Analyzing Disney can be a tricky business because the man and his company have attained such a mythical (almost sacred) status in American popular culture. According to Janet Wasko, "taking a critical stance toward the company that has created the happiest places on earth may be considered overly pessimistic, not to say downright un-American" (p. 3). Wasko's Understanding Disney and the documentary Walt Disney--Secret Lives dissect the Disney myth and provide a more complex and less flattering view of the man, his personal biases, and his business practices.
Answer one of the following questions:
- Do you think Mr. Disney's attitudes toward women, minorities, labor unions, and Communists shaped his company's identity and mission? The content and quality of its films? If so, how?
- Do you think a basic knowledge of Mr. Disney's political activities during and after World War II is relevant to understanding the Disney Company's past and present? Why or why not?
I think the way that Disney treated women, minorities, etc. was almost completely opposite of the way the company was shaped. The company is identified as a family business, it's all about bringing people together yet the way he treated his employees strictly enforces separation. I find it very ironic that he looked down on women so much yet almost all of his films are about princesses and queens. At the same time however, I find it funny that in all these cases the princesses are looked down upon, there is some strife or hardship in their life that they must overcome. In this way I feel like it actually is somewhat accurate of the way that Disney himself treated women.
ReplyDeleteI would say that the way Disney treated employees and the films content were similar in scope but the mission and identity are very different from how Disney acted.
Many of the values and ideals that Walt Disney considered important were very similar to other ideas of the time. As a woman who is about to enter the workforce, obviously, I do not agree with his feeling that men should be held in higher regard within the company, but this was not uncommon in many companies during that era. Unfortunately, much of the same is true in regards to his feelings about minorities and labor unions, in comparison with other CEO's of Disney's time. These feelings, specifically those about women, are evident in many of his films portraying the damsel in distress, the princess in the castle and the woman not in control of her own destiny. Even with the misogyny, I am still a Disney fan. These are the same movies that helped to shape my childhood and now, as a young adult on the other side, I still can appreciate them, even though I am now aware of the ideologies with which I was indoctrinated. I do not, however, believe that the Disney company stands for these same ideals today, nor do I think that Walt himself set out to create a company that did.
ReplyDeleteInstead, I believe that Disney stands for fairy-tale and fun for young children. Yes, Disney is a major corporation and therefore, has aims of profit, but Disney is not the devil and not out to perpetuate themes of prejudice or perfection, like many companies and like many people, Disney, and the man himself has both positive and negative aspects, all parts of a whole that we, as media consumers are responsible for discerning.
-Molly Haas
While Walt Disney may have held negative views toward minorities, it is hard to say whether or not those views shaped his company or his films. On the one hand, we've learned that he had no qualm with firing someone who went against his wishes. If he didn't want something in a film, it seems pretty clear that he would not allow it. And yet, many Disney films have strong female characters despite his apparent demeaning view of the female species. Thinking about it more, I realize that the final finished film was not just Disney's product, though he'd have you believe it was. But rather the product of teams of animators and story tellers and editors. So somewhere in there, someone must have realized Disney's boundaries and learned how to tiptoe around them. If Disney alone had made the films, they probably would have played up the "damsel in distress" factor more, and not had as many women fighting for their happiness. Disney may have had great influence over the company, but there are so many more people from start to present that have made up the company that did not necessarily share those views. Everyone who stayed and continued to work there despite Disney's oppressive ways clearly had a goal in mind: to make the company what it is perceived by today by children everywhere. The Disney Corporation as a fairytale is their legacy. The Disney Corporation as the company being critiqued by Wasko is the product of modern day businessmen, not Walt Disney.
ReplyDelete- Ame Wood
Disney's attitude toward women, minorities, labor unions, and Communists I think definitely shaped his company's identity and mission. Disney's whole missions statement is "to make people happy." The only way to do that is to define what Mr. Walt Disney defined as happiness and then project that out to other people. Walt Disney's happiness is defined by the town of Celebration, FL and through the Secret Lives documentary. Disney thought happiness was the small town feel with no outside advertisements, no chaos, and no extreme differences of others getting in the way. Those differences meant Walt Disney did not like other ethnic backgrounds, hated labor unions that caused dissension in a company, disliked Communists for causing dissension in America, and preferred women to stay in the shadows of men. Disney has his own definition of happiness or a perfect nirvana and it can be seen through the content he has produced.
