Closing the generational gap through film

Those of you who are reading this right now, how many of you are doing it from your own computer? Probably most, if not all of you. Why is that? Think about your parents. Did they have a laptop when they were your age? I doubt that your grandparents did. Our generation is popularly known for our knowledge with technology.

It is so common for me to go to class and see everyone with their laptops out. The way school is taught has changed so much. No longer do we sit with a textbook open and read 50 pages, hand write reports, or even open a dictionary. Now we have Google, Microsoft office, and Wikipedia. Has the classroom really changed that much? Yes, and most of it is due to our new found resources.

What else about the classroom has changed? According to an article titled “Teaching Criminological Theory:The Power of Film and Music” there are whole classes taught by using music and viewing films. The question in my mind is why haven’t I taken that class yet? Hmm…let me see would you rather take a final or watch a movie? For those of you about to endure finals week, I think we both know that answer.

So why is film or music valued in our education system? Why are they turning to film? It influences us more. “Teaching Criminological Theory” notes that while we spend only 5,000 hours of our lives reading we spend 20,000 hours of our lives watching television. Our generation has become more visual learners than textual learners.

We are so heavily influenced by what we see and more importantly what we consume. So when stereotypes are introduced to the way we consume information it is hard for us not to pay attention. When we constantly see the same minorities portrayed the same way, that is how our mind starts to view them.

The truth is that stereotypes are present in our films, our television, and movies. The question is why? According to an article titled “Portrayal of Minorities in the Film, Media, and Entertainment Industries” the answer is money. The money that the networks, producers, and even actors make outweigh the guilt of what they are showing. In the end, it is just business.

The truth is that if they really wanted to, they could include these stereotypes in a positive light. How? You could always belittle the people that believe in the stereotypes to show that they don’t agree with them. One way the article suggested was to show the stereotype as the minority rather than the majority of the people they are portraying.

One thing is for sure, either way our generation will consume it.

Disney: Another Outlet For Racism

Most of us at some point have seen a Disney movie. They are the classic movies that most children watch. I personally have seen just about all of them. When I was a child, the idea or racial stereotyping never occurred to me. Now that I am more educated, I see the subtle amounts of racial discrimination that were added throughout the movies.

I am not the only one who identifies the hints that Disney stuck into its movies. In an article published by Entertainment Weekly, they note 14 specific instances of racism in classic children movies.  In a Startribune article, author Steve Persall mentions 8 specific instances where discrimination occurs in Disney movies. Both of these articles mention “Fantasia”, “Dumbo”, and “Lady and the Tramp.”

Lets examine these racist acts then shall we?
“Fantasia”- Originally released in 1940, a centaur named Sunflower who was dark skinned half-human and half-donkey appeared in the original release. Sunflower had one role and that was to be the servant of the bigger paler skinned centaurs that were half-human and half-horse. What happened to Sunflower after 1969? Disney removed the scene entirely and just left the paler skin centaurs in the movie.

“Dumbo”-Just about an elephant learning to fly? There is 2 main examples in this film that I should address. One is the lazy, black crow who speaks with broken English, in the stereotypical black southern way. If that isn’t bad enough, the leader of the crows name is Jim Crow. (Don’t know what Jim Crow is? Google it). The second racist feature presented in Dumbo is when the black faceless circus characters when working were singing the “Song of the Roustabouts.” Some of the lyrics include “We slave until we’re almost dead” and “Pull that rope, you hairy ape.” Just a coincidence that they made black workers slave while comparing them to apes? Not likely.

“Lady and the Tramp”- This movie goes to show you that it is not just black stereotypes that Disney played to. The Siamese cats in “Lady and the Tramp” Si and Am are drawn with slanted eyes and introduced by the sound of a gong. They play the role of slinky thieves meant to portray Asian stereotypes from the WWII era.

Those are just a few examples they are many others throughout Disney’s history. As much as I loved these movies as a child, I have to think about with the amount of discrimination they contain if I’m willing to show them to my kids someday.