Racism Issues in Disney Movies - Essay Example

Disney and Racism Breaux highlights important characters in this Disney’s animated film, where the main character is depicted as having several characters that highlights stereotyping in women and the differences between white and black people. During the civil war, women’s characters were depicted as “helpless and sexual objects” (399, par. 4) because men were regarded as the only ones capable of going to war. In terms of race, black women were characterized as “cooks, cleaners, and serving food” (399, par. 1; 400 par, 1) incapable of owning a business as depicted by Tina in this animated film. It is important to note that the author of “After 75 Years of Magic: Disney Answers Its Critics, Rewrites African American History, and Cashes In on Its Racist Past" mainly talks about three critical elements. One of these elements as evident in the article is the aspect or element of Disney addressing the issue of criticism about the past films using the movie. It is critical to note that Disney addresses this situation in one of the most professional ways. The approach given by Disney towards the critics is quite explicit and very straight forward. In this respect, it is of crucial significance to highlight that Disney has massively invested in his wise decisions in employing the Black Women without any form of prejudice, discrimination as well as malice towards the black race (Breaux, 403, Par. 3). This move is highly geared towards addressing the prevalent and threatening issue of racism across the globe. As such, it is critical to note that the inclusion of the Black women in the movie has been associated with increased performance of such movies towards the competitive front in the world markets. The second element addresses by Disney in the article is touching on the issue of representations of the African American Women in the artistic works, more so the in the American cartoons. This is one of the most important aspects of the movie. The inclusion of the Black American, or African American women in the film is quite suggestive of the cognitive ability of Disney with regards to the issue of racism Breaux, 406, Par. 3. This marries well with the third element addressed by Disney in the article “After 75 Years of Magic: Disney Answers Its Critics, Rewrites African American History, and Cashes In on Its Racist Past". In the third element, Disney addresses the issue racism in its broad depth. The animation of black women shows that Disney is cognizant that money does not discriminate. As such, it is not within their powers to discriminate too in the line of racism. In this regard, we can see the integration of Tiana in the movie. Tiana is depicted as a black woman in the movie, thereby professionally representing the equity of race in the movies. This is in line with the efforts to dilute the issue of racism Breaux, 408, Par. 3. Tiana is from The Princess and the Frog. In line with the above, it is important to note that Disney has incorporated this character in order to professionally atone the unavailability of the non-white personalities relevant to princesses in the movie. This is projected to be of significance relevant to profit maximizations through selling it (Breaux, 399, par. 2). It is also important to note that Disney has presented itself as one of the most cognizant entities relevant to being racially neutral and colorblind corporation. In this respect, it is important to note that Disney lacks intentions of indulging in political assertions but squarely focus on addressing the racial obstacles and barriers (Breaux, 413, par. 1-4). This is evident through the introduction of the first African American princesses. Initially, the African women were depicted to be very primitive. This is justified by some of the roles that they played in the society. In addition, they were also depicted as very unprofessional and ignorant. This is one of the ill informed notions that has always bedeviled and polluted the minds of several critics and racists. For instance, the Black African women, or the African Americans were presented as very lazy and unskilled. In this respect, they were mostly used for the provision of cheap labor. Moreover, they were also depicted as very mean, loud mouthed and considerably ugly Breaux, 405, Par. 4). These are some of the most common stereotypes that were addressed by Disney. These contributed to the bad perception and views of that time by the film and movie producers, as well as the notorious racists. However, Disney has brought this into its rightful place. Disney has incorporated the colored people in the Western fairy tales. This reveals one of the most important aspects of historical erasures that are necessary for attracting more viewers. The change of the role of Tiana was changed from chambermaid to waitress. This shows how cognizant Disney was relevant to the issue of racism. As such, Disney has contributed massively in addressing the issue of racial segregation Breaux, 407, Par. 4). It is evident that Walt Disney has tried to portray itself as a company that is trying to tackle the issues of sexism and racism, especially when looking at black women. In the film The Princess and the Frog, Richard highlights that previous animated films depicted black women as servants with the role of “cleaning and washing” (400, par. 1). Therefore, the critics in the article are addressing this issue of degrading roles that are awarded to black women. In reply, the critics have been answered by Disney where they elevated Tiana to a role of princess (411, par. 1). Even though black women are not depicted as having uplifting characters in majority of Walt Disney films, it is seen by critics that in the future more animated films will give black women respectable roles. Walt Disney in 1920s learnt from its mistake of depicting black women as having degrading roles in animated films like washing and cleaning as discussed above. In trying to tackle this problem, “Pixar film and Walt Disney” (398, par. 1) introduced Tiana character in The Princess and the Frog film as a character that was able to move up the ladder of society to a first class status. This went on to help Walt Disney cash in on black women audience and their children in the animated film industry (415, par. 1). In the end, these two film companies helped sanitize the American history through elevating the status of black women to first class by showing that black women could succeed in America society (416, par. 1). The characters explained above by Richard teach us a few things about the way women were treated and the way black women were given degrading roles in the society. Since women were not allowed to go to war during the civil war, they become characterized as “sexual objects” (399, par 3) relegated to household chores. This type of stereotyping women has had a profound effect in the present world where women are still relegated to household chores. As for black women, they were given degrading roles, such as “cleaning and cooking” (399, par. 1), while owning of business was seen not to be for them (400, par. 1). This has had a profound effect in the present world of having few black women owning few businesses. The history of the animated black women in the article is depicted with stereotyping of black women especially in 1920, where “mammy” (398, par. 1) a character in an animated film was depicted as a happy servant. The servant role involved cleaning, washing and serving people at homes, restaurants and other service oriented businesses. However, getting towards 1966, critics started to criticize the roles black women were given to portray in animated films (399, par. 1). Such roles were degrading to the black women and did not elevate them to an acceptable social status. Works Cited Breaux, Richard M. After 75 Years of Magic: Disney Answers Its Critics, Rewrites African American History, and Cashes In on Its Racist Past. J Afr Am St 14.4 (2010): 398-416. Read More