With Change Comes Critics

As I've come to learn, Disney critics are a tough crowd. No matter what Disney does, somebody is always upset or offended by their decisions. However, I suppose this is the case with anything that has such a substantial impact on our popular culture.

In one of my earlier posts, A Mickey Mouse Monopoly, I explored the common idea among critics that Disney is racist. One of the main reasons behind this point was that the overwhelming majority of Disney princesses were caucasian and attractive, while the only characters portraying black traits were monkeys. According to them, this leads young girls to believe that only white women can be beautiful.

To satisfy its audience, and to keep up with the progressive times, Disney came out with The Princess and the Frog in 2009. This was the first Disney film to feature a black princess as the main character, after nearly 80 years of animation. After decades of flack from the African American community, you would think this would be cause for celebration.

Think again.

The first complaints came years before the movie even hit theaters, with critics challenging the lead character's announced name and occupation -- She would be a maid for a white family named Maddy. When her name and occupation were labeled demeaning (people felt her name bared close resemblance to the ethnic slur "Mammy"), Disney was quick to respond, renaming the heroine Tiana and recasting her as a chef.

While Disney was able to avert that particular crisis, they should have known it would not be the end of their problems. When it was revealed that the groundbreaking African-American princess would not be falling in love with an African-American prince, outrage ensued.

 "We can have a black president in office, but not a black Disney prince?" was a common cry heard among critics.

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On the other hand, Disney is doing exactly what most parents and teachers believe it should do -- promote racial tolerance. We should credit Disney for diversifying their portfolio and promoting interracial relationships. Moreover, this is an animated movie for kids about people who transform into frogs; the main characters even spend most of their screen time as amphibians, with their race being imperceptible.

When asked her opinion on the situation, Oprah Winfrey (who plays the voice of Tiana's mother) said, "You have to applaud [Disney] for finally having their first African-American princess. Sadly, though, given all the complaining folks are doing without even seeing the movie, Tiana will probably be Disney's last black princess."

It's a Disney World After All

Nothing can ever be considered "small" when it has to do with Disney, the largest media conglomerate in the world.

Renovations of Disney's most well known amusement park ride, Small World, sparked huge controversy with Disney fans everywhere. Created over 40 years ago, this ride was originally intended to promote world peace and acceptance of all cultures throughout the world. 

The "Small World" ride debuted at the 1964 World's Fair in New York as a benefit to the United Nations Children's Fund, and moved to Disneyland two years later. When Walt Disney dedicated the ride in 1966, he invited children from around the world to pour water from their homelands into the ride's stream in a gesture of unity (Flaccus, 2009). 

Two years ago, the original ride was remodeled, adding figures of Disney characters, such as Aladdin, Nemo, and Ariel, throughout the journey. In addition to the dozens of cartoon characters, Disney also incorporated some of its hit soundtracks into the classic "Small World" melody and added a completely new section depicting the "spirit of America", which includes a replica of LA's Hollywood Bowl.

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In our ever-changing world, all companies are forced to continuously modify and improve their products to give them a new twist and keep consumers around. Disney said that they added their cartoon characters among the other human dolls in the ride for this very reason; they wanted to keep it appealing to younger audiences.

However, some fans were angered by the reconstruction of the ride because they viewed it as a marketing ploy that essentially ruined the pure message that was originally intended by the ride. Others were upset that Disney would insert fantasy worlds into a ride that is supposed to be dedicated to cross-cultural understanding.

"Disney wants to brand the diversity of the entire world and somehow say that it's Disney derived," said Leo Braudy, a cultural historian at the University of Southern California. "It seems a bit crass to put this brand on something that was meant to be a sort of United Nations for Children."

Even the son of the ride's original designer, Mary Blair, was outraged by the changes made to "Small World", calling the new characters featured in the ride "a gross desecration of the ride's original theme."

"The Disney characters themselves are positive company icons, but they do NOT fit in with the original theme of the ride," wrote Kevin Blair, in a letter to Disney executives. "They will do nothing except marginalize the rightful stars of the ride, 'the children of the world.'"

Disney designers, who spent over a year working on the ride's renovations, countered their critics' concerns. They said that routine repairs gave them an opportunity to add another dimension to the message of cross-cultural understanding by working in references to Disney movies that are based on foreign fairy tales  or set in faraway lands, such as Aladdin (Flaccus, 2009).

The designers try to put peoples' concerns at ease by insisting that the changes made to the ride are subtle and conform to Walt Disney's original philosophy and style, while keeping the attraction from becoming "like a museum," said Kim Irvine, director of concept design for Walt Disney Imagineering.

"It's what Walt always wanted," she said. "He always said the park would always be changing as long as there was imagination in the world."

Mickey Mouse Monopoly

This is an excerpt from a documentary I had to watch for one of my advertising classes, and I found it to relate perfectly to the subject of my blog: debates in Disney. 

The Mickey Mouse Monopoly is a documentary that takes a critical look at Disney's animated films and the stories they tell about race, gender and class. 

"The thesis of the video is that Disney's feature-length, animated films are inappropriate and potentially harmful for children under 5. The problem isn't just the content, which she says is often racist, sexist, and violent, but also Disney's ability to reach even into the crib to sell spinoff products," said Boston Globe writer, Barbara Meltz, in a press review. 

Before watching this video, I had no idea that people even thought of Disney as being racist or sexist. Being such a loyal Disney fan for my entire life, I could never imagine that anybody could think of their movies as anything other than innocent and fun. However, clips from multiple interviews are shown throughout the 52 minute film, and each one features a different person ranting about Disney corrupting young children. 

So, once again, the question arises: Is Walt Disney out to corrupt our nation's youth, or are paranoid parents being too overprotective of what their children watch?

