Fantasia

I took a day off, so sue me. 

Today we move on from Pinocchio.  My thought was to go through the Disney cannon in chronological order, if only so that I can remember what I have and haven't talked about, but then I realized that I skipped Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  I watched the film yesterday and I didn't really see anything that makes waves.  Perhaps this is because it was Disney's first feature film, or perhaps it means that the company and Walt himself did not ever intend to present offensive material.  If you think that there is anything racist worth talking about let me know in the comments and I can return to this topic. 

Lets move on to the net film, Fantasia!  Cards on the table, despite many attempts I have never seen the entirety of Fantasia in one sitting.  Partly because I usually get interrupted by something and have to pause and come back later and partly because I tend to fall asleep.  That being said, I do really like this film and I can appreciate it for what it brought to the entertainment world, an early version of surround sound in theatres.  There are a few things throughout this film that are worth mentioning so Fantasia, like Pinocchio, will likely warrant a few days of discussion and analysis. For each segment worth discussing under the umbrella topic of racism I will devote one post, this will keep things from getting to long. 

I was listening to a podcast a while back and I can't remember which one it was, but they were discussing Fantasia and they were talking about how amazing it would have been to see Fantasia when it first came out.  they suggested that we loose a lot of the allure of the film watching it at home.  I tend to agree.  However, one point was made that I must disagree with.  They suggested that it would have been amazing to have the film play with a live orchestra. 

For us today, that would be really cool.  But for theatres of this time it would have been seen as a step backwards.  Silent films in theatres often had a piano or orchestra playing alongside them.  Once sound was added to film the speaker was projected from behind the screen.  What Disney came up with was revolutionary, it was early surround sound.  It enabled everyday people to hear the full bodies sound of attending an orchestral performance without the high cost.  People would have been amazed to hear the, then incredible, sound quality of the surround sound.  That first time experience is a part of the film that has been lost throughout the ages and the development of technology.  It is something that we can never recreate and it keeps us from fully seeing Fantasia in the light that it was originally meant to be seen. 

Tomorrow we actually delve into the racism of Fantasia, and I promise that the following images have a lot to do with it. 



Centaurs scene

Dancing Mushrooms

Pinocchio - Marionettes

Alright, well the more I think about it, the more I realize that the female marionettes that come on to Pinocchio are both sexist and racist.  However, this is how females, especially non-American females were commonly depicted in Hollywood film in the 1930s, 1940s, and beyond. 

There are three ethnicities of woman portrayed in this segment, each has a feature woman.  The first is a group of Dutch girls.  Naturally the main girl is looking for love.  However, let's not forget that Pinocchio is the only live puppet, all others are being controlled by puppeteers, though I have no idea who those puppeteers are, It cannot be Stromboli, because he is down front conducting the whole time, so I guess that it is just part of movie magic.  In other words, the puppets are not acting this way on their own accord, all of this is being done in jest to be humorous. 

Pinocchio - 1940

Next come the French Can-can dancers.  The Can-can first appeared in France in the 1830s.  It is a highly physically demanding dance that is traditionally performed by a chorus line of female dancers.  The main features of the dance are lifting and manipulation of the skirts, as well as high kicks and suggestive, provocative body movements.  Therefore, these puppets serve their purposes and are historically accurate. 

Pinocchio - 1940

Finally we have the Russian marionette who, though she is speaking English, we can hardly understand.  However, it seems that there is supposed to me something alluring about that. 

I think that it is worthwhile to point out that there is a strong sense of ethnic 'othering' throughout this marionette show scene.  Collodi's Pinocchio story takes place in Italy and Pinocchio can be found in the Italy Pavilion, however, the film has strong German undertones with Pinocchio's clothing and all of Gepetto's clocks.  This German idea is enforced by Pinocchio's Village Haus in Fantasyland in Disney World.  So whether it is German or Italian in Disney's mind, it is important to know that the female puppets are from other nations.  Therefore it suggests that the women of other countries and cultures are seductresses and temptresses, but not the wholesome women of our own culture. 

Pinocchio - 1940

Therefore, I feel that the puppet show is an accurate reproduction of worldview in the 1880s and humour in the 1880s.  It is not really racist, it is sexist, but it is humorous.  Sexism, especially as it pertains to females continues to be used in humour to this day, though it perhaps should not be.  However I feel that this scene is humorous and all of the fun that it pokes in in jest. 

Pinocchio - First Nations

In Disney's 1940 film, Pinocchio at the point when Pinocchio and all the other boys arrive at Pleasure Island there is a scene cut from the rough house to a place called Tobacco Row. 

Tobacco Row features a number of, what appear to be, early animatronics of First Nations men, all identical.  They hold a large pipe at their side and with the other hand they hand out tobacco; cigars, cigarettes, and chew continuously.  They shower the boys with this temptation, which is the point of Pleasure Island.  Pleasure Island is designed to tempt young boys into behaving poorly, making bad decisions and feeding their temptations so that they will turn into Jack Asses or, if you prefer, donkeys. 
 

"I think that it is far more likely that the animators simply said, tobacco, that reminds me, Indian Braves, lets do that".