ReplyDeleteWhen women for instance (like the Disney princesses) are the star of a movie, you better believe they are nothing without their male counterparts stepping in. There is always a prince charming to rescue them and have a strong man by their side like in Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White. Also in each of these movies included more like Pocohantas or The Little Mermaid there is never a strong mother figure. In fact most of the time princesses mothers are usually dead or never talked about. Instead there is always a strong father figure in their life. Males are always strong figures proving Disney's stereotype and beliefs. Also with the exception of Pocohantas all of these characters are white characters. And in Pocohantas the true white Americans are coming to take over North America. It was not until 2009, decades after Disney's death, that there was a black princess. Walt Disney might have been outraged by this.
We see Disney movies as happy fairy-tale movies. But as I have explained if you look close enough you can pick out the stereotypes of Walt Disney. As Secret Lives explains he was not the magical man we all dream of him being. Live everyone he had his flaws and was far from the perfection he dreams of for his company.
Katherine Harper
I do not believe Walt Disney's personal beliefs or actions created the image and culture of the Disney company. Instead, I believe his personality helped create the culture of success, perfection, and non-stop ambition. While many of his habits could be considered unusual or extreme, it is hard to argue with the results that he created out of his efforts. The Disney company, like any company, has a bottom line to meet and profits to make and because of Walt Disney's attitude the company has seen growth for generations.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of Walt Disney's feelings towards women, minorities, labor unions, and communism, I think it is important to remember the era in which he was living in. His resistance to allowing women to have high importance roles in the company is not ideal, but we cannot condemn him for following the cultural norms of that generation. The disapproval of minorities is again not something Disney should have been proud of, but I believe that was still a lack of understanding and acceptance during his time.The issue of labor unions is definitely a sign that Disney had some control issues, but for a man who created a company and an empire just from his own desire to make a business, it is hardly unconceivable to imagine him not wanting to relinquish some of his power. Lastly, the issue of communism is another generational phenomenon that I think is hard for our own generation to understand. The fear that consumed people during that time drove many to act irrationally and I'm sure Disney's behaviors were similar to others of that time.
All these factors have the potential to impact a company, but I believe they were more Mr. Disney's personal feelings and actions and not those of the Disney company. Naturally, while Walt was in charge of Disney, he had the power to implement his own beliefs into the company's culture, but I hardly believe the entire Disney corporation was built upon the concepts of discrimination, paranoia, and power. I think instead the corporation is centered on the image of being the absolute best at everything they do. Walt Disney's perfectionism may have been over the top during his reign, but he left Disney with a culture that has resulted in a profitable company for generations, which is what any business man can hope for.
I think that his company’s mission and his own personal social bias were separate things in Disney’s life. His prejudice might have affected the company internally, but there was a wall, an image that Disney built to keep the brand intact. A company’s mission is rather monolithic: to make profit. And such universal mission in the world of business usually operates without a regard towards the personal lives of its executive officers and/or founders. Of course, people in such power will often be in the media limelight, exposing any fault that might come off as unethical, but when the company still has professional PR professionals to mend the media criticism and restore the company’s image and its marketed “philosophy” the company can get away with almost anything.
ReplyDeleteIn Disney’s case, his super conservative ideals, though often conflicted with his company’s work force, were safely tucked under the magical buzz of Disney products. A great example of Disney’s popularly immaculate persona was clearly given in the video we saw in class (Mouse Trapped) in which a union worker rhetorically asked if Walt Disney would ever let employees be mistreated. There was cruel irony in her rhetoric, but it shows how Walt Disney’s reputation and his company are still known for good family values, joy and magic.
