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Ethan Altshuler Robert J. Nielsen 05-26-17

Drawing Conclusions - An Analysis of the Picture Animation Paints in the 20th Century

The purpose of this paper is to inform people that during the twentieth century, both good

and bad lessons permeated animated films. The paper will include sections about the earliest

works of animation that were ever created, how they became popular, how the effects of

animation spanned the 20th century, the historical significance of animation, how animation has

perpetuated racism and sexism, and the important positive moral lessons that are to be learned

from animation.

In 1906, Englishman J. Stuart Blackton created the first hand-drawn animation known as

Humorous Phases of Funny Faces. This was a silent cartoon with piano music showing faces 1

being hand-drawn on a chalkboard that then altered their appearance. The drawings of the

characters such as clowns and dogs started doing multiple actions. Twenty years later, Lotte

Reiniger from Germany created the oldest surviving animated feature film, The Adventures of

Prince Achmed, or Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed. It was more like a magical fairytale 2

with sorcerers, princes, and a magical flying horse that was based on the book The Arabian

Knights. Animation continued to develop and thrive from this time on. In 1995, another 3

dramatic change in animation occurred. Toy Story, the first computer animated full-length feature

1 Popova, Maria. (2011, 1-13). “Before Walt Disney: 5 Pioneers of Early Animation.” TheAtlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/07/before-walt-disney-5-pioneers-of-early-animation/241448/ 2 Marshall, Colin. (1-32). “The First Animated Feature Film: The Adventures of Prince Achmed by Lotte Reiniger (1926).” Open Culture. http://www.openculture.com/2015/09/the-first-animated-feature-film-the-adventures-of-prince-achmed.html 3 The J. Paul Getty Museum. (Unknown, 1-2). “Dungen presents The Adventures of Prince Achmed.” The Getty Center. http://www.getty.edu/museum/programs/performances/dungen.html

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film, was introduced. The traditional cel animation used in prior films was no longer necessary.

This film gave people the perspective of what it would be like if toys came to life, and because it

was computer animated, the characters were more lifelike in terms of how they looked and

moved.

The creation of hand-drawn, stop-motion, and computerized animation propelled what

became an important and popular form of entertainment. One reason why animation became

popular was because these types of films were designed deliberately to appeal to children.

Children kept watching, as these films were presented in a format suitable to their viewing. With

bright colors, simple language, talking animal characters, straightforward storylines, and basic

themes such as true love and good vs. evil, many animated films were well-suited for a child

audience. Since cartoons were popular with children, children got to see cartoon characters from

books and magazines that they looked up to come to life. Seeing the characters move around

made the characters more real in the eyes of children, along with the lessons they taught.

The effects of animation spanned the 20th century, as it began thriving at the start and has

remained prevalent through today. J. Stuart Blackton was the first person to create animation

originating in America. He was also the first to use stop-motion, as seen in his 1900 creation The

Enchanted Drawing. Along with the notable works of J. Stuart Blackton, Walt Disney produced 4

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937, which was the world’s first full-length cel animated

feature film to use color and sound. DreamWorks Animation, originally DreamWorks Pictures,

released Antz in 1998. Antz was the first 3-D computer animated film that was released by a

company other than Pixar. By spanning the 20th century, animation reached viewers across

4 Popova et al, “Before Walt Disney,” The Atlantic. (6).

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generations both as children and when they grew into adults. It became a form of entertainment

that could convey information and values, including social norms and morals, to a massive

audience.

Animation is historically significant because it has had both negative and positive effects

on American culture. Animation has reflected and perpetuated a racist culture in America and

other countries. In America, films like Song of the South stereotyped African-Americans through

characters such as Uncle Remus and Aunt Tempy. Germany used animation for propaganda to

convince their people that Jews were bad. Animation has also promoted sexism. Disney’s 1937 5

hit film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs passes on sexist thoughts to women and young girls,

including the idea that women demonstrate subservience to men and take care of their needs.

Snow White shows subservience to the dwarves by tidying up their home for them and not

having them do the work themselves. The fact that their home was all filthy and disorganized

was not an issue for Snow White to manage. This reflected expectations about a female’s role in

the house during that time period.

On a positive note, animation has also provided the medium to teach people important

morals. One moral that has been taught through animation is that one should always be sure that

a task is finished completely. In other words, never leave a loose string or task undone. Charles

R. Bowers’ 1919 creation AWOL, all wrong old Laddiebuck, an animated short piece of

propaganda, taught American soldiers in Germany not to leave even if the war was technically

over. They were needed to complete the entire task after the war, just to ensure things

5 Patten, Fred. (2012, 1-4). “Book Review: ‘Animation Under the Swastika: A History of Trickfilm in Nazi Germany’”. Awn.com http://www.awn.com/animationworld/book-review-animation-under-swastika-history-trickfilm-nazi-germany

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transitioned smoothly for all the people and institutions that were impacted. This promoted the 6

idea that finishing a task makes someone a kinder, better person.

Animation’s appeal spurred its popularity and growth. During the 20th century, animators

emerged from around the world, and the impact of animation was global. The first successful

animators during the first decade of the 20th century were non-American animators who hailed

from France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Along with Englishman J. Stuart Blackton and

German Lotte Reininger, two famous French animators were Emile Cohl and Georges Melies. 7

Melies was the first “cinemagician” to use special effects in cinema, especially in his notable

work from 1903, The Prolific Magic Egg (L'oeuf du sorcier). Cohl, on the other hand, has been 8

called "the father of the animated cartoon," based on his 1908 hand-drawn creation

Fantasmagorie. American animation came later. Four brothers named Harry, Albert, Sam, and 9

Jack Warner, founded Warner Bros. on April 4, 1923. Warner Bros. started as a local company

that eventually expanded internationally. Six months later, Walt Disney and his brother Roy

founded The Walt Disney Company on October 16, 1923. This company grew into a major

animation studio with films and cartoon characters that connected well with audiences and

helped grow animation’s popularity.

