100 Years of Racism: A Cultural Analysis of The Walt Disney Company and Their Production of Non-White Imagery
Translated title
Disney's 100 års racistiske jubilæum: En kulturanalyse af The Walt Disney Company og deres produktion af ikke-hvide billeder
Authors
Eshow, Andreena Salem Paulus ; Lundsgaard, Diana Bet Gevergiz
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2023
Submitted on
2023-06-04
Pages
128
Abstract
Marking Disney’s centennial, this thesis examines how The Walt Disney Company represents non-white characters and non-Western cultures in six animated features: Aladdin (1992), Mulan (1998), Pocahontas (1995), Lilo & Stitch (2002), The Princess and the Frog (2009), and Pixar’s Soul (2020). Using a comparative analysis of racial discourses and drawing on frameworks such as Orientalism, settler colonialism, film blackness, subaltern studies, and anthropomorphism and zoomorphism, the study evaluates whether Disney’s narratives function as responsible cultural representation for children. The analysis finds that, despite stated diversity goals, these films repeatedly encode stereotyping, prejudicial imagery, historical inaccuracies, and the gentrification of non-Western cultures toward Western norms. The thesis discusses the implications for Disney’s role as a teaching tool and concludes that Disney should be approached primarily as entertainment rather than relied upon as authoritative material for learning about other peoples and cultures.
Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan The Walt Disney Company repræsenterer ikke-hvide karakterer og ikke-vestlige kulturer i seks animationsfilm: Aladdin (1992), Mulan (1998), Pocahontas (1995), Lilo & Stitch (2002), The Princess and the Frog (2009) og Pixars Soul (2020). Gennem en komparativ analyse af raciale diskurser og med teoretiske perspektiver som orientalisme, bosætterkolonialisme, filmisk sorthed, subaltern-studier samt antropomorfisme og zoomorfisme vurderer studiet, om Disneys fortællinger fungerer som ansvarlig kulturel repræsentation for børn. Analysen viser, at trods ambitioner om diversitet reproducerer filmene gentagne stereotyper, fordomsfulde billeder, historiske unøjagtigheder og gentrificering af ikke-vestlige kulturer mod vestlige normer. Specialet diskuterer konsekvenserne for Disneys rolle som læringsredskab og konkluderer, at Disney primært bør ses som underholdning frem for som pålideligt materiale til at lære om andre mennesker og kulturer.
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