Cultural representation of ‘the other’ in Disney’s classical animated movies
Illustrated with the example of Pocahontas
Written Assignment in the seminar
„Media and Representation“
Södertörns Högskola
School of Culture and Education
Media, Communication and Cultural Analysis
Submitted by
Ariane Petschow
Stockholm, 20th of January 2014
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Introduction
Disney’s classical animated movies are known to and loved by many people all over the world, but preferably
by the Western socialized population. Because of its incredible impact on children and adults, Disney can be
seen as a socialization factor and hence, plays a particular role within the American movie factory
Hollywood. Especially in the last two and a half decades, in a range of Disney movies, culture plays an
important role occurring in characters, setting and songs. Simultaneously, Disney released more and more
classical animated children’s movies which similarly raised its acceptance in the society and intensified the
alleged magic around Disney. Therefore, in the following essay I want to investigate Disney’s utilization and
representation of foreign cultures and its awareness for the associated responsibility. To explore potential
(mis-)representations of the cultural other in these movies, Milly Buonanno’s examination about
Americanization and the relation of ‘us’ (the Western society) and ‘the other’ in media flows is taken as
basis. But in contrast to Buonanno, who is interested in "the transfer of programmes in geographical space”
(2008: 102), I want to investigate how the cultural other is represented in Disney’s full-length classical
animated movies, which levels of representation are how utilized, and how ‘the other’ is embedded in a
whole media concept as a certain kind of flow. Of course, my findings are not universally valid, but can be
regarded as thought-provoking impulses. A paramount example at the end of this analysis will be the movie
Pocahontas which is based on a real happening in the America of the beginning 17th century, but rearranged
and adjusted into the Disney ideology and aesthetics.
For a better understanding of the following analysis, firstly, I want to define my understanding of culture
within this essay. With the word ‘culture’ I mean “the ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a particular
people or society” (Oxford Dictionary) or ethnic group. Furthermore, if I use the terms ‘other’ or ‘foreign’ in
combination with culture, I mean different from the American culture of European descent due to several
characteristics like appearance and values.
The Domination of American Culture
In her investigation of Americanization and media imperialism, Milly Buonanno argues that media
imperialism “originally emerged as an articulation of cultural imperialism” which means “an influence, an
instance of cultural domination, exercised by nations or hegemonic systems on the world stage of politics
and economics: the United States, capitalism, the West.” (Buonanno 2008: 86). Arisen from this, media
imperialism is, in my eyes, today also an instrument to reinforce cultural imperialism. In case of movies
which portray acts or processes of cultural domination, the media are used to illustrate these real or fictional
imperialist actions and hence, support the hegemony of the USA and Western world. At the same time,
indigenous cultures could be even more repressed in their right to exist because their history is revived in
movies. Indeed, the representation of foreign cultures in American movies is not uncommonly whitewashed
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and contains misrepresentations1. Besides the intention to represent the USA as the world leader, there
might be other reasons to embed foreign cultures in American movies. Firstly, things and humans who are
unlike oneself appear mostly interesting, exciting and fascinating. I think this curiosity about the foreign is
lying in the human nature. People can and like to travel with their remote (Buonanno 2008: 103). Secondly,
as interesting these things are, I guess the average American media recipient does not want to see the
unsophisticated truth and therefore, the truth is adjusted to a level where excitement and aesthetics prettify
the story so that it is marketable. And thirdly, in my eyes, movies and other media texts should not be
restricted to the own culture – if so, this could be seen as a form of racism due to denial. Thus, the
implementation of stories about ‘the other’ into movies leads also to a “close convergence of interests
between the economic and the cultural sphere” which Buonanno only sees as a cause of the unilateral
process of the export of American cultural products (2008: 86). Although she considers that there are
“travelling narratives” (2008: 108) with which spectators can obtain a view into foreign cultures, she
unfortunately does not regard how these narratives are constructed and utilized by Western media, and
which impact they can have. But the contextual dimension of cultural and media imperialism driven by the
USA is, in my eyes, as important as the distribution because without the utilization of various topics about
the cultural other, there would sometimes be no more marketable stories and consequently no media
formats to export to the rest of the world. Foreign cultures are therefore a profitable basis for media
products, and “the moving images are able to ‘de-localize’ audiences that are situated locally, introducing
them to distant territories and the alterity of their inhabitants.” (Buonanno 2008: 104). Hence, it is important
to consider all facets of cultural influences on and in media. In this respect it appears reasonable to make a
distinction between media content and media distribution. Because of the massive export and distribution of
American television programs and movies, which Buonanno outlines, the American media also transmit
certain pictures of particular cultures which are mainly accepted by the audience and regarded as truth. The
assimilation of cultural topics in media content may consequently lead to an artificial ‘cultural diversity’, or,
in contrast, to xenophobic tendencies. It is not uncommon that American media adopt foreign cultures,
assimilate them to an Americanized product, and hence, ‘the otherness’ becomes an important part of
American media, no matter if they are spread to the world or not.
On the contrary, the concepts of “cultural proximity” and “cultural discount” used by Buonanno describe the
relations of American media to the cultural other as follows:
“Cultural proximity […] is a primary factor in orienting cultural demand and consumption, according to the need
for and pleasure derived from recognition, familiarity and identity. Among the symbolic material that competes
for the public’s time and attention, people expect and are pleased to recognize themselves, their own social,
individual and collective world, their customs and lifestyles, accents, faces, landscapes and everything else that
they perceive as close and familiar. Since nothing is closer or more familiar than things that belong to or come
1 A current example is the serial How I Met Your Mother, which is confronted with yellowfacing accusations (Schmieder 2014).