Eleven years after the Walt Disney Company was founded, Walt Disney created the

entertaining cartoon character Donald Duck, a white duck with a yellow-orange bill, skinny legs,

and webbed feet. Donald Duck was physically human-like in that he typically wore a mariner

6 Bowers, Charles R., Animation, American Motion Picture Corporation, and Afi/Rhode Island Historical Society Collection. AWOL, all wrong old Laddiebuck. [United States: American Motion Picture Co, 1919] Video. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/00694022/. (Accessed April 23, 2017.) 7 Popova et al, “Before Walt Disney,” The Atlantic. (2-4) 8 Popova et al, “Before Walt Disney,” The Atlantic. (3-4) 9 Popova et al, “Before Walt Disney,” The Atlantic. (2)

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shirt along with a hat and tie. A popular Disney animated character, Donald Duck was used to

spread pro-American propaganda during World War II. He made an appearance in the 1943

animated short Der Fuehrer's Face. In this short, Donald drudges away making war weapons in

a manufacturing plant, with officers looking on. He needs to yell "Heil Hitler!" in time with his

work, and his hands spin quicker and speedier until he goes crazy. At that point, Donald awakens

from his fantasy and finds out that he is really lying in a delicate overnight boardinghouse

nightgown designed from the American banner. "Oh rapture, am I happy to be a national of the

United States of America!" he cries. The animated short closes with a tomato that lands on the

face of Adolf Hitler. Disney created this short film to call attention to the horrible attributes of 10

Nazi life and make American life seem wonderful in comparison.

While Disney saw the potential impact of animation’s popularity, so did others. Despite

the fact that films like Der Fuehrer's Face were created to assault Nazi society and to guard the

American lifestyle, Hitler was inspired by Walt Disney's animated productions. He wanted to

make his own and distribute them amongst the public as propaganda. In order to do so, Hitler 11

hired Josef Goebbels to be his minister of propaganda. They tried to get a few successful films

off the ground. Nothing big hit the theaters because the best talented animators in Germany, such

as Hans Fischerkoesen, refused to work for them since they were anti-Hitler. In that same year, 12

Walt Disney released an animated short propaganda production entitled Education for Death:

10 Stillich, Sven. (2009, 1-6). “Donald Versus Hitler - Walt Disney and the Art of WWII Propaganda.” Spiegel Online. http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/donald-versus-hitler-walt-disney-and-the-art-of-wwii-propaganda-a-641547.html 11 Patten et al, “Book Review: ‘Animation Under the Swastika: A History of Trickfilm in Nazi Germany’”. Awn.com (1-2) 12 Patten et al, “Book Review: ‘Animation Under the Swastika: A History of Trickfilm in Nazi Germany’”. Awn.com (1-2)

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The Making of a Nazi. It shows a child named Hans, who is living a normal life at first until he is

brainwashed by his teacher who supports Hitler and is turned into a Nazi. During a history lesson

in class, Hans gets punished for having empathy towards the rabbit after it gets eaten by the fox.

The purpose of this film was to convince Americans they had a moral obligation to support the

war by tapping into parents’ fears they would lose their children to Naziism. Despite being 13

propaganda, the film also taught the moral lesson of empathy and kindess towards good people,

and the weak.

The book Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation In Its Golden Age, published by

Michael Barrier, examines Hollywood studio cartoons in their “golden age”. Most of them are

not that long and were part of movie theater programs in the 1930s, ‘40s, and ‘50s. This book

also examines Walt Disney studios and includes its full-length cartoons as it begins with Snow

White and the Seven Dwarfs. Barrier’s book then shifts focus from Disney to Warner Brothers

and MGM cartoons during this period in time. 14

The book Living Life inside the Lines - Tales from the Golden Age of Animation is an

insider’s account written by Martha Sigall that has important detailed information about the

creators behind the famous Warner Bros. and MGM Animation cartoons. Along with Sigall’s

publication being half a history book, it is also an autobiography. 15

Stephen Cavalier’s book The World History of Animation tells the genre’s 100 year-old

story around the globe, featuring key players in 3 continents. It states that from its earliest days,

13 Unknown. (2013, 2-7). “The Making of a Nazi: Disney’s 1943 Animated Short.” Open Culture. http://www.openculture.com/2011/09/the_making_of_a_nazi_disney.html 14 Barrier, Michael. (1999, 672 pp.) “Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation In Its Golden Age” (New York: Oxford University Press) 15 Sigall, Martha. (2005, 224 pp.) “Living Life inside the Lines. Tales from the Golden Age of Animation” (University Press of Mississippi: Jackson, MS,)

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animation has developed multiple iterations along with creating myriad dynamic styles,

innovative techniques, iconic characters, and memorable stories. 16

A website article that Zeke published, titled “A Quick History of Animation”, describes

how the animation industry has skyrocketed to become super popular in the world of film. He

also references the first animation that was ever created and early animations up until the 20th

century and even today. 17

In the article “History of American animation” published by Yana Ilyukhina, Ilyukhina

explains the deeper meaning of animation. Her article states where the word “animation” derives

from, the earliest types of animation, and how its significance impacted the 20th century.