Tobacco was and remains an important part of many first Nations Cultures.  Traditionally tobacco has been used to pray, give thanks to the Creator and Mother Earth, communicate with spirits, and purify the mind and heal the body.  However, the tobacco used in these ceremonies and rituals is much different from the tobacco with high nicotine content and added chemicals that we find in cigarettes, and the high nicotine content of cigars and chewing tobacco.  This is not ceremonial tobacco.  First Nations elders maintain that this recreational use of tobacco is highly disrespectful to the spiritual, medicinal, and traditional uses of tobacco.  Tobacco should be used in a traditional ceremonial pipe for ceremonies. 

Ceremonial Peace Pipe typical of Northern Plains Nations

Peter Pan - 1953

Lets return to tobacco row.  Here is a bit of an unusual analysis but bear with me.  There are 6 statues, each holding a pipe.  While this pipe does not have the same appearance of any traditional ceremonial pipe, or even the ceremonial pipe used in Peter Pan 13 years later, I think that we can cut the animators some slack and suggest that these could be interpreted as traditional ceremonial pipes.  Notice that they are not being given to the misbehaving destructive white man, or in this case, white boy.  The boys are being tempted with non-traditional forms of tobacco that are disrespectful to First Nations ceremony and tradition.  Perhaps this short scene can serve as a social commentary on the horrors and disrespect that the white man placed on First Nations people.  Perhaps Pleasure Island can be read as the reality of what the white man has done to North America.  It might be a stretch but I think that there may be something there, though I may be reading too much into it. 

"We cannot discount that this is a historically accurate treatment for the time period of the film". 

Historically residential schools were created for Indian children because white immigrants believed that Indians still had a soul, unlike black African slaves who they believed had no souls.  Indians simply had to have the Indian 'beat out of them' so that they could become like the white man.  There was much that was unknown about First Nations cultures and this lack of understanding and misunderstanding is still prevalent today.  While I would like to think that my previous idea of Tobacco Row as a metaphor is true, I think that it is far more likely that the animators simply said, tobacco, that reminds me, Indian Braves, lets do that. 

Pinocchio - 1940

So in this case I have to admit that the Walt Disney company was using racial stereotypes and in turn helped to perpetuate the untrue stereotype of First Nations people as slaves to their vices, incapable of higher morality.  However, let me remind you that is was 1940 and, not that I am making an excuse for forgiveness but, things were different back then, people didn't understand and didn't try to understand.  They knew what they knew and that was good enough for them.  Also, this film takes place in Europe in the mid 1800s where there was a fascination with America and 'Indians' but no one really knew anything about the culture, only stories that had been told third hand so these First Nations stereotypes are not out of character for the time period that the film was set.  We cannot discount that this is a historically accurate treatment for the time period of the film.

 

Pinocchio - Stromboli

More often than not when people think about racism in film, and in life they jump to racism directed towards African Americans and First Nations stereotypes.  Isn't that automatic jump to these two cultures pretty racist? The face is that racism is present in all cultures and towards all cultures and peoples.

Criticism for Pinocchio seems to be mostly centred around two groups, Jewish and First Nations.  People have interpreted the character of Stromboli as a Jewish Gypsy.  Stromboli's pre-occupation with money and his anger when someone throws a metal slug on stage instead of legal tender certainly plays to the stereotype of Jewish men as misers focused on money, loans, and wealth.  This stereotype has been explored countless other times, perhaps the most well known being in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice where the character of Shylock is a Jewish money lender in the city of Venice.  He is seen as unloving, uncaring, and blood thirsty with the mantra of "I will have my bond".  But where does this stereotype of Jewish as misers and money lenders come from?

Stromboli finds a slug in his earnings
Pinocchio - 1940

Well it all comes from the widespread of Christianity throughout Europe.  Christians were not supposed to lend money and expect it back in return, especially with interest.  Jewish did not have this same moral focus.  Christianity is rooted a specific morality and love of all people while Judaism focuses more on the importance of the law, The Torah.  Because of this, Jewish people made a business out of lending money to Christians and charging interest on that money, before there were centralised banks. 

Pinocchio - 1940

Coming back to Stromboli, He seems quite Italian to me, be doesn't seem to be animated with any stereotypically 'Jewish' facial features.  In my mind Stromboli is a gypsy trying to support himself by putting on a travelling puppet show.  In addition to that we see that he drinks a fair amount which could lead to his anger management issues.  Perhaps there is a reason that he works with puppets and not other humans, because he is a horrible man with a vile temper. 

The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi

The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi was first published as a serial in Italy in between 1881 and 1883.  In the story Collodi focuses of a misbehaving puppet and does not focus on the ideas of a higher morality and conscious that are so dominant throughout Disney's film.  Instead it seems to tackle the real and practical issues of life in Florence and the struggles of finding the bare necessities of life, food, shelter, etc... in Florence. 

If Stromboli is a Jewish miser then Collodi is contributing to the traditional treatment of Jewish people in his time and the time before him.  He is building on the tradition of discontent amongst Christians who simply did not understand the concepts of interest on money loans.  It was not part of their religion and against their morality which led Christians to view Jewish as morally inferior to themselves. 

