Disney accused of trying to edit out its racially dubious past with Disney+ plans
Disney’s plans to remove some of the more racially insensitive moments from its back catalogue have been criticised by movie fans.
It was reported earlier this week that the 1946 animated-live action movie Song of the South will not be appearing on new streaming service Disney+.
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The film has long been hauled up over its offensive racial stereotypes, as well as sanitising the realities of plantation life.
The studio is also planning to remove the controversial scene from 1941’s Dumbo featuring the singing bird character Jim Crow, named after the black face character created in the 1800s, and which later offered up a title for racial segregation laws.
But the decision by the studio to edit out these parts of its back catalogue is now under scrutiny.
While some have described the decision as being a symptom of political correctness, others have criticised Disney for trying to erase previous wrongs, as if they never happened.
This might surprise some folks but I WANT Disney to release "Song of the South" and I WANT them to leave in the Crows and the Siamese Cats.
I WANT that.
As a reminder…this is currently a white wash…
— Grizz Robinson (@BizarroTheBear) April 24, 2019
If Disney had any guts they would leave it in and preface the movie with something about racism, why it was thought to be okay then, how what they did is wrong, how it must and can be avoided in the future. This could be a HUGE teaching moment BUT as I said, if they had any guts. https://t.co/Of2kTYZQdQ
— AlwaysBeWoke (@AlwaysBeWoke) April 23, 2019
I’m unsure about this – should #historical #artefacts such as films be #censored and edited for modern audiences? Is it just another step in the creation process? Or is it part of a ceremony of mass forgetting of past crimes?#Disney#DisneyPlushttps://t.co/9x4yq1UMHH
— Dr. James Harry Morris (@JHMorris89) April 24, 2019
Also, not releasing it is more about whitewashing Disney's troubling past than it is a stand against racism.
— Rafael (@Rafael_AAze) April 23, 2019
Super disappointed if Song of the South isn't on Disney+, but you better not touch Dumbo. I hate it when they censor old cartoons and take out all the racism. You don't get to pretend that stuff never happened, white people!
— Eli Sanza (@ejunkie2014) April 19, 2019
Counterproductive I think. And to be honest we are kidding ourselves if we believe corporate Disney has a moral compass that extends beyond the financial bottom line. They don’t want to be included in the racism conversation, end of…
— Historyland. (@LandOfHistory) April 23, 2019
Song of the South was never released on home video by Disney, despite it being the inspiration for the ride Splash Mountain at Disneyland.
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Disney boss Bob Iger broached the subject in 2011.
“It was made in a different time… I just felt that there are elements to the film, while it was a relatively good film, that wouldn’t necessarily sit right or feel right to a number of people today,” he said.
“Sometimes you make sacrifices on the financial side to do what you believe is right.”
Disney+ will launch on November 12.
