Color Association, Symbolism and Popular Culture
Is Color Racist? The Lion King
“At the time of The Lion King's release, some were quick to point out its racist overtones, namely that the evil hyena triumvirate is voiced by Hispanic and Black actors.” “ attempts to color-code evil for the film's target audience” - Ed Slant Magazine
What is your opinion?
Aladdin
“The Aladdin character in that movie portrays “bad” Arabs with thick foreign accents while Anglicized Jasmine and Aladdin speak in standard Americanized English” – Henry Giroux, Penn State. Some of the lyrics in the movie convey racist overtones: “I come from a land…where they cut off your ears if they don’t like your face. It’s barbaric, but hey, it’s home” (Maio, 1999).
The Crows In Dumbo? The crows are said to be “stereotypical representations of African- Americans" at the time the movie came out.
Are Critics of Disney going overboard? Or is there some truth to what we are discussing?
The Lord of The Rings
Done by: Elementary students with Olivia Gude’s Spiral UIC
Even Ms. Schoenhoff notices stereotyping towards Italian-Americans
In Advertisement ?
What are some other examples of stereotyping, racism, etc. that you see in advertisement (e.g. print and TV), TV shows, or movies? Question to think about: Is advertising geared more towards white culture? Why? How?
Color Association
The End…