Disney and Me
Growing up, my sister and I watched Disney movies religiously - they were our happy place. Stressed? Put on The Lion King. Sick? Let's watch Tangled. In fact, Disney movies were made into a family event - going to the theater with Mom and Dad was exclusively reserved for new Disney releases.
I would be lying if I said that I no longer consumed any media released by Disney - my sister and I still get excited about new releases. We still talk about taking trips to Disney together - a dream of ours for a long time now. However, I would also be lying if I said my relationship with Disney had not turned complicated once I started attending my undergraduate university where I started to more seriously challenge my beliefs and analyze media.
Christiansen
The information and ideas that Christiansen introduces in "Unearthing the Myths that Bind Us" are not unfamiliar to me. They are ideas that I have been grappling with. Representation in media is hugely important. As Christiansen says, children's media is where initial thoughts, ideas, and biases form. For much of my youth, I tried to deny my queerness - deny myself. Media taught me (and yes, Disney included) that I was supposed to be straight - I was supposed to want to find a prince charming. Being queer was not "normal." I think Christiansen would agree with me when I say if children's media is made more intentionally (i.e focus groups like what they did for Inside Out 2) and with more diversity in creative spaces - media could be powerful in a new more positive way.
Touching more precisely on specific Disney movies, there were plenty of examples I could think of that Christiansen did not even mention. Disney has created an advisory council and provides advisory warnings on some of their films after public pushback.
- The Aristocats : depicts a racist stereotype of East Asian people
- Peter Pan : racist depiction of Indigenous peoples
- Dumbo : the crows and musical number pay homage to minstrel shows
The above are just three movies that have racist deceptions of people - I did not even touch on additional dominant ideology that is included in their films.
Even in more recent films - ones that have been largely applauded as Disney taking a step in the right direction - there are still problems people have noticed. The Princess and the Frog, Brother Bear, and Soul are three films whose main characters are people of color. In all films, the leads are turned into animals or other beings of some sort - they are not allowed to be simply people of color. The Los Angles Review of Books put out an interesting article about this linked here.
The title of my post puts children in quotations because Disney movies or Barbie appeal to a wide audience - adult media does not suddenly lose its subtext, political, or ideological meaning.
Please comment your thoughts on what you think Christiansen would think of Disney's more recent efforts to be diverse. Are they genuine or still pushing some of the same narratives in more subtle ways?
Also, fun fact: growing up I used to play with Bratz and Barbie dolls, but I was terrified to be in the room alone with them. I had some nasty nightmares about them coming to life haha - not sure what that has to say about everything but it feels connected.
ReplyDeleteLiz, I think I have the same personal experience with Disney. My family goes to Florida frequently, and Disney is always a pit stop. But now with this toolbelt of critical thinking, I begin to wonder what Disney has done to my identity.
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