However, let's not forget that Stromboli has an identifiably Italian accent and he curses repeatedly in Italian, not an identifiable Jewish accent and he does not curse in Hebrew.  Finally, the name Stromboli is a distinctly Italian name, named after the Volcano of the same name.  Stromboli translates to 'fire-eating' or 'fire-spewing' which describes both the behaviour of a volcano Stromboli's bad temper and attitude. 

 Disney's Pinocchio was released in 1940.  Historically we are looking at the period of the Holocaust here.  the Holocaust, or systematic persecution of Jews in Germany and German occupied territories by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party.  The Holocaust 'started' around 1933 and lasted until 1945.  Given that the Disney Company produced several anti-Axis country and anti-Hilter short films during World War II I have a hard time believing that the company would use Stromboli as a Jewish stereotype.  Stromboli is not Jewish.  He does not look Jewish, he does not sound Jewish, he is Italian. 

The only similarity he has to a Jewish person seems to be the similarity between Stromboli and Jewish men as money lending misers.  If this is enough to make Disney racist for viewers then they need to examine why they themselves see Jewish people in this way and interpret Stromboli in this way.  It is not Disney that is racist in this case, it is the viewers. 

Pinocchio - 1940

This is the end of my thoughts on Stromboli, but not the end of my thoughts on Pinocchio.  Coming up in the next two days, First Nations and flirtatious European marionettes. 

Why Alison In Wonderland?

Alice in Wonderland 1951

Growing up I think that I maybe saw Alice in Wonderland once.  When I turned 15 or 16 I went crazy for Alice in Wonderland.  The books, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll are amazing!  But that is not why I am Alison in Wonderland.   

 



Through the Looking Glass
- Lewis Carroll

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
 - Lewis Carroll



Growing up all through elementary school my classmates teased me an called me Alison in Wonderland.  That, on top of having a last name that no one could pronounce made early formative years less than perfect.  Eventually that term of endearment that I despised so much was replaced with Nature Girl, which really wasn't much better.  Growing up I think that I was afraid to like Alice because she represented childhood mockery.  For a long time I blocked the girl, the film, and the name from my consciousness but lately I have been thinking about my elementary school name again and I decided that it really isn't so bad.  In fact, Alison in Wonderland is a pretty cool nickname if you ask me. 

So here we are, Alison in Wonderland, talking coming out of the closet as a Walt Disney fan, the laughter, the tears, and everything in between. 

But Disney is so Racist

Anyone who is a Disney fan has come accross friends and other people who are not as supportive of the cause as others.  Some people can get really rude and intsense about it and say "I don't know how you can like Disney, he was a racist and a terrible person."  The thing is, when you ask them to provide evidence to support their claims of Disney's racism, they can't seem to come up with any.  Furthermore, can you honestly say that these people, your so called friends, have never thrown around a racist joke or statement before.  For that matter, can you say that you have not either?

The fact is, we are all racist.  Either we don't realize that we say racist things because some racism is so engrained in our society or we are fully aware that we are racist but it is 'okay' because we are just doing it ironically.  Here we get into the term 'hipster racism' but that is a topic for another time. 

Peter Pan - 1953

The thing with Walt Disney is that the man was born in 1901.  My great grandmother was born in 1900.  She immigrated to Canada from Poland and was vehemenently anti-Ukranian.  Her daughter, my grandmother, married a Hungarian and, while my Great Grandmother was not happy of her marrying outside her race, she did say "at least he's not Ukranian".  The point of this is that everyone was racist back then.  I am not saying that it is right or okay to be racist but was a product of the times.  If you have racist grandparents, as I am sure at least a few of you do, you can see that it is possible to love someone who is racist.  You accept that they are a product of their generation.  You know that they are ignorant that that is why they say the things they do.  You accept them for who they are and appreciate all that they do.  Can't we do that for Walt Disney too?

"Maybe we need to look at the films less as racist and more as historically accurate portrayals of either the time of their production or the time that they take place."

 Many people like to believe that the 1873 issuing of the emancipation proclamation at the end of the American Civil War meant that the North believed in equality for all.  This was not the case.  They still held that white people were superior to blacks.  The initial goal of the Civil War was to reunite the country.  The 1960s was when African American equality started to come about, and again that is a whole other topic. 

Song of the South - 1946

Fantasia - 1940

So okay, maybe Walt Disney is racist.  But the thing is, the films of the Walt Disney company are a product of their time.  If a film has racist elements, in my mind, one of two things is possible.  First, maybe there is a racist element, but maybe, and perhaps more likely, we find what we are looking for.  If you are looking for racism in a film, you will find it, but the question is, was it intentional?  Probably not.  More than likely the animators didn't realize it, or if they the most important this is that any film, any book, anything created ever, is a product of its time.  Maybe we need to look at the films less as racist and more as historically accurate portrayals of either the time of their production or the time that they take place. 

Lady and the Tramp - 1955

Let's be honest here, I have barely even cracked the seal on this topic. The future holds deep analysis of Disney's films and racism and I am really looking forward to it.