of cable and satellite tv) they used to re-release all the old Disney movies in the theatres every so often. My mom (a noted disney fanatic from when she grew up) took us to every single one. In hindsight i'm glad she did, because i don't think any of us will ever see "Song of the South" ANYWHERE, ever again.
That being said, i don't think there's any doubt Walt was a racist. He was ambitious and imaginative, but definitely a racist.
That being said, i don't think there's any doubt Walt was a racist. He was ambitious and imaginative, but definitely a racist.
Just look at the wartime cartoons they made about the Japanese. The fact that children were subjected to this at the time makes me very angry.
Personally, I'm too busy laughing to care. Anyone who does is taking this too seriously, and should go and hang with Chiuna Achebe.