- Jose Morales
Walt Disney's political activities is somewhat relevant in discovering the company's past and present history. During the 1940's and 50's, Disney was heavily involved in supporting the war effort and defeating communism. We see examples of this type of support in various films and cartoons such as "Donald Gets Drafted" in 1942 and "Commando Duck" in 1944, both of each starring Donald Duck. These cartoons helped shape the propaganda effort in trying to get everyone drafted for the army and defeating the Nazis.
ReplyDeleteAt the time, it made sense to fall into this schema of supporting the war because everyone from all types of life helped to pool into supporting the army. Disney, as the empire it was, just was one of the underlying supporter's in America's mission. In addition, his distaste with Communism was an indicator of the government's mission to defeat the Soviet Union. His opinions are a direct correlation to America's attitude in politics and social issues.
-Sarah Hasnain
I do not think that Walt Disney’s attitudes toward women, minorities, labor unions and Communists shaped his company’s identity and mission necessarily. More so, I think those attitudes subtly slipped through in the movies. I don’t think Disney’s mission was to undercut minorities and women in his entertainment company, but I do think that those beliefs slipped through the cracks and gave rise to social issues.
ReplyDeleteThese attitudes definitely affected the company from the inside, but I do not necessarily believe that racism, sexism, etc. was any intention of Disney himself to have portrayed in the films.
Even though there is evidence in the movies that suggests these attitudes, it is hardly the mission and the basis of the company to built itself on. The company was not careful to keep these prejudices and discriminating representations out of the movies, but I do not agree with the idea that Disney is built upon these notions.
Obviously if someone wants to understand the Disney Company’s past, Mr. Disney’s political activities and contributions would need to be part of their knowledge. However, I don’t think the past political activities are relevant to understanding the Disney Company today. According to Wasko in “Understanding Disney,” over 93 percent of the studio’s production was devoted to government projects, including training and propaganda films. Donald Duck became a wartime hero, while Bambi was a disappointment in the box office. Overall, contributing to the war efforts helped keep the studio alive, but the industry began to suffer because of the declining film markets. There doesn’t seem to be a correlation between the work that was produced or Mr. Disney’s contributions during the war to Disney’s present.
ReplyDeleteMr. Disney carried on producing works such as packaged features and Cinderella. Works such as these weren’t influenced by the war; therefore, I don’t think it’s necessarily vital to understand what happened in the past to understand the present. Disney’s past involvement with the war in no way affects how Disney is seen now. I still see Disney the same way, and perhaps the wartime contributions Mr. Disney made, make Disney seem even more of a happy, helpful and friendly company, the way most people see it.
- Kelsey Fisher
I think that Walt Disney's view of women, minorities, labor unions, and communists certainly influenced the company's image and content of the films. As seen in the videos in class, Walt Disney was extremely biased towards women and minorities within his company. Through segregation of women workers and the termination of employment for people of color, it is evident that Disney was prejudiced to say the least. This fact translates to Disney films. Most of the princesses in Disney pictures are drawn to be attractive and in most cases eager for love and a prince. This notion could be perceived to represent the idea that women rely on male guidance and are esteemed for beauty not brains. Most characters in Disney films are caucasian. Mulan and Pochantos for argument's sake have color to their characters but ultimately have white facial features and lack accents. On the other hand, the villain in Mulan, a Hun leader, looks very asian. This is an obvious representation of xenophobia and the notion that heroes are Americanized while enemies are made to look foreign and menacing.
ReplyDeleteThough not as outright as "Commando Duck," DIsney films clearly represent the American idea of exceptionalism, an idea Shanto Iyengar speaks about in depth in his book, "Media and Politics." The concept is that Americans isolate themselves from the world because of fear or overall disinterest in events that do not directly effect the well being of the nation. Walt Disney would certainly subscribe to this philosophy and his films and cartoons use images and messaging to relay the idea.
Finally, Walt Disney's dislike of labor unions created a working environment in which employees felt under-appreciated and underpaid. Walt Disney took a lot of pride in his work but unfortunately he took pride in everyone else's work as well without giving the workers due credit. This created a feeling of distrust and betrayal within the company. As seen in "Mouse Trapped" workers still harbor this feeling of being underpaid overlooked.
