However, they are appended by an advisory notice warning of “negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures.” “These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now,” it reads. Contrary to the hysteria, Disney has not “cancelled” these titles nearly all of them are available on Disney+. The classic Disney films are part of the draw for subscribers, but Disney’s history of racist caricatures and ethnic stereotyping has been well documented and routinely criticised: the crows in Dumbo that drew on racist minstrel caricatures of African Americans the Islamophobic tropes in Aladdin the mockery of Native Americans in Peter Pan … the list goes on. With the launch of its streaming service, Disney+, in 2019, that back catalogue became both an asset and a liability. In the era of #TimesUp, #MeToo and Black Lives Matter, the company has had to take a look at both its current practices and its back catalogue. It would be fair to say Disney had some ground to make up. Rather than remove this content, we want to acknowledge its harmful impact, learn from it and spark conversation Disney+ advisory warning What’s an unprecedentedly powerful media corporation to do? From one side, it is criticised for its old-fashioned and bigoted legacy from the other, it is criticised for being too “woke”. But having successfully captured entertainment’s centre ground, Disney now finds itself under attack on both flanks. Already a byword for family entertainment, Disney is now the dominant purveyor of popular culture following its gradual acquisitions of Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, Avatar, Alien, The Muppets, The Simpsons and numerous other household-name properties. Understandably, to some extent, since it is the biggest target. Disney increasingly finds itself caught in the crossfire of these skirmishes. All of them triggered by a single paragraph in an online review. As did Piers Morgan in the Daily Mail: “ Leave Snow White’s Prince alone, you insufferable woke brats.” Then Fox News reported on that: “Piers Morgan slams consent criticism over revamped Snow White ride.” And so forth. Senator John Kennedy was brought on to express his disdain: “We are so screwed … I don’t know where these jackaloons come up with this stuff.” The UK’s Sun chimed in: “ Snow White may be CANCELED”. Fox News ran 13 segments on the story in one day: “Cancel culture going after Snow White” “The woke movement taking aim at Disneyland”, etc. Within 24 hours, the review was reported across Twitter and conservative media. “It’s hard to understand why the Disneyland of 2021 would choose to add a scene with such old-fashioned ideas of what a man is allowed to do to a woman.” Matters escalated quickly and predictably. “A kiss he gives to her without her consent, while she’s asleep, which cannot possibly be true love if only one person knows it’s happening,” they wrote. Their review of the revamped Snow White ride at Disneyland was generally positive, but queried a new scene showing the prince giving Snow White the all-important “true love’s kiss”. Julie Tremaine and Katie Dowd, two writers for the online newspaper SFGate, discovered this last month. Very little ammunition is required for a culture war these days, so long as your troops are primed to mobilise at the drop of a blog.
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