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from the society and culture to which people belong, audiences in a given country tend systematically to prefer
and remain loyal to locally produced programmes when they are available.” (Buonanno 2008: 96)
and
“Since programmes rooted in a different culture lend themselves less well to activating mechanisms of
recognition and identification, they are less attractive for a local audience: their value is reduced compared to
local programmes. This reduction in value is the cultural discount.“ (Buonanno 2008: 96)
According to these descriptions, one could also argue that the adoption of foreign cultures for movies is
senseless and redundant, but, related to my example, the Disney movies, the combination of cultural
proximity and cultural discount appears to be the solution of this paradox. With implementing a story, which
plays in a foreign cultural setting, into the American way of movie making, Disney (and also other movie
makers) creates cultural exoticism with concurrent proximity. The exotic story, setting and characters are
accordingly Americanized. This appears to be the formula for success for Disney and many other movies.
Buonnanno states hereto, albeit in another context: “[…] the most important reason for the success of
American productions is to be found in their unique mixture of the particular and the universal, the local and
the transnational.” (2008: 97). This is caused by the USA’s ‘melting pot’, the large diversity of ethnic groups
and their demands towards media and entertainment, which made it “necessary to develop a production
capacity with a high degree of universalism; in other words, to pursue the ‘lowest common denominator’”
(Buonanno 2008: 97). What Buonanno unfortunately ignores in her analysis is that although cultures might
more and more blur within the USA, they are still unique and the omission of cultural details and squeezing
into ‘average American’ patterns without any specific characterization might also evoke feelings of cultural
denial or even racism. Moreover, this continuous serving of uncritical average media content could lead to
an even louder outcry when the cultural setting of a certain ethnic group is adopted in movies or other
media programs. Just a small deviation could offend ethnics represented in this movie and provoke a big
debate. On the other hand, this could become publicity for the producer, and often not many people care
about such a devious step because themselves they are not affected. On the contrary, ‘They (the audience)
first filter and reorganize whatever comes from the dominant culture and then they integrate it and mix it
with the elements of their own historical memory’ (Barbero 1993 in Buonanno: 2008: 98). Consequently,
they renegotiate the mediated message because of their own cultural setting, and the danger occurs that
the meaning is totally different from the producer’s intention and even more far away from the reality.
The concept of indigenization tries to give an explanation to this. It is:
“[…] the process through which forms and expressions of external cultures, elaborated by other societies, are
appropriated, re-elaborated, and restored by diverse local societies in configurations that are consistent with
their own homegrown systems of meaning.” (Buonanno 2008: 88)
But who has the right to decide who is local and who is external in a society which is built on descendants of
native people as well as European conquerors? What, in times of globalization, is the driver of racism in
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media? Unfortunately, it is the hegemony of the Western world and the concomitant capitalism which also
determines the power relations and thus, controls the representation of the own and foreign cultures.
Hence, Americanization in the media sphere appears to be a result of the American strive after
homogenization through distribution with the aid of heterogeneous content which is then, unfortunately,
again homogenized. Consequently, the “cultural threat” (Buonanno 2008: 109) causes a progressive
destruction of local cultures, not only through repression of local media, but also through the propagation of
Americanized or even totally wrong images of foreign cultures.
Construction of the other
As already mentioned, this homogenized heterogeneous media content also occurs in Disney’s recent
classical animated movies. First of all, it is striking, that especially between the years 1992 and 2000, Disney
produced a range of films where foreign cultures play a significant role.2 This conspicuous accumulation may
be a consequence of the worldwide changes shortly before and during the 1990s. It is the period of the end
of the Cold War, the collapse of regimes like the Apartheid and the independency of several former colonial
states. Therefore, this worldwide turnaround and the zeitgeist appear to be drivers of capturing and
addressing cultural issues in movies. Alongside with the development of a new aesthetic and “’new era’ of
animation” under the new CEO Michael Eisner and the producer Jeffrey Katzenberg (Lacroix 2004: 213 &
216), Disney seems to have noticed the potential of capitalization lying within these topics and immediately
implemented this new ‘trend’ while Americanizing it.
The other story
Whereas earlier fairy tales (e.g. Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty) and stories about animals (e.g.
Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmatians, The Aristocats) were Disney’s main subject, also legends (e.g. Mulan,
Hercules) and historic happenings (e.g. Pocahontas) as well as oriental stories (e.g. Aladdin) were made into
film in the 1990s. While the previous fairy tales mostly had their origin in Europe, these new stories are
mostly bound to a cultural context different from the modern Western world. Therefore, already the
different context makes these movies oriental, exotic and becoming ‘the other’. Furthermore, this
addressing of other cultures is often bound to a story portraying a conflict between different ethnicities, like
in Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Mulan. But I assume that those topics and stories are not
appropriate for children’s movies and thus, should not be chosen as basis for a Disney tale. These delicate
cultural conflicts are often hard to understand. Admittedly, Disney often assimilates the stories so that they
are not that frightful, but herewith they change the essence and focus of the story, and therefore draw an
2 1992: Aladdin; 1994: The Lion King; 1995: Pocahontas; 1996: The Hunchback of Notre Dame; 1997: Hercules, 1998: Mulan; 1999:
Tarzan; 2000: The Emperor’s New Groove
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arranged picture of the culture. Furthermore, they partly accentuate the conflict in a wrong manner. Thus,
the selection of the story and the way of assimilating it, are already the first steps into a certain level of
cultural representation.