Ilyukhina also states in her article how and why the innovatively appealing images manage to

attract worldwide audiences. 18

Jules Engel’s PDF file The American Pioneers Of Abstract Animation. 1st ed. explains

the deeper meaning of what Abstract Animation is. It also references the “pioneers” of abstract

animation. 19

This website published by Genevieve B. Orr, called Animation History, has citations/web

links that describe various types of animation. It also describes that animation involves the

production of a series of still images that appear as continuously moving when played back in

quick succession. 20

16 Cavalier, Stephen. (2011, 416 pp.) The World History of Animation. University of California Press. 17 Zeke. (2015, 1-3). A Quick History of Animation. 18 Ilyukhina, Yana. (2016, 3-28.) “History of American animation” (Academia). 19 Engel, Jules. (2016.) The American Pioneers Of Abstract Animation. 1st ed. 20 Orr, Genevieve B. “Animation History”, last modified unknown, Willamette University. http://www.willamette.edu/~gorr/classes/GeneralGraphics/History/

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This website published by Jeff Schafer, called Animation Timeline (1900-1909), talks

about the birth of animation. It begins with animated stop motion films. These shorts had film

rates of 20 frames per second. Other significant stop motion shorts from 1900-1910 are also

referenced. Andi Terhune, Brian Nixon, and Amy Seawick published a website called 21

Animation Timeline (1930-1939) that talks about the stock market crash in 1929 leading to the

great depression. This caused movies to be a big hit along with animation shorts being demanded

before features. Animated cartoons were in high demand during this period. 22

Animation promoted racism and sexism throughout the 20th century. In the 1941 23 24

classic Dumbo, there are two separate scenes that feature black crows speaking stereotypically,

and faceless African-American circus workers singing a song that is denigrating towards blacks.

One of the crows is even named Jim Crow. The "hairy ape" remark in “Song of the

Roustabouts,” sung by the faceless workers, is demonstrative of them being slaves and

subhuman. Twelve years later, Peter Pan featured a Native American character named “The 25

Red Man,” who used Native American stereotypes. The way he did this was by singing the song

“What Made the Red Man Red?” in broken jargon. This film advanced bigotry by portraying

supremacist thoughts regarding Native Americans that were being taught to children. This was

21 Schafer, Jeff. “Animation Timeline (1900-1909)”, last modified unknown. Bowling Green State University. http://digitalarts.bgsu.edu/faculty/cjoritz/Spring11/artc3000_1/history/1900-1909.html 22 Andi Terhune, Brian Nixon, and Amy Seawick. “Animation Timeline (1930-1939)”, last modified unknown. Bowling Green State University. http://digitalarts.bgsu.edu/faculty/cjoritz/Spring11/artc3000_1/history/1930-1939.htm 23 Telegraph Reporters. (2016, 1-5). “Pupils taught Disney fairy tales promote sexism and domestic violence in online lesson plan.” The Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/11/20/pupils-taught-disney-fairy-tales-promote-sexism-and-domestic-vio/ 24 McNeill, Brian. (2015, 1-4). “Racism in advertising, cartoons, movies is focus of new book co-authored by VCU history professor” VCU News. https://news.vcu.edu/article/Racism_in_advertising_cartoons_movies_is_focus_of_new_book_coauthored 25 Agard, Veronica. (2013, 1-3). “6 Disney Films That Are Undeniably Racist and Sexist” Mic.com https://mic.com/articles/68219/6-disney-films-that-are-undeniably-racist-and-sexist#.nQ7MsbRfv

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an issue since Native Americans as of this time communicated in English and Disney made them

look idiotic. The way Disney did this was by making them talk in broken English as though they

did not know how to talk.

However, animation has taught good morals as well. A moral that Woody is taught in Toy

Story is that “it’s OK not to be the center of attention all the time.” He learns this lesson when he

finally accepts Buzz Lightyear as his and his owner’s companion. The potential effects of the 26

lessons children learn from animation can have a real impact on how they view society, and that

in turn leads to the values taught in animation being reflected in society. “Children in particular

are vulnerable to these messages due to their high consumption of media and their cognitive

development (Agarwal & Dhanasekaran, 2012; Herbozo et al., 2004).” Children may carry 27

lessons they learned from animation when they were children into adulthood. These lessons can 28

both inspire children and potentially reinforce stereotypes which films promote. Historically,

some animated films promoted stereotypes of how both men and women were supposed to look

and behave in order to fit in society. Before the 21st century, most of the women who showed

power in Disney movies were villains. This would give little girls a message that although

villains are powerful, good will win in the end, and good girls do not display their power. 29

26 Buchanan-Whitlock, Emmilie. (2013, 1-4). Life lessons from ‘Toy Story,’ ‘Up’ and 6 other animated movies. Deseret News. http://www.deseretnews.com/top/1516/0/Life-lessons-from-Toy-Story-Up-and-6-other-animated-movies.html 27 Johnson, Rachael Michelle, "The Evolution of Disney Princesses and their Effect on Body Image, Gender Roles, and the Portrayal of Love" (2015). Educational Specialist. Paper 6. http://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=edspec201019 28 Weller, Chris. (2015, 1-6). “The Uniquely Powerful Reason Why Pixar Movies Are So Good.” BusinessInsider.com http://www.businessinsider.com/why-pixar-movies-are-so-good-2015-7 29 Rabison, Rebecca. (2008, 41-47). “Deviance In Disney. Representations of Crime in Disney Films: A Qualitative Analysis.” Wesleyan University. http://wesscholar.wesleyan.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1147&context=etd_hon_theses

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We can determine the effects of the lessons taught by animation as both good and bad.

