Subscribers to the Disney+ service will soon be on the receiving end of some different content advisories.
Legacy animated and live action films ranging from “Dumbo” to “Peter Pan” to “The Aristocats” will now boast new updated warnings about racist portrayals. Specifically the advisory will say: “This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures.”
Disney+ has put warnings of “outdated cultural depictions” on its film titles since launching, but the updated language goes a little further – viewable not just on the details page of the film but also before content streams. As part of a new Stories Matter website, the studio explained its decision:.
“These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now. Rather than remove this content, we want to acknowledge its harmful impact, learn from it and spark conversation to create a more inclusive future together. Disney is committed to creating stories with inspirational and aspirational themes that reflect the rich diversity of the human experience around the globe.”
Some are very obvious racist caricatures from the Siamese cats in “Lady and the Tramp” to the crows in “Dumbo” and Native people in “Peter Pan”. Others are less well known such as the “Swiss Family Robinson” being cited for its depiction of pirates as a “stereotypical foreign menace” with yellow face and brown face usage along with costumes to emphasise their “barbarism and ‘otherness.'”.
Source: THR
