To whom it may concern,
Over the past century, the Walt Disney Company has established itself as one of the most well-known and well-loved media companies in the world. With that widespread power comes a responsibility that has not been properly fulfilled in many of the most classic feature films—the responsibility to provide accurate representations of the diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds of the films’ audiences and characters. Rather, many Disney films have caricaturized cultures and languages to the point of extreme inauthenticity, thus perpetuating standard language ideology and raciolinguistic stereotypes. In order to address some of the recurring issues in Disney films it is important to first define standard language ideology and discuss its impact. Standard language ideology is “a bias toward an abstracted, idealized, homogeneous spoken language which is imposed and maintained by dominant bloc institutions…drawn primarily from the spoken language of the upper middle class” (Lippi-Green 67). In the United States, where the Disney Company has been concentrated since its founding, the standard language imposed is often referred to as Standard American English (SAE). Those who uphold a standard language ideology view other varieties of English such as African American Vernacular English (AAVE) or Chicano English not only as substandard but as inferior and incorrect ways of speaking. Though it may not have been intentional, Disney films have pushed standard language ideology onto young and impressionable audiences over multiple generations. Though the worldwide settings of the films from Africa to France to China would seem to invoke at least accented varieties of English in the speech of the main characters, all of Disney’s classic protagonists and heroes speak SAE. If an accented variety is represented, it is usually through an ultrastereotyped sidekick such as the sexualized French maid in Beauty and the Beast, Rafiki in The Lion King, or the historically inaccurate AAVE-speaking dragon Mushu in Mulan. The trend of accented characters being inanimate objects or animals emphasizes standard language ideology even further. For young audiences, their subhuman status is linked with their marked speech compared to the main characters. It is almost common knowledge that many of the oldest Disney productions were racially and culturally insensitive (e.g. the Big Bad Wolf who dresses as a Jewish Peddler in The Three Little Pigs) but even films that are more modern showcase damaging stereotypes connected with language. For example, while Lady and the Tramp appears to be a classic story of unlikely love between two dogs, it holds a caricature of Asians that, if done today, would be the subject of heavy criticism. The two Siamese cats, not-so-creatively named Si and Am, have heavy accents (contrived by a white voice actress) accompanied by unusually high pitch. While having characters with accents is of course not an inherent issue, the extremely generalized and nonspecific accents of these cats creates erasure of multiple cultural and linguistic distinctions between Asian groups. In fact, Asian as a term to describe people from Asia is a socially constructed American term. Elsewhere in the world, people would be described by their specific backgrounds whether it be Thai, Japanese, etc. The Siamese cats, through both their identical appearance and mannerisms and their speech, contribute to the stereotype that all Asian people look and sound the same. They are also portrayed as the villains of the film with their feature song alluding to the drowning of an infant among other destructive acts, thus instilling the notion that those who do not speak SAE should be looked down upon or even feared. A very similar situation occurs in Peter Pan, in which the Indian tribe speaks a contrived language that encourages erasure of the thousands of Native American tribes and their individual practices. One other very inaccurate portrayal of language is through the crows in Dumbo, voiced by white actors. Though they are very clearly intended to represent AAVE with phrases like “I be done seen about everything,” none of their grammar is accurate to how real speakers of AAVE speak. Contrary to popular belief, AAVE is actually rule governed. Through following none of these rules and instead caricaturizing African American speech, Dumbo contributes to the stereotype that AAVE is an incorrect way of speaking. While it may not be feasible for Disney to fully amend the inaccuracies that have been presented in almost all of the classic films, it is important that filmmakers are more aware of cultural and linguistic sensitivities moving forward. Prominent issues with past films were that accents other than SAE were used as a source of humor and that characters were voiced by white actors regardless of their alleged race and background. In future films, accents, coming through naturally from voice actors that match the background of the characters, can be used to show authenticity. Disney’s portrayals of certain groups are “often the first and sometimes the only versions children see and hear” (Lippi-Green 103). Future Disney movies have the opportunity to expose children to different cultures in a way that is beneficial to their social development. Over time, Disney productions have improved in terms of accurate representation and authenticity. Coco, for example, took great care to preserve and authentically represent Mexican culture which has been stigmatized in the US for generations. The Disney Company has an opportunity to mold more accepting future generations and instill pride in children whose cultures have been the subject of discrimination and stereotypes for centuries. Disney stories allow an escape from reality, but if stories are made to be authentic and inclusive of various cultures, they can be more than an escape -- they can be an exploration of and exposure to the world and the diversity within it. Sincerely, Alexandria Krupske, USC Student