The other appearance3, personality and behavior
Accordingly, also the representation of the main characters and their appearance is altered. Especially, the
role of women is differing from previous movies. Celeste Lacroix (2004: 219-221) observed that colored
female protagonists are mostly appearing much more active, strong and adult, and their sexual attributes
are even more highlighted than those of the white females who are rather quite passive girls. Women of a
foreign ethnicity are additionally mostly even more athletic and brave, for example Mulan and Pocahontas
when fighting for their people. Of course this is also bound to the story and the related characteristics, but
with choosing such stories Disney makes the first decision to portray otherness and furthermore seems to
exhaust the scope of the story intentionally. By changing the shape and size of facial features, for example
oversized or almond-shaped eyes, the characters obtain a distinctive look which directly signalizes ‘I am a
foreigner’ (Lacroix 2004: 222). Also the darker (or lighter) skin tone and the clothing of, for example, Mulan,
Esmeralda4 and Pocahontas contribute to this. The costumes are mainly based on traditional clothes of the
particular ethnic group (or what is commonly known as the traditional clothing), but assimilated to a certain
extent so that they appear more interesting and modern to the spectators. Thus, Esmeralda wears a Romany
dress with a very appealing décolleté (and even her goat wears the ‘gypsy typical’ earring), Pocahontas’
dress is quite short, leaving her shoulder bare, and Jasmine’s5 dress looks like she is belonging to an oriental
harem. Overall, “Unlike the rather demure dressing of the White characters, [the dresses of the colored
women] draw attention to the physical body.” (Lacroix 2004: 221), so that it can be assumed that, despite
Disney movies are actually made for children, women of other ethnicities are represented as sexual objects
and women of European descent should embody innocent lovely beauties matching the conservative female
role (Lacroix 2004: 222).
From the accentuation on women in Disney movies results the representation of men. The male protagonists
are in former Disney classics mostly strong and reliable heroes which seem to match perfectly to the
heroine. In the movies where women are culturally others, the men, on the contrary, are sometimes of
European descent (like John Smith in Pocahontas and Phoebus in The Hunchback of Notre Dame) or to a
certain degree have at least a European look, like Aladdin: “Aladdin, the hero, looks and sounds like a fresh-
faced American boy: his skin is much paler, and he asks people to call him 'Al', an American name, not an
3 See also pictures in appendix.
4 Esmeralda is the female protagonist in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. She is a Romany woman and hence portrayed very hot-
blooded. 5 Jasmine is the female protagonist in Aladdin.
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Arabic name.” (Maio 1999). This underlines the exoticism of the female characters in such movies even
more.
Furthermore, there is often a great distinction made between the good characters and the villains. The
villains are mostly featured with stereotypical (and often wrong) characteristics of the represented culture
whereas the good protagonists have some very European features, even though they should be foreigners:
“All of the bad guys have beards and large, bulbous noses, sinister eyes and heavy accents, and they’re
wielding swords constantly. Aladdin doesn’t have a beard, or a turban. He doesn’t have an accent.” (Salem in
Olen 2012) and “Even though The Lion King takes place in Africa [and the characters are animals], two white
American actors are used for the voice of Simba, the hero. However, the hyenas who are bad characters in
the film, speak non-standard English and are played by actors like Whoopi Goldberg and Cheech Marin.”
(Maio 1999). It becomes apparent that the good characters are Americanized and the bad ones are racially
stereotyped. Consequently, an inferred meaning could be that we, as people of European descent, are good
and innocent, and the others of a foreign ethnicity are bad and evil. Regarding the fact that Disney’s classical
animated movies are actually made for children, this appears to be a very alarming portrayal.
The other love story
Moreover, the representation of social relationships between ‘one of us’ and ‘the other’ is implemented in a
dubious way. Of course, the typical main pattern of many Disney movies is a love story. But in the movies
about ‘the other’ these stories are often not that icky and the barriers to achieve this love are much different
while sometimes there is even no real happy ending. On the contrary to the typical Disney romance from the
earlier movies, where the man saves the woman, in the later movies the female heroine is the one who
saves the man and at the end cannot even keep the love, like in Pocahontas or The Hunchback of Notre
Dame. That seems to be an indication that Disney wants to present people of foreign ethnicities more bound
to their people than to a certain lovable person (Lacroix 2004: 225). Hence, the representation of love
appears to be more realistic on the first sight. But I think with this Disney wants to emphasize the difference
between people of European descent and the other ethnicity even more. Like in other Disney love stories
where the female protagonist is attracted by a very impressive man, often a prince, the foreign female
heroines are attracted by men who are unlike themselves and hence, also impressive to them. For example
“Pocahontas [is] falling in love with the first White man she sees” (Lacroix 2004: 225). Moreover, a range of
the love relationships in the latter Disney movies are constructed and not occurring in the original history or
story. I assume that Disney just wants to make the story more interesting and appeal the Western spectators
with a little more dramatization and Americanization. With all these attributes and arrangements, Disney
creates a distance between the civilized, rational and objective people of European descent and the
uncivilized, irrational others (Lacroix 2004: 218) which sometimes may result in racist tendencies.
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The other (subliminal) racism
In my eyes, Disney movies do not contain vicious racism, but that does not mean that there cannot be found
any racist tendencies. Disney uses, I cannot judge whether on purpose or not, subliminal racism and
discrimination which occur in words, appearance or behavior. Additionally, as already indicated, a range of
racial stereotypes can be found in Disney movies. Beginning with words, especially in The Hunchback of
Notre Dame and Pocahontas discriminating terms are used. Already the word ‘hunchback’ is an
inappropriate term for a person with a physical handicap6. Furthermore, the portrayal of this character with
a huge back, warts and a deformed face as well as the fact that this character should be a gypsy, is even
more discrimination. The term ‘gypsy’, moreover, is in the German language a racist word (but this might be
grounded in Germany’s bad history and the resulting stronger consciousness and cautiousness about those
archaic terms). So, it could be argued that terms like ‘gypsy’ were normal language in the time when the
story should take place and hence, are necessary to portray a certain conflict, but as already mentioned, I
think it is dangerous to revive such words and conflicts in children’s movies and make then ordinary again.
