Before anyone can accuse it of not being “woke” enough, streaming service Disney+ has warned users that they may stumble into some “outdated cultural depictions” while watching some of its older films and television series.
Some viewers already picked up on instances of this since the network launched on Tuesday. For example, 1941’s Dumbo , 1970’s The Aristocats , 1967’s Jungle Book and 1955’s Lady and the Tramp are all prefaced with warnings that they might contain racist portrayals or stereotypes.
“This program is presented as originally created,” the warning reads. “It may contain outdated cultural depictions.”
Who doesn’t remember the crows in Dumbo or the monkeys in The Jungle Book that both speak in stereotypical African-American voices? Or Lady and the Tramp ’s “We Are Siamese,” which was sung in a stereotypical Asian accent?
In the new live-action Lady and the Tramp remake, which debuted on the same day as the network, the song has been scrubbed entirely. So, too, has the crow named Jim Crow in Dumbo .
Because all of this seems like a reasonable response from Disney, those representing extreme perspectives on both side of the issue are outraged. Some have said the language being used in the warning isn’t strongly worded enough, while others wonder why a warning is necessary at all or suggest that the notice is merely virtue-signalling.
The long controversial 1946 film Song of the South , which takes place after the end of the Civil War and glorifies its plantation setting, won’t be available at all. In fact, the film has never been released on home video in the U.S., despite the fact it somehow managed to win an Oscar for its song “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” and inspired the Disneyland ride Splash Mountain.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2019