One way these effects were good was because they promoted social causes. As mentioned

earlier, Charles R. Bowers’ AWOL, all wrong old Laddiebuck encouraged soldiers to stay in

Germany to help out with the aftermath of the war. On the other hand, animation also 30

sometimes promoted negative stereotypes of how both men and women were supposed to look

and behave in order to fit in society. Their behaviors reinforced rigid societal norms. Little girls

learned to pick up on Snow White’s non self-reliance characteristic. This could impact them

negatively as they would have learned to model her and not be independent. Male characters in

animated films also sometimes promoted aggression. Boys who were watching these strong,

attractive men might be tempted to emulate their characteristics because they wanted to be seen

as attractive and successful as well. Boys may have felt bad about themselves if they were not

aggressive enough. In analyzing the history of animation and its impact on social norms, one

conclusion becomes clear. While animation has promoted racism and sexism, it has also taught

morals in an accessible form to children.

RACISM

One negative consequence of animation is that it has promoted and perpetuated racism.

Animated films, that were directed at and appealed to children, promoted racism in young minds.

Children subconsciously learned racist dispositions, convictions, thoughts and lessons from

animation, which is truly terrifying. The type of racism children learned was mostly subtle and

nuanced. The significantly scarier part is that the people who watched these films negatively

affect their society when they mimic these lessons. These ideologies that youngsters gain from

30 Bowers et al, AWOL, all wrong old Laddiebuck. [United States: American Motion Picture Co, 1919] Video. Retrieved from the Library of Congress.

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animation are incorporated into regular daily existence. This racist messaging can have a

negative impact on society. Throughout the 20th century, the fact that many people did not know

their attitudes were racist is important because it allowed them to continue with these attitudes. If

they were told that their attitudes were racist, they may have been shocked and upset. Many

might not have believed or acknowledged the fact that their attitudes were racist, causing them to

reject people who were bringing it to their attention. Due to this, the film watchers continued to

perpetuate a racially biased, discriminatory society.

In Disney’s 1940 Fantasia, there was subtle racism in one specific scene that is now

censored out. The scene included a small centaur whose skin tone was clearly meant to resemble

a person of African descent. The centaur was portrayed as a slave while she was pairing other

centaurs by their skin color. This scene perpetuated racial attitudes about African-Americans,

since dark-skinned characters were portrayed as being subservient to lighter-skinned characters.

At one point, a white centaur hit the black centaur in the face with her tail, which represented

white people abusing black people. Immediately after she was hit, she scowled for a second, and

then began working again for the white centaurs with a smile on her face. The dark-skinned

centaur was shown as pleased and happy, despite the fact that her role toward the lighter-skinned

centaurs was inferior. The problem with this is that black characters should not be shown as

inferior regardless of whether they are being portrayed as happy. The issue with portraying them

as happy is that it will implicitly say to people who want to help them that they should not help

them. It also says to people who think the system is unfair that the system may not be unfair, and

that there may not be anything wrong with it. That is racist.

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A year later, Dumbo was released, and with it came more media portraying racist

attitudes. However, this time it happened in more than just one scene. The first of two scenes

consisted of crows representing black people who spoke in stereotypically characterized black

vernacular. One of the crows was even named Jim Crow, a clear reference to laws establishing

racial segregation from 1877 to the 1960’s in the South, denying African-Americans basic rights,

and codifying their status as inferior human beings. Naming a crow Jim is offensive because it 31

implies that the Jim Crow Laws were good and acceptable, as the Disney character was funny

and charming. The song Jim and the other crows sang, called “When I See an Elephant Fly,”

contained “heavy-use of southern black vernacular.” This was a problem because crows were 32

used to promote negative stereotypes about African-Americans. The second scene consisted of

faceless African-American circus workers who chanted the song “Song of the Roustabouts”

while working: "We slave until we’re almost dead / We’re happy-hearted roustabout" and "Keep

on working / Stop that shirking / Pull that rope, you hairy ape." Along with there being a 33

problem that the workers were black, it was indicative of them being slaves and subhuman

because of the “hairy ape” comment. Both of these songs perpetuated racial stereotypes that were

directly aimed at children.

Five years later, in 1946, Disney released a half-animated, half-live action film called

Song of the South. Although it was a big success back then, it is considered extremely racist

today. The issue is not really what the movie portrayed, but it is more of what the movie did not 34

31 Pilgrim, David. (2012, 1-6). “Jim Crow Museum: Origins of Jim Crow.” Ferris State University. http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/what.htm/ 32 Agard et al, “6 Disney Films That Are Undeniably Racist and Sexist” Mic.com. (2) 33 Agard et al, “6 Disney Films That Are Undeniably Racist and Sexist” Mic.com. (2) 34 Brooks, Xan. (2007, 1-2). “Is Song of the South too racist to screen?” Theguardian.com https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2007/mar/28/therearetwodisneyfilms

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depict. It appeared that the film was set before the Civil War. The film’s plantation system that 35

Disney transformed was made into a silly ideal world where blacks and whites lived together

amicably. One thing that was clear was that blacks were shown as being subservient to whites.

Yet, the blacks were pleased to work in the fields anyways. Uncle Remus and Aunt Tempy 36

were portrayed as slaves, and they appeared to be okay with that. Similar to the little black 37

centaur’s portrayal as happy in Fantasia, what makes this racist was that, again, dark-skinned

characters were portrayed as cheerful, despite the fact that they were slaves. Once again, this

depiction is erroneous because it relays a message to individuals who think there is no need to

help them, although they should help make them equal. Additionally, it says to those who think

the system is unfair that there may not actually be a problem with a system that discriminates.

