Racism and The World of Disney:

With watching “Mickey Mouse Monopoly,” it became very clear to me just how many people have been negatively influenced by the racist portrayals many Disney movies seem to make. Tales like Peter Pan seem quite obvious in these notions, portraying the Native Americans extremely stereotypically as the “red man,” where as other movies like Tarzan have a more subtle message, that, while the viewer might not recognize as easily, is still quite obvious when analyzed in further detail and one notices that the white Tarzan seems to know the jungle better than its inhabitant dark natives. Indeed, one finds many stereotypes on Blacks, Latinos and Asians in characters from the Hainas in the Lion King to the Siamese cats in Lady and the Tramp. 

While these characteristics stand out once one analyzes the supposed racist undertone some of these movies have, one has to wonder if we as viewers are just over-analyzing this media, and how we can basically find these undertones in almost anything we watch on TV or DVD these days. When one looks at this picture from a flipped perspective, one can find many stereotypes on the white race in these movies too, like the lost boys in Peter Pan appearing as overweight, rather helpless and possibly even genetically incapable, hinting at the overweight American youth. It may seem then, that no matter how Disney portrays race, we will find something racist or stereotypical in it, no matter what the tale might be.

In this area, Disney movies will always seem controversial, and its up to the viewer to decide whether some of these movies are indeed suppose to portray a racist or stereotypical image at the time they were made, or if some of these Disney films were simply created at a time when what we perceive as offensive in them today was not seen as biased or judgmental back then. At the core of this question one has to wonder If the Disney Institution is as visionary and revolutionary in their portrayal of race and culture as in their animation and ability to entertain young and old alike.