Disney's Growing Diversity

When you think of Disney you might think of the infamous mouse or his father Walt Disney. You might even think of their homes at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Either way when Disney is mentioned, multiple images of characters, adventures and magic might bring warm smiles to your soul and you may start Tigger bouncing with happiness. Non Disney fans might remain unaffected by Disney but become curious observers of those Tigger bouncing. Others lacking of interest in Disney may originate from unacceptable images of Disney's past. 

Henry Giroux (1997) wrote about Disney's past in his article Are Disney Movies Good for your Kids? ''Racial Stereotyping is another major issue that surfaces in many of the recent Disney animated films. But the legacy of racism does not begin with the films produced since 1989; on the contrary, a long history of racism associated with Disney's work can be traced back to denigrating images of people of color in films such as Song of the South, released in 1946, and The Jungle Book, which appeared in 1967. Moreover racist representations of Native Americans as violent "redskins" were featured in Frontierland in the 1950s. In addition, the main restaurant in Frontierland featured the real-life figure of a former slave, Aunt Jemima, who would sign autographs for the tourists outside of her "Pancake House." Eventually the exhibits and the Native Americans running them were eliminated by Disney executives because the "Indian" canoe guides wanted to unionize. They were displaced by robotic dancing bears. Complaints from civil rights groups got rid of the degrading Aunt Jemima spectacle."

I know many Disney fans who are shocked when learning Disney's history and want to keep it "light and fun" and ride every ride but there is more...

Like Giroux, another author Gabriel Gutierrez (2000) wrote an article Deconstructing Disney: Chicano/a Children and Critical Race Theory. This article presents quite a thorough history of Disney's marketing child centered merchandise in both the United States and Spanish speaking countries; "Disney's inflated prices for Spanish-language videocassettes are not surprising when understood in context of Disney's historical relationship with Spanish-speaking communities throughout the western hemisphere...Disney's relationship with the Spanish-speaking community has always been questionable at best." Another passage that caught my attention was that of The Mouseketeers of 1955. While many of us who watched The Mickey Mouse Club during our childhood through adolescence may remember when Christina Aquilera, Britney Spears and J.T. (Justin Timberlake), Keri Russell, J.C. Chasez and Ryan Gosling were Mouseketeers, Gutierrez states, ''The Mouseketeers (1955) presented a caucasian child culture in happy settings with catchy songs. These children, with white names emblazoned across their shirts and mouse ears, were identifiable as mainstream American, while children of color were excluded from such exposure. The overt display of happiness hid real problems. For instance, in a 1991 television interview, former - Mouseketeer Annette Funicello reveals that every time a Mouseketeer lost a pair of ears, "Disney took $50 out of the kid's next paycheck (Smoodin 1994, 1).

Yikes...Who would have known unless these secrets were exposed right?

So now, eighteen years later after Giroux's article and fourteen years after Gutierrez's work, Disney has made steps toward revising their adventures to recapture more accurate images of culture both domestic and internationally. As Disney is continually creating new stories for children and adults awaiting a new adventure, Disney tales are becoming more culturally accurate with better themes, dilemmas and character development. In 2011, I came across Mickey's Dance Crew at Disney's California Adventure. Actually my mother found it while waiting for me. I had just exited the Aladdin show and when I called to find her she was fairly close. Located where the Tron party took place during the evenings (currently The Mad Hatter Party in 2014),  I quickly followed the beat and found my mother and a very hip mouse. When I saw the dance crew members, I was reminded of the Step Up movie franchise and MTV's  ABDC (America's Best Dance Crew) television series. While the 1980's movie Beat Street is similar with B - boys - breakdancers trying to find their break, movies of the 2000's like Honey, You Got Served reveal the dedication and perseverance needed to continue their life's passion, dancing, amid their daily life obstacles. Contestant interviews in ABDC gave viewers a look into the contestant's very complicated lives. The lighter side of ABDC showed viewers how diverse the dances are around The United States. Also, the legendary "Tut" is not restricted to just one's arms! Finger Tutting and full body Tutting is also possible!

Here is a clip of the Jabbawockeez ABDC Season 1 Winners and Wayne Brady! Wayne Brady has so many talents so check this out! As for the Jabba's , if you're interested in seeing their show, they are residents at Luxor in their featured show Prism in Las Vegas!

This episode of the ABDC Season 1 Finale features dance battles to compare to the idea creators of Mickey's Dance Crew had when designing the show.