Katherine Parker
Before learning of Walt Disney’s political activities and involvements, I would not have guessed that the details would be so in depth. Because I do not believe that many people know the history behind Disney’s government/war involvement, I do not think this would be important to the average Joe. For me, however, I believe this information has really opened my eyes and made me view Walt and Disney in a new light.
ReplyDeleteDisney was the headquarters for war-related and propaganda films for a period of time during World War II, which gave him pride in the military, as he was working side-by-side with them. Disney studios had been completely taken over for a considerable amount of time. In the earlier half of the 1940s, Walt used the spirited character of Donald Duck to draw young men to the military; this closely aligned Disney with military recruiting and promotion efforts. Walt also held many negative views about communism and wanted it to disappear; he strongly disliked the Soviet Union. He also allowed the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to use Disney parks if need be, for any FBI-related cases they may be working on. Finding this information out makes me very skeptical of some of his intentions while running his company. To me, it seems like Disney meant to have good intentions in some aspects, and in others he failed miserably. I do not agree with completely allowing one person’s thoughts and beliefs to govern the way an entire organization is run- his actions reflected the Disney company as a whole. This information is definitely relevant to me, especially now that we are diving deeper in to the company. However, these bits of information have also altered my view of Disney being this all-around perfect organization.
-- Melissa Peale
Walt Disney's views on women, minorities, labor unions, and Communists were very common in society at this time. While they definitely influenced his company’s output, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that they shaped the very identity and mission of the company. If these specific views had molded the company in such a way, then their products would most likely be hate-filled messages of propaganda and reform—not the stories of love and happiness that they’re known for.
ReplyDeleteDisney’s attitude toward women can most commonly be seen in how the female Disney characters are often portrayed as weak, helpless, and needy. They require a man to move on through life. Disney produces ‘Disney Princesses’ and not ‘Disney Queens’, playing into the stereotype that princesses are always stereotyped as young and naïve. The most powerful figures in Disney stories are always the men.
Disney’s dislike of minorities can be seen in how the company portrays skin color. Almost all of their stories are full of entirely white characters. In their movie Aladdin, which is based off of an Arab folktale, the heroes Aladdin and Jasmine are Americanized with lighter skin tones and an American accent. In contrast, the antagonist Jafar has darker skin and a foreign accent, as well as over-exaggerated “Arabian” facial features. One exception to this is the recent movie The Princess and the Frog, where the Disney Princess Tiana is African American. While this was a huge change for the company, they still portrayed the male love interest as white, missing out on the opportunity to have the first dark-skinned Disney Prince. It’s also worth noting that the antagonist in this story is also African American.
The views on labor unions have caused the company to be known for being very strict and cut-throat employer. They want only the best workers and will replace you if you aren’t—which isn’t an uncommon feature in competitive job markets. While notorious for being occasionally harsh to employees, it hasn’t affected the company’s primary mission to produce fun family movies.
-Kaitlin Hall
I think it is relevant to the understanding of Disney past but not so much its present. Back in the times of World War II people knew that Disney was helping with the war effort because there were would be propaganda films before your regular film showed. The one that I personally remember is Education for Death: The Making of a Nazi. The video showed what would happen if they took over America and ways that we can stop them by helping out our military. People probably also knew about all the training videos that Disney put out since they were shown to only military personnel. What is interesting though is that Disney never charged the U.S. military but now a days they would probably charge people if they wanted a training video with their cartoon characters in it.
ReplyDeleteI do not think that Disney’s World War II past is relevant to the understanding of Disney. I asked one of my friends if she even knew that Disney had anything to do with WW II and she said, “No, I know Disney has secrets but I didn’t know that that was one of them.” I would say that if anything the ideas that follow war like loyalty, patriotism, bravery, etc. are relevant to Disney. Those ideas are relevant to Disney because they are carried out in Disney movies like Hercules and Zenon: Girl of the 21st century, if you don’t remember that movie so go back and watch it. In Hercules he is loyal to his friend Phil and Meg and shows patriotism and bravery by fighting anything that threatens those he is loyal to. In Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century Zenon is loyal to her best friend Nebula even when they were apart. Zenon showed patriotism and bravery by fighting and standing up for her space station. I would say that the central themes that surround war in general are present in certain Disney movies but most people do not realize Disney’s participation in WWII.
