Welcome to the Tragic Kingdom. We've got a charming mouse, delightful fairy princesses and...Oh yeah, a sprinkling of jigaboo yes-men and tireless Mammy types. It's no secret that Disney loves to keep its finger on the pulse of all things enchanting. What you may not know is that they also love to sneak a lot of disenchanting things into their animation. It may be just for kicks. Or it may be to stealthily plant seeds of racism and sexism in the fertile minds of children. How can you not adore the lovely coquettes Disney has been creating since the beginning of time?
But for the gaggles of sweet characters they have steadily cranked out over the years, there are a few to fall out of love with faster than you can say Zippidee Do Dah . I first discovered an undesirable while watching The Little Mermaid several years ago. Boy, dat blackfish sho' could sing, yes indeedy.
Granted, my head was in a billowing cloud of Hashish when I caught it- but that's probably the very reason I even spotted this offensive little sucker in the first damn place. Besides, I'm not here to discuss why I was watching cartoons while in an altered state... More on that some other time.
Let's start with Sunflower; a black centaur who served the white centaurs in Fantasia.
Wow. A cute little pickininny creature who dutifully shines the hooves of the pretty, lily-white centaurs. When Disney released the 50th Anniversary Edition DVD, Sunflower was mysteriously missing. In fact the editing was so choppy from her complete removal, that the audio is terribly out of sync during the segment set to Beethoven's "Pastoral Symphony". Below is a snippet from the original release.
According to Disney, she never existed. Neither did doting shoe-shine gals and guys. What delusional planet do YOU live on? Your eyes must deceive you! Why, the good-natured folks at Disney have built their legacy on dazzling animation and heartwarming family values. Right. And the Tooth Fairy just dropped off the residual payment for my wisdom teeth last night...
But let's not paint Disney as an Evil Empire just yet. They do it for the kids. It's hard work bringing smiles to the faces of children. They also understand that you would be bored silly if not for a splash of adult humor. Check out Toy Story's Buzz Lightyear diagnosing Woody's "laser envy" when the latter is none too happy with Little Bo Peep's fawning and mocks Lightyear's gadgets. Hardly a joke a 5 year old would get. What's the harm in that? It goes over most heads anyway, right? Wrong. Consult the young boy who pointed out to his mother that when Simba plops down on a cliff in The Lion King, the letters S-E-X materialize out of the dust cloud. The jury is still out on that one, but if you understand how intricate the animation process truly is; you can deduce that vague images are hardly coincidental.
Disney has been approached on numerous occasions for their overt racism. Somehow, they always come out smelling sweeter than a timeless rose encased in glass. Insert shameless Beauty and the Beast plug here. But they are actually making strides. Enter Tiana:
Soon-to-be-released The Princess and The Frog: An American Fairy Tale introduces Disney's first Afro-American darling.When Disney announced it was casting its first black princess for its latest animation film, the African-American heroine was hailed as a positive role model for little girls and an ambitious marketing ploy, not to mention an attempt to ward off the allegations of racism that have lurked since the heyday of Walt Disney Productions in the 1940s and 1950s. Disney commented: "The story takes place in the charming elegance and grandeur of New Orleans' fabled French Quarter during the Jazz Age... Princess Tiana will be a heroine in the great tradition of Disney's rich animated fairy tale legacy, and all other characters and aspects of the story will be treated with the greatest respect and sensitivity."
Magical. Respect and sensitivity. Complete with narration by a toothless firefly with an unmistakably lazy 'good ole Negro' drawl. What's not to love? Man, that Tinkerbell pixie dust really does work wonders.
Aww, Disney...You've come a long way, Baby!
8 comments:
It just goes to show Disney was an eccentrically strange thinking man as subsequant biographies said he was. Most of his cartoons had some sort of racist theme to them, ie Fantasia to point out a good example until it too was edited.
It was a sign of the times and he like others in a position to throw around his financial weight while creating an untrue image to shape world view of minorites, got away with it. Even in today's world money talks, putting anyone with enough financial backing in the position to shape whatever his or her heart desires until more money is raised by the opposite opinion to change the image. Outraged protest only brings attention to injustice, but unless financially backed will be put on the back burner and eventually hushed. Only money strategically placed in the protestors hands will get much accomplished toward rectifying the harm done. Disney likened to the cinema distortion, Birth of a Nation in the early 20th century is an example of a false image backed by financial mongels. On the other hand Pres., Obama's clean image of a minority's campaign here recently got the world's attention, but it took big bucks to pull it off successfully and whole heartedly overtook and dismentaled that racist image from back in the day of one sided distortions. So whenever a negative image is allowed to flourish, such as Disney and other racist infractions, remember it's the financial backing that put it there in the first place not a true portrayal.
Um Not really sure where you got your video of the "pickininny". I with disney on it never existing. Someone probably like so many other wholesome things added this to aid in this propaganda (forgive if my spelling is off some). I own three copies of fantasia not including my copy of fantasia 2000. Two of my 3 copies of fantasia are on VHS, one is from its original release on VHS and it's not there. Another is a VHS I recieved when I was 6(1990), which still works and it's not there either. I asked my grandparents about this and not only did they cosign on it not being there but they laughed about it too.
Anon 2, I'm just seeing your comment and I have to say that your viewpoint is closely shrouded in ignorance. When I say ignorant- I mean in the sense of simply not knowing. The images have been buried for a long time but they did in fact exist. Just because you don't see it on your three copies of the DVD does not mean that it hasn't been removed. Consider this: Research. Disney has a long history of using racist and sexist images and connotations in their animation. Apart from covering up injuries and deaths that occur at the "Happiest Place on Earth" they also have scruples.
Anon 1 is correct in saying that financial backing makes a great impact. Because they are a Multi-billion dollar company, a lot of what they do (animation and otherwise) goes unnoticed by the general public. Simply put- the power of the dollar goes a long, long way.
End of chat.
Keep in mind that Disney cartoons were not the only ones to show racist and offensive images of blacks. Warner Bros. also had their share of cartoon shorts that featured insensitive caricatures of blacks.
It's sad that racism still exists today when you look at how far society has come. It is no longer acceptable to have a colored only section in restaurants,segregation in school, and even water fountains with signs of who was allowed to use them.
The time in which such offensive depictions exist is why it doesn't bother me. And yes, if anyone cares to know, I am black.
Summary: you're hopping mad about bad stuff that happened a long time ago. Guess what. Every color, creed, nationality, etc. has been wronged -- and has done the wrong-doing. For how much longer are blacks in America going to huff and puff, swagger, and curse about oppression that happened before we were all born? For how much longer will it be OK for blacks to insult and make fun of white people openly, even on broadcast television, in ways that would cause outrage if the tables were turned? It's despicable. I'm a black man and I'm embarrassed.
"I'm a black man and I'm embarrassed."
You ought to be, Anon 4. This post was neither huff nor puff. Just an injection of reality. True colors may not always be the prettiest- but to shut your eyes when they show themselves is despicable.
Hello. And Bye.
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