Disney Animated Films

I disagree with a couple aspects of this excerpt: stereotypes and racism. Giroux believes that Ursula, in the Little Mermaid, the wolf-like monster, in Beauty and the Best, and Scar, from the Lion King, “are tied to larger narratives about freedom, rites of passage, intolerance, choice, greed, and the brutalities of mall chauvinism” all because they are portrayed as evil animals. I completely disagree with this. They are obviously the antagonists in these stories, so it is easier to hate these characters if they look evil. There is no underlying message at all. It is just easier for kids to understand that these characters are evil if they look evil. Next, Giroux states, “Bright, courageous, literate, and politically progressive, [Pocahontas] is a far cry from the traditional negative stereotypes of Native Americans portrayed in Hollywood films”. Yet, for the next couple of pages, Giroux talks about all the different stereotypes and racism in the Disney films. He is not consistent. He does not effectively prove his point when he says that yes, maybe one movie does not have many racist views, but the other one does, therefore Disney is racist. I grew up with these movies, and not once did I notice any underlying stereotypes or racism. Of course, I was not looking for them in the movies, but I got older and I still do not have stereotypical or racist views. So, Disney must have either done a really poor job being stereotypical and racist, or they just didn’t include these aspects at all.