There is another scene where Uncle Remus read a story to two young boys, and the film

transitioned from live action into an animated short. In the animated short, while Br’er Rabbit

was away, Br’er Fox went underground and met up with Br’er Bear. He made a model of a child

out of tar that he and Br’er Bear called the “tar-baby”. Br’er Bear helped Br’er Fox carry a log

outside with the “tar-baby” sitting on it. Their intention was to catch Br’er Rabbit as soon as he

returned. They would accomplish their goal by enticing Br’er Rabbit to think that the “tar-baby”

was real. While Br’er Fox and Br’er Bear were hiding in the bushes, Br’er Rabbit returned and

discovered the “tar-baby.” He thought it was real and therefore attempted to communicate with

it. Br’er Rabbit became annoyed after the “tar-baby” did not respond. He started punching it,

only to end up getting stuck in the tar. Br’er Fox and Br’er Bear were successful because Br’er

35 Singer, Matt. (2016, 1-5). “Just How Racist Is ‘Song of the South,’ Disney’s Most Notorious Movie?” Screen Crush. http://screencrush.com/song-of-the-south-racism/ 36 Singer et al, “Just How Racist Is ‘Song of the South,’ Disney’s Most Notorious Movie?” Screen Crush. (3) 37 Singer et al, “Just How Racist Is ‘Song of the South,’ Disney’s Most Notorious Movie?” Screen Crush. (3)

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Rabbit engaged with the “tar-baby” and became stuck in the tar. Although the short itself was

not really about race, using the word “tar-baby” is denigrating towards African-Americans

because that word is disparaging. This was yet another reason why the film is considered racist. 38

Also, Uncle Remus’ heavily-accented voice and vernacular was also racist because the film

made it so he was representative of a slave. Uncle Remus being depicted this way is racist

because he is representativce of Southern black people. His use of Southern vernacular and

accent makes it so he does not sound intelligent and this relays a message that blacks are

unintelligent. By perpetuating racism, animation has promoted falsehoods to viewers about

slavery and how slaves were treated. We all know that slavery was immoral and a violation of

the slaves’ rights.

Seven years later, Peter Pan was released. The racism in the film is evident in the song

“What Made the Red Man Red,” sung by the Chief, who is a Native American. Part of the song

is spoken in broken English by the Chief. People’s skin colors should not be referred to as colors

of the rainbow like “red”, especially when Native American’s skin colors are not red. It is a way

of making them seem different. Stepping aside from the entire color, this song also denigrates

Native Americans. The presence of Native American culture is very limited as of today and was

so even during the 1950s. The way this film promoted racism is that racist ideas about Native

Americans were taught to children. This is a problem because Native Americans at that time

spoke English and Disney made them look stupid by making them speak in broken English as if

they did not know how to talk.

38 Singer et al, “Just How Racist Is ‘Song of the South,’ Disney’s Most Notorious Movie?” Screen Crush. (4)

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Other forms of animation including cartoons promoted racist stereotypes. Warner Bros.’

Speedy Gonzales, who is a mouse of Hispanic descent, tended to run around shouting words

such as “Arriba!”, “Andale!”, and “Yii-hah!”. He did this while trying to save his many family

members and holding a bottle of tequila at the same time. The idea that all Hispanic people are

hyperactive, alcoholics, heavily-accented, coming from huge families, and not displaying a lot of

intelligence was promoted. Also, in the 1953 Bugs Bunny cartoon Southern Fried Rabbit, Bugs 39

was dressed as a “slave in tattered clothing and dark brown fur who crawled from Yosemite

Sam, begging “Don’t beat me mastah …”” The problem here is that black people were 40

portrayed as slaves who had to ask permission to do things so they did not get beaten by white

people. That is racist.

SEXISM

Besides animation teaching racism, animation can impart sexist ideas to children without

them even knowing. Disney movies such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and

Sleeping Beauty (1959) convey sexist ideas to women and young girls, such as women being

subservient to men and that women are there to take care of men. Snow White has to find shelter

and must rely on the male dwarves to give her a home. In exchange, she feels obligated to take

care of them by doing the housework and being of service to them.

Women are frequently not only subservient to men in animation; they are also enslaved

by higher authoritative powers. Aurora in Sleeping Beauty is enslaved to Maleficent’s powers

since Maleficent was not invited to Aurora’s christening when she was an infant. This resulted in

39 Wells, Eliza, "The Representation of Women and Gender in Warner Bros. Cartoons: A Performance of Satire" (2015). Mary Wollstonecraft Writing Award. Paper 3. http://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/wollstonecraftaward/3 40 Wells et al, "The Representation of Women and Gender in Warner Bros. Cartoons: A Performance of Satire" Mary Wollstonecraft Writing Award. Paper 3. (1)

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Maleficent cursing her and having control over Aurora’s life. The message is that a female’s life

can be controlled by others, even when the women themselves do not do anything wrong.

Disney movies also gave children “their first impressions of how men and women are

supposed to act.” The princesses in Disney movies have always been presented as very pretty, 41

which grabs the attention of young girls who are watching these films. The concern is that little

girls might believe they have to be pretty to get the guy they want. Animated films also 42

promote the idea that greater physical beauty is indicative of higher romantic ability levels. For

women, there is a theme that other jealous women might try to kill the female heroine if she is

too pretty. When the evil queen in Snow White found out from the mirror on the wall that she

was not the fairest of them all, she decided to poison Snow White with an apple. Jender argues

that in films like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, there is no need for a woman to worry

because if a woman is beautiful enough, she will attract a man to take care of her. This 43

happens when the prince rescued Snow White after she had eaten the poisonous apple.

