Disney +
Why some children's classics can no longer be found
Peter Pan with feather headdress.
© imago images / Everett Collection
Racism and stereotypes also abound in cartoons – especially in older children's classics. Disney draws conclusions.
Some films on the Disney + streaming platform have had warnings for some time – some titles are no longer accessible to children. "Peter Pan", "Aristocats", "Lady and the Tramp", "Dumbo" and "The Jungle Book" can no longer be accessed with child profiles.
Adults now receive a warning before the respective films. Among other things, it says: "This program contains negative representations and / or incorrect treatment of people or cultures. These stereotypes were wrong then and still are today." At the same time, Disney informs that it does not want to remove the content because it is important to them to learn from it.
"Spoiling and appropriating the culture and imagery of the indigenous peoples"
The racist clichés include the depiction of the indigenous peoples in "Peter Pan". These are repeatedly referred to as "redskins," an offensive term. "The film portrays indigenous people in a stereotypical way that doesn't reflect the diversity of the indigenous people or their authentic cultural traditions," explains Disney. The fact that Peter Pan wears a feather headdress and performs a dance is, according to Disney, a form of "spoiling and appropriating the culture and imagery of the indigenous peoples".
In "Aristocats" and "Lady and the Tramp" it is stereotypical representations and anti-Asian racism that serve the cat Shun Gon and the Siamese cats Si and Am. However, the racism is particularly evident in "Dumbo": In one scene, a group of faceless black workers set up the big top in the rain at night and sings a song that says, for example: "When other people have gone to bed, we trouble each other until we are almost dead. We are laborers with happy hearts. "