~ Jocelyn Allen
I don't think that Walt Disney's personal views had anything to do with the shaping of the company, at least not to the public eye. I was totally unaware of the way Disney felt toward woman, minorities, communists etc. and I am sure there many other people out there that aren't aware as well. I think Disney does a good job of hiding their internale problems from the public's eye and coming off as a perfect company that doesn't have any problems. They seem to put up a wall to the public, and do a good job of separating the company's negative reality from the public.
ReplyDeleteI almost think it is ironic that Walt Disney looked down upon woman because most Disney movies are about princesses, making the female roles highly important in the movies. While there may be some hidden meanings and messages throughout the movie relating to his beliefs and views about the war, I don't think these are prevalent factors in all of his films.
Kristen Hotz
I really want to believe that Disney’s attitude towards women, minorities, labor unions, and communists was just a personal issue that had no impact on the company’s mission statement and identity, but there seems to be more to the issue than my simple beliefs. The Disney company cannot truly “make people happy” if they choose to discriminate against a select group of “people” that do not fit the standards of Walt Disney’s interests/beliefs. Before beginning our analysis of Disney, I really had no idea that Walt Disney really felt that way towards women and minorities because I always assumed that he was this grand figure who had a vision to create the ultimate place of happiness for the world. I must agree with Katherine H. and her ideas about Celebration because it seems like the kind of experience that Disney hoped to create was that of a conservative, brand-free paradise where people would all behave similarly because there would be no influence of outside forces/minority opinions. The perfect utopia, right?
ReplyDeleteI must also agree that Disney movies have also seen the influence of Walt Disney’s discriminatory views, mainly regarding women and minorities’ roles in the majority of the films (and especially in the older/earlier ones where Walt actually had a role in creating). Women in these movies always seem to be portrayed as weak, rebellious (in a negative way), and/or subservient to men, despite being the actual lead in the films (a position we would consider to be given to heroic, strong characters). Disney princesses (such as, “Cinderella” and “Snow White”) always seem to need a man to rescue them, tell them what to do, or fall in love and marry them, but there never seems to be a princess that is able to be an independent decision-maker from beginning to end. Although there have been more recent princess within the past decade or two that have broken the discriminatory standards Disney set in the early days, such as “Mulan” and “Tiana (from The Princess and the Frog),” in the end, the main females still need a man in order to define her own life.
I understand that most Disney stories try to go for the “happily ever after” ending (as most are fairy-tale stories), but why can’t there be an ending where the female doesn’t end up with the prince, but still lives a happy productive life?! Will young girls grow up to believe the gender roles in these films and feel that if they aren’t a damsel in distress then they aren’t really portraying their female roles in society? Don’t get me wrong, I love many Disney movies and grew up watching them, but, when it comes to animation, I am a bigger fan of Hayao Miyazaki since the majority of the films (if not all) contain females leads that are strong-minded, opinionated, and independent (and don’t always end up with the man).
-Kaitlin Silver
When I think of Disney’s mission statement, the first thing that comes to mind is “to make people happy.” Disney has carried this out with his company’s identity by producing characters and stories whose lives result in ideal outcomes. As many people have already mentioned, this is seen in the fairy tale stories where there is a damsel in distress who must (and does) get rescued by the prince. I never knew Disney’s attitude toward women, minorities, etc prior to this class, but now that I am aware, I don’t think it is the emphasis for the films. I think his vision was to create stories that people could fantasize with and enjoy (possibly wanting their own lives to be as picturesque as some of the classic princess movies).