Attractiveness leads to better life outcomes in animated films. For women, a woman

might have the capacity to get away from her repulsive existing state by acquiring an affluent

man who is willing to fall in love with her, if she is attractive enough. In the 1950 classic 44

Cinderella, Cinderella is treated like a servant while living with her stepmother and stepsisters. It

is unfair that while they live normal lives, she has to do the housework and is treated cruelly.

However, she eventually attends a ball, and her beauty attracts Prince Charming. Her beauty

eventually saves her from her horrible life, allowing her to become a princess.

41 Castillo, Paul. (2006, 1-2.) “The negative effects of Disney on children.” 42 Castillo et al, “The negative effects of Disney on children.” (1) 43 Jender. (2010, 1-7). “What Disney Teaches.” Feminist Philosophers. https://feministphilosophers.wordpress.com/2010/05/25/what-disney-teaches/ 44 Jender et al, “What Disney Teaches.” Feminist Philosophers. (1)

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For men, princes are always strong and attractive. This allows them the same thing as

females: to find their princesses and then live happily ever after with them. In Disney’s 1959

Sleeping Beauty, Prince Phillip discovered Aurora asleep in the highest tower after he killed

Maleficent. Once he found her, he kissed her, waking her up along with breaking the spell. He

has striking good looks and charm. Many animated Disney heroes are also portrayed with similar

qualities.

Disney animated films in the 20th century continued to perpetuate sexist ideas through

their portrayals of princesses across generations. “Disney is one of the most powerful aspects in

children’s media,” and therefore has a great influence on children. But their princess 45

phenomena plays an essential role in perpetuating stereotypes by having their heroines embody

submissiveness, be young, thin, and focused on attracting a love interest. Disney movies often

gave children their first impression of how men and women were supposed to act, according to

Castillo. Disney developed the first three princesses during a time when women were confined 46

to the stereotype of homemaker. Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora all came about between the

late 1930s and 1950s, when women were mostly at home taking care of families and the

household.

Even as the female characters in Disney movies get stronger over time and gain more

complex characteristics, it always ends up being that the prince is the hero and not the female.

One sees examples of this in Ariel from Disney's 1989 hit film The Little Mermaid. She was

brave, she thought independently, and yet she still needed to be saved by a prince. The same

45 Johnson, Rachael Michelle, "The Evolution of Disney Princesses and their Effect on Body Image, Gender Roles, and the Portrayal of Love" (2015). Educational Specialist. Paper 6. http://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=edspec201019 46 Castillo, Paul. (2006, 1-2.) “The negative effects of Disney on children.” (1)

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thing happens two years later with Belle in Beauty and the Beast. Belle is smart, talented and 47

kind. She actually is very proactive and demonstrates a lot of really positive female

characteristics. Yet she should have been the heroine of the story and not the character 48

dependent upon another, who is really the beast, who becomes the main character of the story.

Although she is a driving force, he overshadows her by re-obtaining his prince-like personality.

Disney’s animated films promoted sexist societal norms by integrating role models

portrayed as positive (princesses), but who relayed messages including that a woman’s purpose

was getting a guy and taking care of her man. It seems like Disney conveyed a particular

representation of the ideal man and woman through its princes, princesses, and the stories

surrounding them. According to Pelton, studies by Wohlwend show that boys and girls draw

conclusions about gender roles and expectations from Disney films. This becomes concerning 49

when one looks at the first two eras of Disney princesses which span the 20th Century.

In the first era, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty all

represent more submissive females who adhere to more traditional gender stereotypes than in the

second era. Cinderella does housework to gain love from her stepmother and is treated like a

servant. Some of these characters are very subordinate. Although Snow White is nice and kind,

sadly, she is not very self-reliant as the seven dwarves provide her with food and shelter. In

return, Snow White cooks and cleans for them, staying at home all day while the dwarves work

47 Johnson et al, "The Evolution of Disney Princesses and their Effect on Body Image, Gender Roles, and the Portrayal of Love". Educational Specialist. Paper 6. (12) 48 Johnson et al, "The Evolution of Disney Princesses and their Effect on Body Image, Gender Roles, and the Portrayal of Love". Educational Specialist. Paper 6. (12) 49 Pelton, Tiffany Jade, "Marketing of Gender Stereotypes through Animated Films: A Thematic Analysis of the Disney Princess Franchise" (2015). UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones. 2411. http://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/thesesdissertations/241

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in the mine. During this time period, she reflected the role of many women in society who were

not self-reliant. She was not safe when she was not under the protection of a man.

Today, given the changes for women in this country and others, some girls may look at

Snow White as having limitations. She did not seem strong and independent. Yet back then,

these movies really perpetuated these stereotypes. Another stereotype that was perpetuated

towards women is that they can be nice and respectful. Disney made it so princesses were

submissive and helpless. If women are not nice and respectful, then they are evil and powerful.

Evil queens are stronger than the princesses. The princesses have to rely on a man or prince for

protection from the evil queens or stepmothers and need their help to defeat them. There is

always something bad that is happening to them that they have to overcome, even though they

are always being nice and respectful.

