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.