The same applies to Pocahontas were terms like ‘savages’, ‘disgusting race’ and ‘vermin’ are used for the
Indians. Although these terms help illustrating the cruelty of the colonialism, I think children should not get
in contact with such words and especially not in the context of other ethnicities living actually next door to
them.
Another aspect of the subliminal racism occurring in Disney movies is that on the one hand the largest ethnic
group of America, the Afro-Americans, are mostly ignored7 or presented as the inferior8, and on the other
hand animals are often representing racial stereotypes. In The Little Mermaid, for instance, the crab
Sebastian got a strong Jamaican-accent and sings about the stupid people above the sea slaving away in the
sun (Joseph 2007). In Lady and the Tramp there are two Siamese Cats, having an East Asian accent singing to
East Asian sounding music, which are represented as very mean.
Of course, most of these movies are from a time when racism was sadly normal, but in my eyes this no
excuse because Disney could in many cases just re-synchronize certain parts of those movies or comics or
leave out short scenes.9 But unfortunately, Disney’s utilization of foreign cultures is still too much driven by
the emphasis on otherness. The distinction between ‘us’ and ‘them’ is often overly highlighted and they are
presented as antitheses which are mutually exclusive. Although the love story could be seen as a
reconciliation of the cultures, the ‘foreigners’ are often degraded with racial and sexual stereotypes. Their
characteristics are so exaggerated that the recipient cannot fail to recognize the ethnicity of the character.
At the same time the spectators who get in touch with those ethnics for the first time, also learn that people
6 The original novel from Victor Hugo was just named Notre Dame de Paris. Additionally, in Germany Disney substitutes “hunchback”
with “Glöckner” which means bell ringer. 7 Only in The Princess and the Frog the protagonists are looking Afro-American.
8 Especially in older cartoons and in some scenes of Fantasia.
9 This would go along with a debate initiated in Germany in 2013. It is discussed to eliminate racist terms like “Neger” (nigger),
“Zigeuner” (gypsy), or “Mohr” (racist word for a black person) out of children’s media. (Topcu 2013)
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who look different must be strange and inferior. With this wrong perception, children might treat children of
other ethnicities in a racial way without knowing it better. (Pewewardy 1996) But also adults seem to seize
those stereotypes in their everyday life – in line with the motto “if Disney does this, I am also allowed to do
it”. Likewise, spectators of the portrayed ethnicity could perceive themselves as socially subordinate. Of
course, it could be argued that most of the children watching these movies do not notice these insulting
terms and portrayals, but especially the subliminal kind of racial representation could lead to an unnoticed
racist behavior of children and adults which might also result in xenophobia. Also the argument that
subliminal racism is simply normal in popular media and the capitalist world, is in my eyes invalid because
especially in times of a sophisticated society everyone’s and particularly children’s movie makers’
responsibility should be to avoid the utilization of racist and sexual stereotypes and to rather teach values
like equality. But equality does not mean that everything should be Americanized.
The other marketing
Unfortunately, the American romance and the Hollywood kind of portraying certain characters and their
personal circumstances makes Disney movies very attractive and at the same time influential on children as
well as adults. As Buonanno (2008) already noticed, the Americanization is far advanced, and American
values are taken for granted. Several Disney movies are furthermore timeless: “They play again and again,
year after year, decade after decade, alongside, opposite, and close to movies made years earlier.”
(Pewewardy 1996). Hence, the images and attitudes the movies transmit retain for a long time in people’s
minds and accordingly, Disney carries a high impact and plays an important role within the film industry. But
with regard to the discussed levels of cultural representation, it is questionable how far Disney is conscious
of its responsibility. I am quite sure that Disney is aware of its utilization of cultural aspects, but just ponders
what should be higher rated – responsibility or success. I guess, mostly the success is chosen, but
nevertheless, Disney tries to mitigate the effects and shape the meaning with marketing and paratextual
products (Gray 2010: 6).
First of all, Disney pursues the concept of being a strong brand which was established over decades. With
the expansion of their movie repertoire in the 1990s, they established the so called ‘Disney Classics’ which
are talked up as jewels in movie history and supported by a huge marketing department which develops
related “paratexts that grab the viewer before he or she reaches the text and try to control the viewer's
entrance to the text.” (Gray 2010: 23). This strategy is supported by artificial scarcity: Disney leaves their 14
most successful movies in a safe for seven years and rereleases them only for a short period of time
(Disney.de). Since the 1990s, moreover, the frequency of the published movies increased very much, so that
one could refer to the growing number of Disney Classics as a certain kind of flow with which consumers
should be gained and kept. With these strategies, Disney also immobilizes many people because they are
such great fans that they ignore the negative effects Disney movies contain under their magic surface. The
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simple pattern Disney benefits from is that “sometimes our consumption choices are motivated by previous
consumption: »I [or my children] loved it the first time, so let's watch it again.«” (Gray 2010: 24). This is
supported by impressive advertisements like a video clip called “I Am a Princess” (Disney on YouTube 2012)
where girls of all ages and ethnicities describe why they are princesses. It is obvious that Disney wants to
highlight which good qualities the Disney princesses teach the children and to a certain extent they may be
right because, in my eyes, Disney also conveys some good and helpful values with their movies. But
nevertheless, not all the critiques can be wrong with their discoveries about racial and sexual stereotypes,
and also the attempt to whitewash their mistakes and omissions, does not reveal responsibility. But
unfortunately, only a few critiques, compared to the big fan base, notice this fallibility of Disney and
therefore, they can and probably will go on with their strategies of capturing children and adults for their
brand(s). Maybe a reason for the unconcerned watching of Disney’s classical animated movies could be that
they are regarded as a children’s genre (Gray 2010: 36) and hence, the expectations about the movies are
forming certain viewing patterns where dubious elements are ignored or eclipsed.
