Disney has been Dead and it's time to Wake Up

 Since this week's topic is on Disney, I've chosen to talk about Disney as a whole. I've pretty much been off of it for a while. Now, while I will say I do love the remake of the animated films into live-action movies, I will acknowledge that it is not everyone's kind of tea. With this being said, I'm pretty sure you are more interested in why Disney has been dead to me for a while. 

I've always loved history, and the more you look into things like Disney and their history, was a black women you slowly start to understand the issue with Disney and how they often struggle when it comes to their terrible "legacy." First, I want to say the only Disney movie that I hold close to my heart is Mulan, and possibly The Princess and the Frog, mainly because of the strong messages these movies have, along with the soundtracks for the movie becuase I am a sucker for a good movie soundtrack. 

As mentioned in the article, Snow White is the first movie that really exemplifies what it means to be a woman espically during the political climate of when the movie was mad,e but with this being sa, id most of the women in the early times of these movies being made waited for a man to save them and make them good at things like cleaning. Hopefully, I don't have to explain why that has always struck me the wrong way. Even though Disney is making that turn towards being more "girlbossed" power, there still isn't a plot really; it's just a woman-led who lectures on why we shouldn't follow these "anti-feminism" things, but it really goes to show we have to sacrifice a good plot or a submission of women acknowledging they can be more than a dishwasher. 

Besides the Disney princess, I always thought the older movies where enrooted into racism, and it really made me not appreciate the company for a while. This is very prominent in the movie Dumbo, which tends to be one of the worst movies I've ever seen and is also overrated. Even the crows in the movie are crows that are associated from african american perfomormance style from their speech, slang, and even music time is from the 20th century. Along with that, one of the Crows' names is Jim Crow. I don't think there is anymore alloboration I must do for you to understand these things

Ultimately, Disney's "death" for me isn't even about the lack of sincerity. As a Black woman looking at the racism of Dumbo or the passive and domesticated roles of early princesses, it's hard to look at the company's history and not give it a side eye. While Disney continues to push to fix these issues, the attempts prove time and time again that it is very tone-deaf when it comes to these social themes. I want to see more than a lecture on a screen, but movies that mean something more, and where the lessons can be drawn and have an impact on several issues at once. Sometimes I'd like to say I'm too "woke" when it comes to things like this, but oftentimes it's better to be awake and critical than to sleepwalk through a fairytale that has never been written for women, women of color, and most of all people who look like me.