ReplyDeleteI do find it ironic that despite Disney’s ill feelings toward women, the majority of his classic movies involve female main characters. As others have mentioned though, it is usually the female princess that undergoes a struggle and has to rely on a man to remedy the dire situation. Perhaps this is part of his influence of portraying women as being less superior to men. If his attitude was different, we may have seen movies with men undergoing a harsh struggle. The only movies I can think of that involve male characters in conflict are movies that involve anthropomorphism (ex. Bambi and Lion King). It would be nice to see male “human” characters undergo realistic life struggles, instead of animals. It seems like an indirect way of pointing out the flaws in men. Some of these issues have caused me to drift away from Disney, and I’m glad I did because there are other animated films that contain much richer plots and characters (even with stories that lean on the depressing and grim side) that leave you thinking about issues in society with a sense of realism.
Kristin Silver
Learning more about Walt Disney and his personal views has definitely shed light on many of the films. The "princess" films in particular show the view of women in positions for which they have to be rescued by men. Women and even female animals are constantly shown in "housekeeping" roles. Even more contemporary films depict this: Simba's mother plays a small role in the film and is shown to bathing her son; the toys in Toy Story are predominantly male except Bo Peep (the damsel in distress) and in the second film Jessie, who relies on Woody and Buzz. Even with anthropomorphism, male characters are still dominant and strong while females play smaller roles or that of needing males to help them. I feel this is directly linked to Mr.Disney's attitudes toward women.
ReplyDeleteComparing Disney animated films to those produced by other companies shows the role of females more clearly. Dreamworks films, overall, do not depict women in the same roles. In the Shrek films, Fiona is shown as strong and able to handle her own without the help of Shrek. Later it is revealed that she is an ugly ogre, which is the opposite of the way Disney films portray princesses. In Monsters vs. Aliens, female characters seem to play just as large of a role as those of males.
I agree with what Kristin states about other films leaving viewers with a sense of realism. Disney seems to project the "happily ever after" feelings in all films, while those put out by other companies seem to depict female in roles that give viewers a stronger sense of realism. For example, in Shrek, Fiona decides to remain an ogre instead of breaking the spell and becoming human forever. She chooses love over beauty, showing that the two do not always coincide.
Wendy Knight-Nutty
I agree with much of what has been said. I think it's fairly easy from our position to look back in time and be hyper critical of Walt Disney. I don't endorse Disney's views on women, minorities, the treatment of his labor force, etc. That being said, I don't think Disney was some kind of radical monster either. Like many have said, he was a man of his time.
ReplyDeleteI think what makes Disney such an easy target is that the image of the company has always been really pure and about making people happy, and contrasted with the negative things that Walt Disney as a person represented, it makes the company look pretty hypocritical. That being said, I don't think that Walt Disney's personal views necessarily shaped the company's mission or identity. Overall, the Disney movies are pretty innocent when you look at them on the surface. I understand that Disney films have overtones of misogyny, such as the Disney Princess movies or movies like Aladdin have certain racist overtones. However, I'm really not sure kids are watching Aladdin and coming away from it with racist views toward people of middle-eastern decent and so I have a hard time buying the bit about Disney movies having any type of real brainwashing quality to them.
I have never seen "Princess and the Frog" but I do think it's cool that they finally have an african-american princess. It'd be nice to see more Disney films that don't limit a type of character to a specific race. In real life, heroes and villain come in both genders and all races, so it'd be nice to see Disney reinforce that in their films.
Mason Alls
I think that in terms of the post World War II / Cold War era, both Walt Disney the man and Disney the company continued to capitalize on the heightened feeling of patriotism and nationalism that was so in vogue at the time.
ReplyDeleteDisney at this time had firmly cemented themselves as peddlers of American values (especially in the wake of producing propaganda films and working closely with the U.S government during World War II), and was in a position of considerable influence in an era where America established itself not only as the military superpower but has transformed into the chief exporter of popular culture. With Disney already being massively popular, there was very little difficulty to expanding and enhancing production and capitalizing on both domestic and foreign audiences with a clean cut set of American values.