Paradoxically, the incorrect or critical representations of foreign cultures and otherness could also help
Disney to gain even more success because cultural aspects appear to be a marketing instrument to make the
movies more interesting for potential spectators. As already mentioned, cultural discount might attract the
people and Americanized features may persuade them to feel familiar. Accordingly, Disney began to create a
“marketplace of culture” (Giroux in Lacroix 2004: 217) out of which the spectator only has to choose the
most liked movie. But nonetheless, the cultural proximity seems to be more important because when it
comes to the frequency with which Disney characters are shown, the ones who represent a European
descent are more present. For instance, when examining the Disney online shop it is striking that the very
glamorous princesses like Cinderella, Ariel, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Rapunzel are much more
visible than the more strong-willed and independent seeming female characters like Pocahontas, Mulan,
Tiana10 and Jasmine who are all representing a foreign ethnicity. Especially in the successful Disney Princess
collection Mulan and Pocahontas are very rarely appearing because with their foreign ethnic background
they are not matching the Disney princess aesthetic and picture of women (Feminist Disney 2014).
The utilization of foreign or familiar cultures for children’s movies could accordingly also be an ideological
stroke. Because Disney is one of the biggest media conglomerates in the world owning television and cable
networks, TV channels, radio stations, publishing, production and many other companies (Morrison 2011)11,
it has so much power to spread its values all over the world although they might affect a range of people
with their representations and “embodiments of ideological values” (Fiske in Lacroix 2004: 217). Disney
10
Tiana is the female protagonist in The Princess and the Frog who is the only Afro-American heroine in Disney’s classical animated movies. 11
Disney owns: “ABC Television Network, cable networks including ESPN, the Disney Channel, SOAPnet, A&E and Lifetime, 277 radio stations, music and book publishing companies, production companies Touchstone, Miramax and Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar Animation Studios, the cellular service Disney Mobile, and theme parks around the world” (Morrison 2011)
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simply Americanizes, or more precisely, ‘Disneyfies’ all stories and thus, gives them a familiar appeal.
Because they lull so many people into their magic flow by constantly penetrating them with movies, series,
cartoons, books, merchandising products, advertisements and theme parks, the few critics seem to be just
scattering losses which are negligible.
The movie Pocahontas as a special example of cultural (mis-)representation
A special example of this ‘Disneyfying’ of a certain ethnicity for an animated movie is the already mentioned
movie Pocahontas. It is extraordinary because it does not portray an ethnicity which is foreign because it is
rooted far away, but a tribe of the Native Americans which were owning the land before the Europeans
conquered it. Because of this very critical topic concerning the US-American history and the brutality of the
colonialism, it is also a very outstanding case of cultural imperialism and Americanization in media. On the
one hand, it appears to be really courageous to thematize the own shady past with regard to the own
misdemeanor. But on the other hand, one could also think that the USA want to glorify the conquest of
America. Thus, this topic is very ambivalent and must be treated with caution, what Disney to a certain
extent does, but unfortunately not on the whole.
First of all: “Psychologically and culturally, it is extremely difficult for us to recognize, let alone accept, that
‘the other’ can take root in us and become part of our own identity.” (Buonanno 2008: 91) and hence,
Pocahontas as a kind of ‘back to the roots’ movie is constructed in between ideas of Native American and
modern American culture. But nonetheless, the otherness of the Native Americans is highlighted very much,
maybe because the notion of native plays an important role in American people’s minds:
“Many of us have no doubt experienced discomfort on making the unexpected discovery that we too are
‘native.’ Adolescents tend to read lots of books with the common feature of exotic settings. These include stories
of adventure, travel and geographical discoveries. Such tales of far-away lands afford ‘escape without
departure’ and generally include ‘natives,’ that is the indigenous local population. One often encounters the
intractable misunderstanding that ‘native’ denotes members of races and cultures unlike our own, generally
more primitive and less civilized than we are. The ‘native’ becomes synonymous with the ‘other’.” (Buonanno
2008: 91)
This social concept of the other appears almost in the same manner in Pocahontas. The movie thus
conceptualized that the spectator feels the proximity to the Native Americans, but at the same time feels a
distance. This distance is mostly very exaggerated in seizing on racial stereotypes which occur in
appearances, words and music. To make the movie additionally even more attractive, the otherness is
Americanized without suppressing the otherness, for example with the implementation of American beauty
ideals.
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Accordingly, Pocahontas is a very ambivalent movie according to its representation of culture and especially
the native people of America. More precisely, it tells the story of an Indian princess belonging to the
Powhatan tribe at the beginning of the 17th century in Virginia. It is based on a true happening, but adjusted
to fit into the Disney scheme. Princess Pocahontas was actually a twelve-year-old girl (Lacroix 2004: 220)
when the English conquerors arrived at Virginia. Later she was taken out of her natural environment to
England to marry John Rolfe and lived at the English Royal Household. In the movie she appears to be an
emancipated adult woman who falls in love with John Smith but at the end feels too responsible for her tribe
that she stays in Virginia without Smith. (Pewewardy 1996) The actual story is seized in the sequel of the
movie, but also assimilated to the Disney romance12. The whole adjustment of the story, I suppose, helped
Disney to obtain more spectators. I guess, no-one who is expecting a typical Disney movie wants to see a
brutal story about conquerors who abduct an Indian princess who is actually a child for forced marriage.
