Disney’s Ongoing Western-Centric Cultural Focus
The Disney film default is still European/US history and arts when representing different cultures.
As the mother of an eight-year-old son I am very aware that what they are taught, what they watch, what they hear, during these formative years will shape their values and beliefs in their adult lives.
Starting from when my son was very young, I consciously had conversations about the history of colonisation. When he is playing with his Playmobil toys portraying white people and indigenous peoples, I explain that it isn’t the white people who are the ‘goodies’ and the indigenous peoples who the ‘baddies’, but actually the other way around.
In conversations about school, it concerns me that the only countries my son has been taught about, with the exception of Australia, are those in the northern hemisphere, a continuing Euro/US centric view of the world. It appears that at this age they are taught very little of countries or cultures in the global south.
This is part of the reason why popular culture, and especially blockbuster movies, such as those made and released by Disney, which so many children watch, are incredibly important. They are a child friendly introduction to the world, to all the different countries, cultures, people, and customs. They are the ultimate learning experience.
The Walt Disney Company, originally founded as Disney Brothers Studio in 1923, is probably most well-known for its animated films. In the beginning, Disney told European fairy tales, including their first feature length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, followed by others such as, Pinocchio, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Robin Hood, and Peter Pan, to name a few. The majority of Disney animated films are set in various European countries, and even those such as The Little Mermaid, and Frozen, which are set in fictional locations, are clearly influenced by European settings.
North America is the second most popular setting for Disney animations, with many successful films, including Lady and the Tramp, The Rescuers, Pocahontas, Bolt, and the Princess and the Frog being set in various US states.
More recently, Disney has been attempting to expand to other cultures and to adapt universal themes to specific settings outside of their preferred Euro/US centric locations. They have often been criticised for inaccurate representations of cultures and settings outside of the continental United States, especially in the 1990s, with films such as Aladdin, and Mulan. In Aladdin, Disney whitewashed their main characters, portraying them with brown skin but European features, and the film was also full of racist and sexist tropes. Mulan was historically inaccurate, not honouring Chinese culture. Improper and biased images were created of Asian and Middle Eastern cultures, which considering Disney’s influence, is incredibly damaging for children. Since this time, Disney has aimed to more faithfully represent other cultures, but it is interesting to note that even in the 21st century they still rely on referencing Western history, arts, and culture.
A move towards a different representation was seen in 2002 with the release of Lilo & Stitch, set in the United States’ fiftieth state of Hawaii, on the island of Kauai. The characters in the film were set apart from previous Disney films with their rounded facial features, and also the inclusion of more faithful body types for both locals and tourists, which were certainly very different from the visual depictions in other Disney films of the time. Disney consciously chose to represent the difficulties for modern Hawaiians finding work and the island state’s dependence on tourism. In choosing to tell the story from the perspective of a local family, rather than visiting tourists, the film celebrated the culture rather than using it as a picturesque but superficial backdrop. This does not mean the film was without its problems though when it comes to representing race and indigenous people, but I want to focus more specifically on the representation of arts and culture.
Music is an important part of Disney animated films, and in the 12-song soundtrack for Lilo & Stitch, there are five tracks by the ‘King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’, Elvis Presley, with an additional two tracks of his performed by other artists. The inclusion of these songs is questionable, as Elvis Presley did not identify as Hawaiian, these songs were popular decades before the release of the movie, and the inclusion has nothing to do with the overall premise of the film. Although the film contains two songs by local musician Mark Keali’i Ho’omalu, the more predominant songs by Elvis become the soundtrack of the main character’s life, Lilo, and despite this film not being a musical, music turned out to play a huge part in the film.
Disney succeeded in many ways to represent the huge, rich culture of Hawaii but their main cultural arts reference was a white man from the mainland US, who holidayed in Hawaii and recorded a successful movie there, but who was very clearly from a US/Euro centric culture. Lilo’s connection to Elvis is really nothing more than a way to make the character more relatable to white, Western audiences, as many parents would appreciate her love for a musical artist they also love, but this severely undermined the platform Disney had for the authentic portrayal of native Hawaiians and their voices, and a new learning experience for young children.
In 2017, Disney released the film, Coco, produced by Pixar Animation Studios. This was the first nine-figure budget film to feature an all-Latino principal cast. The idea for the film was inspired by the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead, and on its release, it was praised for all aspects, including its respect for Mexican culture.
The fact that the film depicted a ‘real culture’ was a risky business for the developers of the film, none of whom were from Mexico, and in 2015 Pixar formed a cultural consultant group having met with opposition regarding cultural appropriation and exploitation for trademark requests.
The soundtrack for Coco included eight original songs, as well as an original score, so there was no borrowing of music for this film, as with Lilo & Stitch. The film, did however, decide to include a character based on renowned Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo, whom the main character, Miguel Rivera meets in the arts district of the Land of the Dead.
