Hunchback of Notre Dame
Racial Representations in Children’s Films
While growing up I would always watch Disney movies, but until recently I never analyzed their true meaning. Disney movies are ways to control and occupy children; they are fun, whimsical forms of entertainment that captivate children for hours on end. I always believed that Disney movies improved children 's imaginations. However, after taking off my rose colored glasses and leaving them in Neverland, I have realized that Disney movies have a lot of power to control children 's views on the confusing world that surrounds them. One of the biggest factors that Disney movies are notorious for portraying, are frayed relations between different races. As anyone knows, children, by nature, are very impressionable and are constantly learning about the world on a daily basis. As a result of that undeniable truth, the very fact that Disney movies have such an ample platform to subliminally inflict negative race relationship views on children is more than unfortunate. One movie that exemplifies this is the movie The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996). Through racist personifications and repeated instances of inferiority due to skin color, the Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) is an excellent example of how Disney movies can negatively impact children 's views on racial relations in their own lives.
Racial representations have been apparent in many Disney movies, as Giroux points out in his Disney analysis. One of his prime examples is how in The Lion King, the hyenas had a stereotypical voice resembling poor African Americans and Hispanics. Likewise, one immediate stereotype that is apparent in the movie The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) is the fact that the only black characters are Esmeralda and all the gypsies. What is also noticeable is that only individuals who are not of color, are accepted by those in power. For example, Quasimodo appears to be white, which is the sole reason that Frollo accepts him. Since Frollo only accepts
While growing up I would always watch Disney movies, but until recently I never analyzed their true meaning. Disney movies are ways to control and occupy children; they are fun, whimsical forms of entertainment that captivate children for hours on end. I always believed that Disney movies improved children 's imaginations. However, after taking off my rose colored glasses and leaving them in Neverland, I have realized that Disney movies have a lot of power to control children 's views on the confusing world that surrounds them. One of the biggest factors that Disney movies are notorious for portraying, are frayed relations between different races. As anyone knows, children, by nature, are very impressionable and are constantly learning about the world on a daily basis. As a result of that undeniable truth, the very fact that Disney movies have such an ample platform to subliminally inflict negative race relationship views on children is more than unfortunate. One movie that exemplifies this is the movie The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996). Through racist personifications and repeated instances of inferiority due to skin color, the Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) is an excellent example of how Disney movies can negatively impact children 's views on racial relations in their own lives.
Racial representations have been apparent in many Disney movies, as Giroux points out in his Disney analysis. One of his prime examples is how in The Lion King, the hyenas had a stereotypical voice resembling poor African Americans and Hispanics. Likewise, one immediate stereotype that is apparent in the movie The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) is the fact that the only black characters are Esmeralda and all the gypsies. What is also noticeable is that only individuals who are not of color, are accepted by those in power. For example, Quasimodo appears to be white, which is the sole reason that Frollo accepts him. Since Frollo only accepts
Cited: Giroux, Henry A. The Mouse That Roared: Disney and the End of Innocence. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2001. Print.