Racist Donkey, Sexy Fish:Gender, Race, and their Portrayal in American Film Animals

By: Sara Smith

Why is it Important?

Racial Stereotypes have permeated children’s films since the genre’s beginning, and still persist in modern cinema.

They establish and perpetuate the negative social perceptions of races and gender.

They offer no opportunity for change.

The Common Stereotypes seen in Cinema

Hispanics

Tito: Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ignacio Alonso Julio Federico De Tito. Georgette: Get away from me, you little bug-eyed creep.

The Common Stereotypes seen in Cinema

“Shanghai, Hong Kong, Egg Fu Yung, fortune cookie always wrong!” – Shun Gon from The Aristocats

“We are Siamese if you please We are Siamese if you don't please… When we finding baby there are milk nearbyIf we look in baby buggy there could bePlenty milk for you and also some for me.”-Si and Am from Lady and the Tramp

The Common Stereotypes seen in Both Past and Present Cinema

The Black Comic Relief

Donkey from Shrek

The Common Stereotypes seen in Cinema

The Italian-American Mobster

“Funny, ain't it? I brought my sons into the world, full of love and care. And

then you took them out. Do you know who I am? DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?

I'm the Don, the boss of the Great White Sharks! “

- Don Lino from Shark Tale

Lenny, son of Don Lino, seen here in his dolphin disguise.

The Common Gender Roles seen in Cinema

Femme Fatale The Traditional Role

Lola from Shark Tale

Duchess from The Aristocats

Lady from Lady and the Tramp

Main Example: Shark Tale

Produced by Dream works, Shark Tale is a prime example of both negative racial stereotypes and oppressive gender roles.

Bibliography

The Aristocats. Dir. Wolfgang Reitherman. Perf. Phil Harris and Eve Gabor. Walt Disney Productions, 1970. DVD.

Benshoff, Harry M., and Sean Griffin. America On Film. Malden, MA: Black Well, 2006. Print.

Bogle, Donald. Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, and Bucks. New York, NY: Continuum, 1991. Print.

Lady and the Tramp. Dir. Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, and Hamilton Luske. Perf. Barbara Luddy, Larry Roberts and Peggy Lee. Walt Disney Productions, 1955. DVD.

Mulvey, Laura. "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema." Feminist Film Theory: A Reader. Ed. Sue Thornham. New York, NY: New York UP, 2006. 58-69. Print.

"New Hampshire." U.S. Census Bureau. Web. <http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/33000.html>.

Bibliography

Oliver and Company. Dir. George Scribner. Perf. Joseph Lawrence and Billy Joel. Walt Disney Productions, 1988. DVD.

Shark Tale. Dir. Bibo Bergeron, Vicky Jenson, and Rob Letterman. Perf. Will Smith, Robert De Niro and Renée Zellweger. DreamWorks Animation, 2004. DVD.

"Shark Tale Slammed." Sydney Morning Herald - Business & World News Australia | Smh.com.au. Web. 24 Apr. 2011. <http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/09/15/1095221648576.html>.

Shrek. Dir. Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson. Perf. Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz. Dreamworks Pictures, 2001. DVD.

Vitullo, Juliann. "Screening the Italian-American Male." Masculinity. By Aaron Baker and Peter Lehman. New York, NY: Routledge, 2001. 213-25. Print.

Picture Credits

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/33000.html http://

yanny0808.blogspot.com/2010/12/movie-shark-tale.html

http://www.aveleyman.com/ActorCredit.aspx?ActorID=11094

http://www.obsessedwithsports.com/2010/06/11/glen-davis-and-nate-robinson-are-shrek-and-donkey-best-friends/

http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/File:Siamese.jpg http://

thecheerfulearfull.blogspot.com/2009/09/ladies-tramps-and-super-fierce-secret.html

http://i-love-disney.com/new_July.php http://mainancewek.blogspot.com/2009/03/disney-arist

ocats-clipart.html http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/09/15/109522164

8576.html http://movies.ign.com/articles/552/552650p1.html