Hence, the story got a more romantic appearance with a strong, determined and very beautiful heroine in
close touch with nature. As everyday companion, two cute animals typical for Disney were put on
Pocahontas’ side to make the movie even more likable.
Unlike other Disney princesses, Pocahontas is characterized by all the already discussed representation
levels of otherness. She has a darker skin tone, wears a for a Disney princess atypical dress, behaves brave,
strong-willed and more or less independent, and most strikingly, is a physically very attractive women, not a
girl. Her eyes have a slightly almond shape and her most salient attribute is her long, flowing hair (Lacroix
2004: 220-221). Moreover, she is almost always in move - running and jumping – and wafted by colored
leafs. It is obvious that Pocahontas is designed as a heroine and arbiter between the local population and the
foreign conquerors. Moreover, she is designed as very attractive woman with very exaggerated body
dimensions which at the utmost a super model or a Barbie doll has (Lacroix 2004: 220). Her costume and
how she is moving, furthermore, underline this. This strategic visualization as well as her good-heartedness
emphasize her otherness, but besides make her adorable or even desirable for the spectator.
But Pocahontas is also “supposed to represent to us a view from another culture, but in many ways she is
just mirroring our own most basic, culturally rooted moral principles.” (Feminist Disney 2011). Disney
portrays Pocahontas and her tribe as very wild and uncivilized, and thus illustrates them as an enormous
contrast to the conquerors of European descent – the others. But strictly speaking, the Englishmen are the
foreigners or others who are conquering a land which actually belongs to native people. So, the otherness
defined by the Western world is just an inversion of the initial relations with which they are bringing
themselves into a superior position. Admittedly, Disney also seizes and inverses this relation, and hence, the
otherness of the Indian tribe, the Powhatans, could be regarded as quite close to the otherness of the
12
According to customer reviews, the sequel movie of Pocahontas is not very much liked by the admirers of the first part because the love story is not continued. The spectators seem to be uninterested in the real story and just expect Disney romance. This could be another explanation for the disregard of the cultural misrepresentations in Disney movies.
12
invading English people. Sadly, with this, Disney only creates a kind of equal status of both cultures which is
historically not truthful.
Overall, in my eyes, the movie is characterized by a high degree of universalism. It leaves a lot of space for
several interpretations because the scenes are very different over the course of the movie. On the one hand,
the Indians are represented as a people very close in touch with nature, peaceable and native. The viewer
should sympathize with them because they are the good ones. On the other hand, the English conquerors,
the evil ones, are entering the homeland of the Indians to find gold. Both sides have their pleasant
characters which get in touch and even dramatize the whole conflict. But in general the relation between
good and bad should be clear. However, during the movie there are several scenes where the viewer is
confronted with a hard task to decide if the roles are still steady. Especially the song “Savages” which should
be discussed later contains a range of racist and insulting terms which are articulated from both sides.
Additionally, the representation of Native Americans is very universal. By no means, Disney portrays the
Powhatans as a unique Indian tribe, but induces a picture of the
“native americans as if they are one large conglomerate group, even though hundreds of tribes/languages/
traditions/etc. existed in pre-European America. […] Pocahontas will simply say “My people” and “our people.”
Very few people who watch this film will identify Pocahontas and her people as something more specific than
just “Native Americans.”” (Feminist Disney 2011).
Although overall I understand the movie as really critical about, not only the English, conquests and
colonialism, it represents both Indians and English people very exaggerated and to a certain extent also
unrealistic. But especially the Indians are presented as backward what is really alarming because the today’s
Native Americans could feel misrepresented and pilloried by English Americans (Pewewardy 1996).
“[…] just as Europeans or men construct themselves as civilized, rational, and objective, by “distancing and
‘exoticising’ the non-European other, American society constructs itself as objective, rational, and civilized by its
‘orientalization’ of minority [people]” (Lacroix 2004: 218)
This proceeds in the portrayal of the Powhatans’ reaction to the beginning conquest, the later intervention
in the conflict by Pocahontas and the resulting peace and retreat of the Englishmen. The drawn conclusion
out of this modification of the history could be that "If those Natives had been more cooperative,
misunderstandings/war might not have happened so often."” (Feminist Disney 2011) which is actually very
unrealistic and insolent because all along people tried to defend themselves when danger threatens and:
“Standing up and fighting someone who is coming to invade your country and way of life is not ultimately
equivalent to the violence of the invading/conquering/decimating forces, and yet the movie was trying to place
guilt for fighting on both sides, as if each were equally responsible for misunderstanding the other.” (Feminist
Disney 2011)
But although the Native Americans are to a large extend misrepresented, also the other characters contain
racial stereotypes. The villain, John Ratcliffe, who is the leader of the English conquerors, is figured as an
13
exaggerated colonialist with a strong English accent, a Mediterranean or Oriental look and traits which could
stereotypically attribute to a homosexual man13. His facial design could cautiously treated also be seen as
leant to the imagination of Jews in the Nazi era (and unfortunately, also in today’s Western world) where a
striking feature should have been the hooknose. Ratcliffe has moreover a very evil facial expression and his
behavior is racial and vicious. Therefore, his character is another example of the representation of foreign
cultures as the evil. Additionally, Ratcliffe could be seen as a derision of and distancing from the European
ancestors by today’s Americans.
The role of music in Pocahontas
The mutual recriminations between the Native Americans and the English conquerors as well as the
attribution of good and bad are also supported by the song “Savages”. Verbally and musically this song
underlines the conflict and heats it up even more. Additionally, it is sung in conformity with the pictures.
