WOKE DISNEY!
Classics feature warnings over cultural stereotyping
THEY have delighted generations of children, as well as their parents.
But in these woke times classic Disney films come with a health warning.
Cartoons such as Dumbo, Peter Pan and Lady and the Tramp will be shown with more prominent and detailed advisory messages about ‘harmful’ cultural stereotyping.
Children watching the cartoons on streaming service Disney+ will be told that many of the character depictions they are about to see ‘were wrong then and are wrong now’.
Among the things that have been classed as problematic in classic films are the description of Native Americans as ‘redskins’ in Peter Pan, and the scene in The Aristocats where a cat with slanted eyes plays the piano with chopsticks.
The Siamese cats in Lady and the Tramp have slanted eyes and buck teeth, while heavily accented dogs portray stereotypes of the countries their breeds are from such as a Mexican chihuahua and a Russian borzoi.
The crows in Dumbo are considered to be racist depictions of African Americans, while the character of King Louie in the Jungle Book has also been crititain cised for being a racist caricature of African Americans. The content advisory notices, which were first added to the platform last year, are now bigger and on screen for longer.
They also attempt to explain Disney’s reasoning for still showing the films, many of which were made in the 1940s and 50s when founder Walt Disney was in charge, despite believing them to conracist stereotypes. The company says it wants viewers to learn from their ‘harmful impact’.
‘This programme includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures,’ the warning reads. These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now.
‘Rather than remove this content, we want to acknowledge its harmful impact, learn from it and spark conversation to create a more inclusive future together.’