Public Argument

Dawson Rosenberg

Mrs. Wilhoit

English 102        

4/24/15

                                             Public Argument

Dear Parents of America,

I am sorry to admit but Disney movies are not suitable for your children to watch. I am currently a student at the University of Arizona and I am researching about the racist undertones in Disney films. Yes, it is hard to believe but there are many examples of racism throughout Disney films. I expected that these movies would teach kids important morals but what I didn’t know was that there are countless racist instances in these movies. I am convinced that this issue needs to be addressed because to have racism in children films is completely unacceptable and that it is the responsibility of the directors to help prevent racialism in these movies.

For example, in the movie Lion King African-Americans play the hyenas, which resemble poor, dirty and evil characters. “Portrayed by three black actors, the hyenas are represented as being slobbery, mangy, stupid poachers and at the bottom of the food chain” (Vraketta 5). In addition, Jakob Ziwich mentions the possibility that the makers of the film are trying to imply that African Americans are more than just threatening, but also second-class citizens (Ziwich 4). Additionally, the “bad” characters in the film have a darker coat to them. The antagonist, Scar, is dirtier, messy and has a darker fur coat than every other lion in the movie. “ The Lion King encourages us to

                                                                                Rosenberg 2

identify with white culture as the norm, while the place of darkness, where the hyenas reside, is the ultimate threat” (Al-Taee 268).

Moreover, in the cartoon movie Dumbo, there are prejudice scenes in the film. The crows in the movie talk in a southern African American accent and are played by African Americans. These crows act obnoxious, stupid and lazy. Furthermore, in Dumbo several workers sing the song “The Song of the Roustabouts.” The song has lines such as “We work all day, we work all night/ We never learned to read or write/ We’re happy-hearted roustabouts” and also lines as “We slave until we’re almost dead,” “When we get our pay we throw our money all away”, “grab that rope you hairy ape”(Dumbo). The implication is that African Americans only undertake physical labor, act the same and are less than others (Ziwich 3). For your children to experience this horrible discrimination toward African Americans is completely unacceptable and wrong. Even more, for children to watch this and absorb the negative stereotypes of African Americans can have a huge influence on what they believe. I would definitely want to see Disney and other companies use fewer racial stereotypes in their movies. Racism is avoidable and for it to be shown in Disney films is horrifying.