The second generation of princesses includes The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast,

Aladdin, Pocahontas and Mulan. These characters are more assertive, independent, smart and 50

funny, which reflects the societal norms of women in the later 20th Century. Mulan, similar to 51

Ariel, demonstrates an independent style of living that can inspire young children to embrace

personal responsibility. Jasmine actually denies her father’s attempt for an arranged marriage for

her, and instead looks for adventure and true love on her own. She takes freedoms previously

unavailable to her. Pocahontas deviates from her father’s intended plan as well, and wants to find

true love. She serves as an ambassador to new, unknown people, the English. She shows how

female characters in this generation were becoming heroines more often in animated films,

50 Johnson et al, "The Evolution of Disney Princesses and their Effect on Body Image, Gender Roles, and the Portrayal of Love". Educational Specialist. Paper 6. (14) 51 Johnson et al, "The Evolution of Disney Princesses and their Effect on Body Image, Gender Roles, and the Portrayal of Love". Educational Specialist. Paper 6. (14)

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reflecting the roles women wanted to see themselves taking in society. Pocahontas saves John

Smith from Powhatan. She clearly has confidence and strength. Still, these films emphasize the

physical features of the female characters. They are still portrayed as gentle, they are still

beautiful, and their body image is portrayed in a particularly attractive, seductive way. This gives

the message that women still have to be beautiful to have other good qualities. Even though their

strengths have increased, the focus is still on finding true love with a man for life success.

Male stereotypes also existed in Disney characters across the 20th Century. Men are

expected to be by a woman’s side most of the time. They are stereotypically strong, attractive,

likeable, and most importantly invincible. Critics have argued that male characters in Disney

films are often heroes. Along with them being attractive, they mostly tend to be physically buff

and sometimes aggressive. These traits give the message to a boy of how he is supposed to be.

Just as princesses are seen as subservient to princes in Disney films, one can also look at

how societal patriarchy is portrayed in other ways. Both patriarchy and privilege in animation

conveys how male characters have authority over land and resources. There is the assumption in

Disney’s 1994 blockbuster The Lion King, where Simba, the son of Mufasa, will inherit the rule

over the land. What makes this idea sexist is that the societal idea of male authority is relayed

and that the possibility for females to rule the land is not even considered. 52

Sexism is also seen in Warner Bros. cartoons as well. There are few obviously female

characters and the ones who are female are usually portrayed as “aggressive, overly harsh, ugly

or cruel.” Granny in Sylvester is always trying to hit Sylvester with a broom. The fact that there 53

52 Vraketta, Georgia. (unknown, 1-8). “The Representations of Gender, Sexualtiy and Race in Disney’s The Lion King”, University Of Brighton. 53 Wells et al, "The Representation of Women and Gender in Warner Bros. Cartoons: A Performance of Satire" Mary Wollstonecraft Writing Award. Paper 3. (1)

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is an absence of many female characters with positive characteristics in these cartoons makes this

a problem. The female characters that do exist are mainly used for comic relief.

MORALS

Animated films have provided countless moral lessons throughout various films for child

audiences. There is a moral that those who do not follow the rules or do bad things do not

succeed. In Wallace Carlson’s 1915 Dreamy Dud -- he resolves not to smoke, it is shown that a

man plays with his dog at first. This helps him not want to smoke as he seeks pleasure in this

activity involving his dog rather than smoking. Then, the man enters a room where he meets an

elderly man with a hash pipe. He steals the pipe and takes it outside. This happens before he

reunites with his dog; meanwhile his dog became distracted after finding a cat to socialize with.

Although smoking is bad, the man still does it. Yet the dog refuses, shortly before a godlike

figure enters the frame and takes the man away to heaven - since that is where smokers go when

they die. This only results in the dog crying, making a puddle, which soon becomes a lake. The

dog has completely submerged himself in his tears and is nowhere to be seen. While in heaven, 54

the man is now clinging onto the moon. The moral to be learned is not to smoke because it is bad

for you.

Six years later, in Tony Sarg’s 1921 creation The First Circus, monkeys were at first

unable to open a bottle of alcohol. The monkeys eventually opened the bottle and started 55

drinking. Shortly after, a larger ape spotted them and as soon as the two monkeys noticed, they

54 Carlson, Wallace, -1967, Animation, Writing, Essanay Film Manufacturing Co, and Afi/Edell. Dreamy Dud--he resolves not to smoke. [United States: Essanay Film Manufacturing Co, 1915] Video. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/00694009/. (Accessed April 23, 2017.) 55 Sarg, Tony, Animation, Herbert M. Dawley Productions, Rialto Productions, and Afi/Uhl. The First Circus. United States: Rialto Productions, 1921. Video. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/00694026/. (Accessed April 23, 2017.)

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immediately buried the bottle and ran up the tree. The larger ape goes to the dig site where the

bottle was buried. The two monkeys look down and try to scare the ape away by throwing an

object that hits the ape in the head. The ape becomes agitated, yanks a tree branch, looks down at

the ground, uncovers the buried bottle, and starts drinking. The monkeys cry because they did

not want anyone else drinking what they viewed as their prized possession. This animation

portrays the two monkeys as criminals or people drinking illegally, and the ape is portrayed as a

hypocritical law enforcement agent since he drinks the booze instead of just confiscating it. This

lesson does not teach children the moral of not drinking illegal substances, and instead shows

that people can be hypocritical.

The same moral of people who do not follow the rules and therefore do not succeed

applies to those who are cruel, such as villains. Although villains are powerful, good most often

wins, and good characters do not display their power. In Disney’s Cinderella, Lady Tremaine,

Cinderella’s stepmother, ends up getting banished from the kingdom for enslaving her

stepdaughter. The lesson to be learned is that if you are not nice to people, it will come back to 56

haunt you. This is the idea of karma.