Melody, lyrics and pictures are all creating a threatening atmosphere. The choice of words is really hard and
racist terms are used on both sides:
What can you expect from filthy little heathens?/ Here’s what you get when races are diverse (originally: Their
whole disgusting race is like a curse)/ Their skin’s a hellish red/ They’re only good when dead/ They’re vermin,
as I said and worse/ They’re savages, savages/ Barely even human/ Savages, savages/ Drive them from our
shore/ They’re not like you and me/ which means they must be evil/ We must sound the drums of war/ They’re
Savages, savages/ Dirty shrieking (originally: redskin) devils/ Now we sound the drums of war (conquerors
about natives)
This is what we feared/ The paleface is a demon/ The only thing they feel at all is greed/ Beneath that milky
hide/ There's emptiness inside/ I wonder if they even bleed/ They're Savages, savages/ Barely even human/
Savages, savages/ Killers at the core/ They're different from us/ Which means they can't be trusted/ We must
sound the drums of war/ They're savages, savages/ First we deal with this one/ Then we sound the drums of
war (natives about conquerors)
They're just a bunch of/ Filthy, stinking savages, savages/ Demons/ Devils/ Kill them/ Savages, savages/ What
are we waiting for?/ Destroy their evil race/ Until there's not a trace left/ Now we sound the drums of war
(conquerors and Native Americans)
Although both sides are using very insulting and even racist words, the original terms about the natives
articulated by the conquerors were even more misanthropic so that Disney decided to change them into less
racist terms.14 Additionally, I assume that those words and formulations, and therefore the whole song, are
again not the right ones for children’s ears and are teaching them intolerance instead of history. Although I,
as an adult, understand the song as a kind of denunciation of the behavior of both sides, a child could
13
For example his purple clothes and the ribbons in his hair (see picture in appendix). 14
As a reaction to concerns of Indians (tvtropes.org)
14
misjudge this illustration. Hence, I do not share Disney’s advertisement on the DVD: “An adventure for the
whole family!”15. In general the song savages exaggerates the conflict too much. Most of the critics state
correctly that
“This song is undoubtedly racist against Native Americans, […] The song lacks cultural sensitivity and paints the
entire Native American race in a negative light. The term savages portrays the Native Americans as uncivilized
and uneducated.” (Olen 2012)
But they simply ignore that the song is also insulting the conquerors. Of course this is more understandable
due to the fact that the conquerors are trying to steal the land of the Native Americans, but with regard to
the possible utilization and transfer of the song’s message into the today’s society, it is alarming that the
Native Americans as well as the ones of European (or other) descent are agitated against each other. Hence,
this song is inappropriate for the representation of this conflict.
In general, the music in the movie Pocahontas and the other classical animated movies of Disney is a very
important narrative element and according to the three categories of music use in film defined by Chion, in
Disney movies “empathic music, which supports and expresses the emotions of the characters” (Larsen
2002: 136) is utilized. Regarding Claudia Gorbman’s functions of narrative music, the music in Disney’s
classical animated movies is a signifier of emotions, creates a continuity between shots and scenes, and
causes cues or interpretations of narrative events (Larsen 2002: 136). Because of the various songs in
Pocahontas, the message and effect of the used words is even more emphasized. But a striking observation I
made, is that the music’s melody and rhythm in Pocahontas, as a movie portraying the cultural other, is not
reflecting the Native American culture. With the exception of the song “Steady as a Beating Drum” which, as
the movie’s first song, seems to be constructed as an introduction into the foreign Indian world, all music in
the movie sounds more modern and American, and marginally like tribal music16 – although Disney hired
some Native Americans as consultants (imdb.com). I assume that like in other Disney movies the music
should encourage to sing along and therefore, a complicated musical construct, sounding strange to the
Western ear would not be suitable for this purpose.17 Moreover, this is another level of Americanization of
the representation of ‘the other’.
15
Original German wording: “Ein Erlebnis für die ganze Familie!” 16
Rarely, some pan flutes or Indian sounding drums are used. Mostly the music is orchestral, and sometimes sounding like typical American pop music (e.g. “Colors of the Wind” or “Just Around the Riverband”). 17
This applies also to the movie Aladdin where American sounding pop songs rather than complex and unique Arabic music are utilized. A counter-example is the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” from the movie The Lion King where Disney adopted the South African traditional “Mbube” from Solomon Linda. Unfortunately, with this Disney committed a copyright infringement for which they had to stand trial in 2006 and lost against the heirs of Linda (Erlmann 2012).
15
Conclusion
After discovering all the racial and sexual stereotypes as well as misrepresentations of foreign ethnicities and
cultures, it could be questioned whether it is condemnable to utilize those patterns in children’s movies and
whether they evoke feelings of insult among people belonging to that culture. The answer is yes with a few
restrictions. On the one hand, it is of course reprehensible if someone integrates racist and sexual insults on
purpose, but on the other hand it appears to be quite difficult to avoid stereotypes on the whole. This does
not mean that I accept the excuse “everyone uses racial and sexual stereotypes” because this indicates that
the one stating this did not even try to avoid them. Nevertheless, I imagine it to be hard to produce a movie
about a foreign culture which satisfies all demands of every person belonging to the represented group.