It is important to note that the increased global audience (as compared to today where international box office is such a huge part of movie production that scenes set in China and Russia are added often inconsequently to summer blockbusters in order to appeal to emergent markets of moviegoers) was seen as an avenue to extol the virtues and strength of the American ideology. This was all combined with an era where, for the first time since FDR began his four terms, traditional and conservative ideology had more clout than they had in over 20 years.
This informed Disney for decades following and it was really until the much discussed Disney Renaissance that a noticeable break away was achieved.
Jeff Wade
I think Walt Disney's attitudes toward women and minorities definitely had a hand in shaping the company's identity, how could it not. They created perfect stories with great family values, things that Walt help close to him. None of the main characters are bizarre or different. They are all beautiful, normal, with good hearts, battling evil. Women are naive and are restless, looking for more in life (aka a man). Not to mention the absence of any minorities (Pocahontas and the Princess and the Frog were both created well after Walt's death).
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't say however this portrayal of characters was the company's mission per say. It is a reflection of the times, no matter how wrong it is. I think, and this may be the disney lover side of me, that more than anything they were trying to make movies that children and adults would love and cherish, and maybe make some money while they are at it.
The propaganda movies on the other hand had a clear mission.
jordan k
When starting out, Walt's views of minorities, women, etc, had an impact on the the work flow, but as far as the image, i feel like it was easily hidden behind the nice, happy children's movies they were producing. Even today, as stated in the book, you have to do a little bit of digging in order to find anything critical of Disney because he is viewed as such a happy loving man because of the movies he was putting out. The negative aspects of how he treated women and minorities were well hidden. On the other hand, his anti-communist shorts made clear where he stood in the war effort. But today even these are often over looked and only his movies get the majority of the recognition.
ReplyDeleteThere are subtle hints at the fact he was racist and sexist in his movies. One example is the scene from Fantasia that we saw in class with the horses. His movies often did reflect his views, but in subtle ways that children wouldn't easily pick up on. Coming out with a black princess was a step in the right direction for disney as well. Many of the re-releases they put out of their classics are edited so that the offensive subtleties are cut out to preserve the brand's image in these politically correct times.
Steven Schmucker
I think Disney’s attitudes toward women, minorities, labor unions, and Communists were incorporated into his films if they could positively enhance them. While Disney may have held certain negative attitudes towards women and minorities, I don’t think that he intended to impose those views directly into his films. As we saw in Walt Disney—Secret Lives and Understanding Disney, Walt Disney really wanted to make great cartoons. If he wanted to actively impose his beliefs on other people, he would have gone into politics (which he did for some time) instead of making fictional films.
ReplyDeleteThere are a couple reasons for why Disney’s films were not as overtly representative of his views. First off, Disney’s cartoons were intended to reach a wide audience outside of just white men. Extreme values are rarely used to appeal to a mass audience. For example, if you look at the 2012 Presidential candidates, neither Obama nor Romney were classified as “extreme” members of their party. Romney won his party nomination against the more radical Rick Santorum partly because people felt his less radical views were more likely to be competitive against Obama. Likewise, if Disney had made all of his films reflective of his views, he would turn off a huge audience of women and minorities. Second, Disney was not the primary creative force behind his cartoons. He had a massive staff of workers working on every detail of his films, and while it may have looked like he had total creative control behind every work, he really didn’t.
However, some of Disney’s views did influence his works. Many of Disney’s cartoons have “pro-American” messages and women as the “damsel in distress.” Yet, a lot of the women are also portrayed as princesses who overcome barriers (with the help of men). Like I mentioned earlier, these views tended to enhance his films. At the time, being pro-American and succeeding as a woman with the help of a man were commonly held beliefs in society. Also, part of the Disney vision was “Imagineering” and creating an experience outside of reality for viewers, so his strong views were masked by fantastical storylines including princesses and magical creatures.
While Disney did have strong personal views, they were less of an impact on his company as a whole. The Disney Company did, and still continues, to reflect views held in society, which change with the times. Modern Disney films portray strong female characters and are more politically correct because that is the current societal expectation. In fifty year, society may have taken a completely different turn, which I’m sure the Disney Corporation will continue to reflect.
-Rahath Alam