Another positive moral is that good characters who follow the rules and learn from their

mistakes get rewarded with positive outcomes. There is a part in Wallace Carlson’s 1915

creation Dreamy Dud -- he resolves not to smoke; where the man falls from the moon, lands back

on earth, and reunites with his dog. The prior moment when he got carried away to the moon was

a life lesson about what will happen if you smoke. The moral the man learns is that if he 57

56 Rabison et al, “Deviance In Disney. Representations of Crime in Disney Films: A Qualitative Analysis.” Wesleyan University. (45) 57 Carlson et al, -1967, Animation, Writing, Essanay Film Manufacturing Co, and Afi/Edell. Dreamy Dud--he resolves not to smoke. [United States: Essanay Film Manufacturing Co, 1915] Video. Retrieved from the Library of Congress.

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smokes, it is possible he will die. If one smokes and dies, his/her dog or loved ones will suffer as

a result of these actions, just like how the dog cried when the man got taken away.

Characters in Disney’s 1994 blockbuster The Lion King teach us that when people grow

up, they have to take more responsibility for their actions, and possibly the actions of others as

well. According to Ward, “The Lion King is most often referred to as a moral ‘educator’ on the

issue of responsibility, family relationships, life and death. Simba believes he caused his 58

father’s death, but it turns out he was tricked. He only figures this out when he goes back to face

up to what happened. He realizes he has an important task ahead of him in regards to caring for

the kingdom. The task that Simba gives up on is that he no longer becomes a part of the 59

community. This happens after thinking that he is responsible for the death of his father. He

lives a carefree life for a while after leaving the pride lands. Although hesitant at first, Simba is

eventually inspired to return home to take his rightful place as king. He does so after seeking

advice from Nala, Rafiki, and the ghost of Mufasa.

Another important moral is to accept others who are different from you. Children’s

movies are very impactful towards children as they teach diversity, and especially accepting it.

This push for greater diversity in animated features began at Disney two decades ago, which was

only at the very end of the 20th century. The era of Pocahontas (1995) and Mulan (1998)

featured the studio's first Native American and Asian heroines. 60

58 Ward, Annalee R. Mouse Morality: The Rhetoric of Disney Animated Film. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press, 2002. http://americanaejournal.hu/vol4no1/borthaiser 59 Ceynar, Tiffanie. 25 Of The Best Family Movies For Teaching Honesty, Grit, Courage & More. afineparent.com https://afineparent.com/building-character/best-family-movies.html 60 Solomon, Charles. (2015, 1-3). Diversity can be seen and heard in animated films. Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-animation-diversity-20150215-story.html

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Woody in Disney Pixar’s 1995 major hit film Toy Story teaches the moral “it’s OK not to

be the center of attention all the time.” Woody learns this lesson after finally accepting Buzz 61

Lightyear as his and his owner’s companion. It is important that children learn morals, 62

especially since over the course of time, children grow up. As adults, they make decisions and

help shape culture. It is important for children to have learned morals if they are shaping the

culture and making decisions as adults, because they will mold society based on the morals they

learned from animated films. Society will be better if good morals are learned by children from

animation and then integrated into their everyday life.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, animation has been very successful throughout the 20th century. Although

it has at times promoted both racism and sexism, it has also taught important positive values and

morals. Disney films reinforced conventional stereotypes through beautiful and likeable

characters, portrayed minorities as unimportant and unintelligent, but also taught and reinforced

positive morals. The way lessons from animation affect children is that the lessons can change

the perspective that children have on society. Walt Disney's dedication was to help children

around the world build up their creative vision. Disney films helped improve children’s insights

with various historical truths and regular day to day existence.

The way that lessons from animation affect children’s lives as they grow into adults is

that children convey the ideologies they learned from animation when they were young into

adulthood. These lessons can be insipring to children transitioning into adulthood, since

animated films help children remember and internalize morals from the films. Animation also

61 Buchanan-Whitlock et al, Life lessons from ‘Toy Story,’ ‘Up’ and 6 other animated movies. Deseret News. (1-2) 62 Buchanan-Whitlock et al, Life lessons from ‘Toy Story,’ ‘Up’ and 6 other animated movies. Deseret News. (1-2)

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helps children mature and improve their wisdom. These lessons can also reinforce stereotypes

that are promoted in the films. Some animated movies advanced stereotypes of the way men,

women, and minorities were expected to look and act so they could function in the world.

With an estimated 200 million people watching Disney films each year, evolving the

concepts presented in a Disney film is a guaranteed way to at least promote acceptance of any

issue in a society (Cheu). The effects on the American culture from animation are both negative 63

and positive. Animation propagated a racist culture in America and different nations. Racism still

exists in the world today, as it is shown that animation perpetuated racist stereotypes; these

stereotypes contributed to why racial minorities do not receive the same level of education, are

economically disadvantaged, and are more likely to be incarcerated.

³The effects children gain from the lessons animation taught can really affect how

children see society, and that over time, provokes the qualities that animation teaches taking

effect in society. Ideally, ongoing animated films can teach kindness and acceptance towards all

cultures. Currently in many countries, there is a hatred and distrust of foreigners. It would be

great if an enjoyable animated film integrated characters from multiple cultures. Animation has

come a long way over the last century. I am hopeful that the animation industry will continue to

evolve in a positive way.

63 Cheu, Johnson. Diversity in Disney films : critical essays on race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality and disability. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, Inc., Publishers, 2013. Print.