Frida Kahlo is an incredibly famous visual artist, remembered for her self-portraits, and her bold and brightly-coloured paintings. She is recognised by feminists for her depictions of the female form and experience, and in Mexico she is celebrated for her observation of Mexican and indigenous culture. Frida Kahlo is so famous in Europe and US culture that enthusiasm for the artist has been dubbed ‘Fridamania’, and she quickly become a global brand. Exhibitions in Europe and the US of this Latin American artist’s work in the 21st century, became instant blockbusters, guaranteed to bring in large visitor numbers and economical benefit. It is unsurprising therefore, that Disney did not merely chose a Mexican artist, but one with international cult status. What about someone like Maria Izquierdo? One could argue that another new learning experience was lost
Encanto, was released in 2021, and was the 60th film produced by Walt Disney Studios. The story follows a multigenerational Columbian family and is portrayed within a rich, Colombian cultural setting, as well as embedded within a deep tradition of magical realism.
Disney hired many cultural experts to consult on the film, and Encanto received positive reviews, acknowledging that the ‘setting and cultural perspective are new for Disney, but the end result is the same – enchanting, beautifully animated fun for the whole family’ (quote from Rotten Tomatoes website). Producers acknowledged that music and dance are core to everyday life in Colombia and Encanto is the first Disney animation film to hire a choreographer and dancers as consultants. The scenery, landscape, and even plants and flowers portrayed were all painstakingly researched, consulted on, and accurately detailed. Considering all this careful planning, I was therefore extremely disappointed, when I first watched this with my son shortly after its release, to see the inclusion of European mythology, history, and history of art references used in the film.
In the scene with main character, Mirabel Madrigal, and her older sister Luisa, we see the sister singing ‘Surface Pressures’, detailing how her gift of strength must be used to support the family. During the song, Luisa is compared with Greek and Roman hero Hercules, we see her fighting the three-headed dog, Cerberus, and we also see her holding up the world, which is another reference to Greek and Roman mythology, a nod to the giant Atlas, who was forced to shoulder the heavens for eternity. In the same song sequence, there is also a scene of the British ocean liner, Titanic sailing towards an iceberg. This Colombian woman’s strength is set firmly within a very white, European cultural tradition and history.
During a later song with Mirabel’s other sister, Isabela, I could not help but notice the similarity between the film sequence where she swings in a beautiful light purple dress, bathed in a pink light, with rose petals floating around her, to the famous painting, The Swing, c.1776-8, by Jean-Honoré Fragonard. This may just be coincidental, but for me it was just another startling reference to European history and culture. Why did these Columbian women need to be likened to white Europeans, when Columbia’s descendants are a mix of three racial groups, Europeans, Amerindians, and Africans?
We need to be aware of what we are letting our children watch, and what they are taking in as the norm, the default, the centre. It is easy as parents to explain why older films such as Disney’s Peter Pan are so culturally inappropriate, and sometimes these antiquated and racist representations enable a way into difficult conversations about our past histories, and issues that are still current today. What we may not be noticing though are these subtle oversights, where the small Hawaiian child adores a famous white man, and sees him as her idol, instead of more authentically a native Hawaiian from her local culture, or, where a Mexican boy meets a famous visual artist from his home country, but only one who has been so commercialised and reproduced within retail endeavours worldwide that many people recognise her face more than they do her paintings. And why aren’t Colombian women given their own identity, in relation to their own cultural heritage, but need to be likened to ancient European heroes and ideas of 18th-century European beauty?
We want our children to learn about new countries and cultures, we want them to embrace difference and be intrigued by it, but how can they do this when the main characters of these films are embedded within a Euro/US centric arts culture. It is not authentic, it is not accurate, and it is missing important learning opportunities. Children do not need familiar Western artistic references to relate to the characters they see, they already do relate to the main protagonists, as children. They then need to have their eyes opened to new places and cultures they may never have the chance to experience or travel to in real life. It’s time for Disney to take authenticity a step further, and make sure every aspect of their films are culturally accurate and representative of the cultures they are portraying, free from white European/US influence.
Guest post for Inner Life by Luisa Summers -
Can authenticity ever mean that a culture is free from US/euro influences though? All cultures, everywhere, are influenced by the west. Hawaii is a US state, Colombia speaks Spanish. It feels like, especially with the fragonard critique, you are holding these movies to an impossible standard. How can US movies, made by Americans, about a world defined by European hegemony, ever avoid referencing the west or European culture?
I noted some similar concerns about The Chronicles of Narnia in an earlier post for Inner Life. I agree with Naomi -- purity tests are perhaps self-defeating and even inaccurate in a post-colonial world. Although I also hear your point about how Disney's budgets might be spent.
My daughter's interest in Spanish has undoubtedly been sparked by films like Vivo, and she is an abiding fan of Lin-Manuel Miranda. I wonder how you feel about Moana, as it turns largely on indigenous cultures and creation stories, so far as I can tell?
My cynical side wonders whether a corporate brand whose top priority is making money can be expected to care about these things, except if there's a branding or marketing angle to them.