Moreover, a foreign culture is and stays foreign, even when a well-versed consultant is supporting the
producer. But the producer has at least to try to obtain as much as possible information about the particular
culture. In my eyes, Disney often fails, or even wants to fail with this issue because it is one of the largest
media conglomerates worldwide and hence dedicates itself to capitalism. Thus, of course, there are some
recurring characteristics in Disney movies which are probably not occurring by chance, and especially
because Disney’s daily business are children’s movies and famously children are easily impressed and
manipulated, Disney has to act more responsible and watch out about not transmitting a perverted picture
of genders and ethnicities. But,
“Of course, Disney does not intend to offend people - that would be bad business. Most people who watch the
movies are probably caught up in the Disney magic and don't notice these things. But that's the problem. One
way in which Disney creates the magic is by using stereotypes that people respond to without thinking. Aladdin
looks 'right' for a hero; Jafar looks 'right' for a villain. We don't think about it.“ (Maio 1999)
16
References
Literature:
Buonanno, Milly (2008): The Age of Television: Experiences and Theories. Bristol / Chicago: Intellect Books.
Disney.de (2013): Disney Platinum Edition – Nur für kurze Zeit.
Available at: http://www.disney.de/DisneyVideos/platinum/ (accessed 11 January 2014, 20:11)
Disney on YouTube (2012): I Am a Princess.
Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUGnu0gXtn4&feature=player_embedded (accessed 10
January 2014, 19:45)
Erlmann, Veit (2012): Umstrittene Moderne – Afrikanische Musik im 20. Jahrhundert [lecture on 11 January
2012]. Berlin: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.
Feminist Disney (2011): Pocahontas: Disney attempts to commodify culture and history part 2
Available at: http://feministdisney.tumblr.com/post/10681160505/pocahontas-disney-attempts-to-
commodify-culture-and (accessed 05 January 2014, 19:53)
Feminist Disney (2014): Conflicting Messages in Marketing.
Available at: http://feministdisney.tumblr.com/tagged/disney-princesses (accessed 05 January 2014, 21:19)
Gray, Jonathan (2010): Show sold separately: promos, spoilers, and other media paratexts. New York: New
York University Press.
Imdb.com: Pocahontas – Trivia.
Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114148/trivia (accessed 18 January 2014, 18:32)
17
Joseph, Ben (2007): The 9 Most Racist Disney Characters.
Available at: http://www.cracked.com/article_15677_the-9-most-racist-disney-characters.html (accessed 09
January 2014, 18:25)
Lacroix, Celeste (2004): Images of Animated Others: The Orientalization of Disney’s Cartoon Heroines From
The Little Mermaid to The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Popular Communication: The International Journal of
Media and Culture, 2:4, pp. 213-229
Available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1207/s15405710pc0204_2 (accessed 16 December
2013, 18:55)
Larsen, Peter (2002): Mediated fiction. In: Jensen, Klaus Bruhn (2002): Handbook of Media and
Communications Research. Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methodologies. London: Routledge, pp.
117-137
Maio, Kathy (1999): Women, Race & Culture in Disney's movies.
Available at: http://newint.org/easier-english/Disney/diswomen.html#aladdin (accessed 10 January 2014,
18:03)
Morrison, Holly (2011): Disney: Beloved Fairytales or Cultural Misrepresentations?
Available at: http://hollyemorrison.wordpress.com/2011/11/13/disney-beloved-fairytales-or-cultural-
misrepresentations/ (accessed 10 January 2014, 22:11)
Olen, Caitlyn (2012): Disney's Portrayal of Race and Ethnicity in Animated Films.
Available at: http://caitlynolen.blogspot.de/2012/04/disneys-portrayal-of-race-and-ethnicity.html (accessed
10 January 2014, 19:02)
Oxford Dictionary: Culture. Oxford University Press.
Available at: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/culture?q=culture (accessed 02 January
2014, 14:08)
18
Pewewardy, Cornel (1996): The Pocahontas Paradox: A Cautionary Tale for Educators. Kansas: University of
Kansas.
Available at: http://www.hanksville.org/storytellers/pewe/writing/Pocahontas.html (accessed 02 January
2014, 13:07)
Schmieder, Jürgen (2014): Rassismus bei "How I Met Your Mother" Produzenten entschuldigen sich für
"Yellowfacing". München: Süddeutscher Verlag.
Available at: http://www.sueddeutsche.de/medien/rassismus-bei-how-i-met-your-mother-produzenten-
entschuldigen-sich-fuer-yellowfacing-1.1864941 (accessed 19 January 2014, 15:27)
Topcu, Özlem (2013): Stellt euch nicht so an. Weiße dürfen nicht bestimmen, wann Schwarze sich
gekränkt fühlen dürfen. Hamburg: Zeit Online GmbH.
Available at: http://www.zeit.de/2013/05/Kinderbuch-Debatte-Neger-Rassismus (accessed 18
January 2014, 19:22)
Tvtropes.org: YMMV: Pocahontas.
Available at: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/YMMV/Pocahontas (accessed 18 January
2014, 17:28)
Movies:
Walt Disney (1992): Aladdin. Burbank: Walt Disney Animation Studies.
Walt Disney (1995): Pocahontas. Burbank: Walt Disney Animation Studies.
Walt Disney (1996): The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Burbank: Walt Disney Animation Studies.
Walt Disney (1998): Mulan. Burbank: Walt Disney Animation Studies.
19
Appendix
Illustration of Pocahontas
http://static2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120815205961/disney/images/4/4b/Pocahontas01.jpg (accessed
16 January 2014, 16:50)
20
Illustration of Esmeralda and her goat
http://images4.fanpop.com/image/polls/616000/616826_1294605105927_full.jpg (accessed 16 January
2014, 17:16)
21
Illustration of Jasmine
http://static4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130303063633/disney/images/1/1d/Yhst-
83050632044193_2168_298840302.jpg (accessed 16 January 2014, 17:55)
22
Illustration of John Ratcliffe
http://static3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130204010606/disney/images/e/e2/John_Ratcliffe.jpg (accessed
18 January 2014, 23:34)
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