Yes, it's true that most of the protagonists in Disney's animated films are attractive, white, and feminine (if it's a woman) or strong (if it's a male). However, that is our popular culture; it is not solely Disney and it cannot be blamed on one company or person.

Look at any movies, TV shows, commercials, advertisements, magazines, etc. Appearance is huge anywhere you look, and if you overanalyze it you could say that the majority of the media exposed to our youth today is "racist" and/or "sexist". According to the media, men are supposed to be manly and women are supposed to be feminine. Most famous actors and actresses are caucasian and attractive. I am not saying that this is how it should be, but as of right now, that is just the way Hollywood works. 

For this documentary, or anybody else, to say that Disney is to blame for corrupting our youth is blasphemy. Children watch Disney movies because they are fun, spark the imagination, and let the viewer enjoy the innocence of fairy tales and magic for an hour or two. 

Parents today try so hard to shelter their children from the realities of the world we live in. Not allowing a child in kindergarten to enjoy the epitome of innocence that is Disney, just because the protagonist is not a minority, is no way to raise our nation's youth. When I think back to my own childhood, Disney was such a huge part of growing up and I hope that doesn't change for the next generation. 

Subliminal Messages or Power of Suggestion?

Sex sells.

This is a common idea that many movies, commercials, and advertisements endorse. But has Disney taken it a step too far?

In the past decade, more and more subliminal messages have been "discovered" in Disney movies that are explicitly directed at children. Although Disney has always been an icon of joy and innocence for children, the hidden signs and messages shown in their popular movies have changed a lot of viewers' attitudes toward the company.

One of the most talked about Disney films that is blamed for using subliminal messages is The Lion King. About halfway through the movie, the protagonist, Simba, plops down and a cloud of dust rises above him. As the dust begins to trail off, the various curves and angles appear to form the letters S-E-X.

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Whether Disney purposefully made this scene to "corrupt" young children on a subliminal level is a matter of opinion. The letters seem to only be apparent to those who know what they are supposed to be looking for, while people who are unfamiliar with the rumors rarely make them out. I know that I have seen The Lion King over 10 times, and never once noticed the word "SEX"; but hey, I do tend to be oblivious sometimes!

The Little Mermaid is another Disney classic that has been a topic of discussion regarding subliminal messages. On both the movie cover and promotional posters for the film, there is a phallus-shaped tower in the castle. However, the artist claimed that this was the result of rushed background detailing (Copeland, D, 2003).

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The only Disney movie in which there is clearly, without-a-doubt something wrong is The Rescuers. At the start of the film, the photographic image of a topless woman can be seen at the window of a building in the background in two different, non-consecutive frames. Unlike most rumors of word-images hidden in Disney's animated films, this one is clearly true, and the images were undenibaly inserted into the movie on purpose (Solomon, 1988). 

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However, upon hearing people's outrage, Disney did everything in their power to fix the situation. In January of 1999, Disney announced a recall of the home video version of their animated feature because it contained a "questionable background image" (LA Daily News, 1999).

Disney claimed that the images were not placed in the film by any of their animators, but were inserted during the post-production process. The company decided to recall 3.4 million copies of the video "to keep our promise to families that we can trust and rely on the Disney brand to provide the finest in family entertainment" (Studio History, 1988). 

So, the question arises: Is Disney a corrupt company trying to influence young children to think about sex OR are people influenced by the power of suggestion, seeing things that people want them to see?

Personally, I think that Disney has too much to lose and nothing to gain from inserting sexual subliminal messages into their films. Their entire company is based around families and children; losing this audience would be the demise of their entire empire. Anybody would agree that having a quick laugh is not worth these devastating consequences. 

Disney Grows Up

When people hear the word "Disney", they think of innocence, youth, and fairy tales. However, for many young celebrities who find fame with this company, it rarely ends in a fairy tale.

Christina Aguilara, Britney Spears, and Miley Cyrus are just a few names we see repeatedly in the press, and most of the time it is not good press. What do these celebrities have in common? They all reached their claim to fame through being the innocent faces of Disney, then spiraled downhill from there.

One of the most talked about child-stars-gone-bad is Lindsay Lohan. This famous actress made her debut in Disney's 1998 remake of The Parent Trap when she was just 11 years old.  

 

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However, that famous all-american face changed quickly when her career was interrupted by two DUI arrests and three visits to drug rehabilitation facilities. Things did not look up for Lohan as she continued to make bad decisions, leading her to eventually spend time in jail more than once.

 

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Lohan's most recent scandal took place just last year when she allegedly stole a $2,500 necklace from a jewelry store in Venice, California. Although she pled not guilty, she is looking up to six months in prison if she is convicted.

Although Lohan is one of the most talked about Disney stars, she is definitely not the only one. So what is it that makes these child stars turn bad?

Some people argue that the pressure of being famous is just too much stress for a young girl. Being a celebrity at such an early age takes away their childhood and forces them to act like a grown up when most girls their age are out playing and enjoying their youth.

Others believe that their actions are just a way to get their name in the tabloids. As we have all heard before, "no press is bad press".

A completely different opinion, one that I find to make the most sense, is that they are just normal people who grow up. Not every Disney star turns out like Lindsay Lohan; we just hear about the ones who do because people enjoy reading about gossip. These child stars are known as their characters on the Disney channel, so their fans forever think of them as being the little children they watched on TV. When they mature and stray from that wholesome, youthful image, people are shocked.

Take any group of people -- there are going to be a few who take the wrong path and make bad decisions. We just don't hear about them because the majority of people are not constantly followed by a swarm of people who document and judge their every move.

Whatever the reason behind it is, a common opinion among Disney fans today is that their once innocent role models eventually turn into drinking, stealing, scandalous women. Whether this is true or not, it does not look like this trend is going to change any time soon.