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Dear Disney Executive,
Throughout its existence, Disney has influenced the minds and upbringings of children all over the world. While it may appear that your corporation simply produces material for a young audience, the scope of Disney's influence spans much farther than just entertainment. At their young ages, the children who are exposed to Disney's content are developing their opinions about and outlook on the world. The executives and employees at Disney who produce this content subconsciously allow their personal and sociolinguistic biases to be conveyed through the material, normalizing raciolinguistic stereotypes in the minds of today's youth. This affects the development of sociolinguistic perspectives for children from all different backgrounds and, in turn, perpetuates socially constructed language ideologies. Common raciolinguistic stereotypes held by the general public are often conveyed in the entertainment industry through the creative decisions of content producers. The way certain characters are portrayed or voiced can provide viewers with significant detail as to their raciolinguistic and sociolinguistic representation. Disney often demonstrates this by manipulating the accents of certain characters to convey their intended race or ethnicity. Disney's use of marked language in this case could be seen in both a positive and negative light. For example, in Disney's recent film, Coco, the use of Spanglish and prosodic elements of the typical Mexican-American or Latino accent allowed the film to build its credibility and authenticity in celebrating the Mexican culture. While still appealing to an English-speaking audience, Disney was able to teach American children about Mexican culture and still refer to relevant Spanish terms in order to preserve the traditional meaning of such key concepts. In comparison, Disney's movie, Dumbo, demonstrated the use of marked language that was negatively received by the public. In the film, the crow characters' voices were meant to represent a racial stereotype of African Americans, as they used traditional morphosyntactic and phonological elements of African American Vernacular English (AAVE). The character, Jim Crow, was especially criticized, because of both his name and the fact that he was portrayed by white actor, Cliff Edwards. This diminished the authenticity of the accent, perpetuated raciolinguistic stereotypes associated with AAVE, and further normalized the appropriation of this dialect. Additionally, the fact that the only marked or racially representative characters in the film were the characters providing comic relief conveys a negative connotation of the racial group to the children watching. While this situation was an extreme demonstration of Disney's negative portrayal of language ideologies in their content for children, there are other depictions of characters that more subtly allude to linguistic stereotypes. In most of Disney's films, Standard English is used by the main characters, heroes, and princesses, who are often of light skin and higher socioeconomic class. The characters that generally have accents are the villains or comedic sidekicks. In English with an Accent, Rosina Lippi-Green defines standard language ideology as "a bias toward an abstracted, idealized, homogeneous spoken language which is imposed and maintained by dominant bloc institutions". Disney has a strong presence in the early lives of children, which provides them with the authority of a dominant bloc institution to perpetuate this ideology. Disney's use of the Standard Language Ideology demonstrates their role in the sociolinguistic phenomenon of language subordination. Green describes the steps related to this process (Appendix A), all of which can be seen in Disney's films. Disney's trivialization and vilification of marked languages can be avoided by creating main characters that use marked language in an authentic and non-ironic way. Additionally, Disney can create villains that use Standard English to dispel the stereotype that this "non-accent" is the superior manner of speech. This will help teach children that marked language is a normal occurrence that should be celebrated for its unique and genuine qualities. Due to the dissonance between the portrayal of Standard English and marked language, children come away with the idea that marked language is stigmatized. They may try to change the way they speak or treat those with accents differently as a result of being taught such an ideology. It is imperative that Disney becomes more aware of its role in shaping the perceptions of the young mind and takes these steps to limit its propagation of sociolinguistic stereotypes. It is my hope that this letter provides you with insight as to how Disney's actions have affected today's youth, and instigates conversations with the leadership of your company to change this issue going forward. While my suggestions may help you alter the perception of Disney's raciolinguistic profile for the better, it is ultimately in the hands of Disney's creative directors and executives to limit the influence of their own biases in their work. Disney has a significant role in forming and maintaining language ideologies, and it is your social responsibility to ensure that race and ethnicity are fairly, frequently, and authentically celebrated in all that you do. Sincerely, A USC Student |
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