Disney+ warns viewers of "outdated cultural depictions" in its classic movies

A select number of films, which include "Dumbo," "Lady and the Tramp," "The Aristocats" and more, have the warning. Many social media users shared the alert that read: "This program is presented as originally created. It may contain outdated cultural depictions."

Some of the movies — many of which were originally released in the 1940s and 1950s — contain scenes that would now be considered racist, offensive or inaccurate. For example, in "Dumbo," there are crows that perpetuate racist stereotypes of African Americans. One of the crows is named "Jim Crow."

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Disney’s much-anticipated streaming service has tacked warnings onto the beginnings of some movies indicating that they might include racist or otherwise offensive elements — a move that experts say begins to address the problem but fails to go far enough.

A message that airs before classic films including “Dumbo” and “Peter Pan” on Disney Plus says the movie is shown as it originally was made and “may contain outdated cultural depictions.”

The decision to attach this message to some animated films was met with both praise from people who viewed it as an accountability measure and criticism from those who thought its wording was dismissive. The mixed response, experts say, highlights the fact that Disney only has begun to take responsibility for the problematic representations.

“It really feels like a first step,” said Michael Baran, a senior partner at the Illinois-based diversity and inclusion consulting firm InQUEST Consulting. “I think that they could be so much more forceful in not only what they are saying, in the warning, but also in what they’re doing.”

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Walt Disney, who co-founded the Walt Disney Co. with his brother Roy O. Disney, has been called racist and misogynistic, although his biographer and other supporters have disputed that representation. Walt Disney’s grandniece, the filmmaker Abigail Disney, said in 2014 that she agreed with the negative assessment of her great uncle.

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“Anti-Semite? Check. Misogynist? OF COURSE!! Racist? C’mon he made a film (‘Jungle Book’) about how you should stay ‘with your own kind’ at the height of the fight over segregation!” Abigail Disney wrote on Facebook. “As if the ‘King of the Jungle’ number wasn’t proof enough!! How much more information do you need?”

The allegations that Walt Disney was racist may make executives at the company he founded feel especially responsible for addressing the unsavory aspects of its movies, said Gayle Wald, who chairs the American studies department at George Washington University and specializes in race and popular media. She said that the phrasing Disney chose is vague and that the company should be more explicit about its intended message.

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Stevicus said:

Disney+ content warning: Disney Plus streaming service puts warnings for "outdated cultural depictions" in some of its classic movies - CBS News



The Song of the South was completely absent from the channel's selection.

Some have argued that the content warnings are not enough: https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts...ions-some-films-thats-not-enough-experts-say/






I guess the question might be asked: Should these movies even be shown at all? Or more specifically, should people even want to watch them? I can't imagine myself watching them, even for nostalgic reasons.

On the other hand, the Disney name itself is being called into question. If he was a racist, an anti-Semite, and misogynist, then should the company live on and immortalize his name? Should they change the name of "Disneyland" to something else?

I'm not sure either way. Some of my fondest childhood memories were when we visited Disneyland, and at the time, I thought Walt Disney was a great man. They didn't mention his unsavory side in "The Walt Disney Story."

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Stevicus said:

Disney+ content warning: Disney Plus streaming service puts warnings for "outdated cultural depictions" in some of its classic movies - CBS News
The Song of the South was completely absent from the channel's selection.

Some have argued that the content warnings are not enough: https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts...ions-some-films-thats-not-enough-experts-say/

I guess the question might be asked: Should these movies even be shown at all? Or more specifically, should people even want to watch them? I can't imagine myself watching them, even for nostalgic reasons.

On the other hand, the Disney name itself is being called into question. If he was a racist, an anti-Semite, and misogynist, then should the company live on and immortalize his name? Should they change the name of "Disneyland" to something else?

I'm not sure either way. Some of my fondest childhood memories were when we visited Disneyland, and at the time, I thought Walt Disney was a great man. They didn't mention his unsavory side in "The Walt Disney Story."

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Revoltingest said:

I dislike the talibanesque behavior of the left.
Clearly....
Left =/= Liberal

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Howard Is said:

“You don’t need rights if you’ve got a good left.”

- Ricky Steel, ex Australian Army sniper and blues man.

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Revoltingest said:

I have no punching ability at all.
But I was once a crack shot....& modern scopes benefit aging eyes.

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Howard Is said:

Sport shooter, hunter or hit man ?

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Revoltingest said:

I dislike the talibanesque behavior of the left.
Clearly....
Left =/= Liberal

Click to expand...

bobhikes said:

White washing or deleting things we no longer wish we did eliminates the memory of the mistake and new generations will have to relearn the same mistake. It is said a Wise Man makes many mistakes the fool makes the same mistakes. We need to embrace our mistakes and yes view them but with the eyes and mind that understands the mistakes. People have banned Movies, Books, Music and other people through out history and when was such a ban ever successful. As my father would say the pendulum is its extreme height right now wait a little bit for it to fall back again.

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sun rise said:

As if the right has not tried to ban things.

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Stevicus said:

Disney+ content warning: Disney Plus streaming service puts warnings for "outdated cultural depictions" in some of its classic movies - CBS News



The Song of the South was completely absent from the channel's selection.

Some have argued that the content warnings are not enough: https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts...ions-some-films-thats-not-enough-experts-say/






I guess the question might be asked: Should these movies even be shown at all? Or more specifically, should people even want to watch them? I can't imagine myself watching them, even for nostalgic reasons.

On the other hand, the Disney name itself is being called into question. If he was a racist, an anti-Semite, and misogynist, then should the company live on and immortalize his name? Should they change the name of "Disneyland" to something else?

I'm not sure either way. Some of my fondest childhood memories were when we visited Disneyland, and at the time, I thought Walt Disney was a great man. They didn't mention his unsavory side in "The Walt Disney Story."

Click to expand...

Stevicus said:

Disney+ content warning: Disney Plus streaming service puts warnings for "outdated cultural depictions" in some of its classic movies - CBS News



The Song of the South was completely absent from the channel's selection.

Some have argued that the content warnings are not enough: https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts...ions-some-films-thats-not-enough-experts-say/






I guess the question might be asked: Should these movies even be shown at all? Or more specifically, should people even want to watch them? I can't imagine myself watching them, even for nostalgic reasons.

On the other hand, the Disney name itself is being called into question. If he was a racist, an anti-Semite, and misogynist, then should the company live on and immortalize his name? Should they change the name of "Disneyland" to something else?

I'm not sure either way. Some of my fondest childhood memories were when we visited Disneyland, and at the time, I thought Walt Disney was a great man. They didn't mention his unsavory side in "The Walt Disney Story."

Click to expand...

Revoltingest said:

I dislike the talibanesque behavior of the left.
Clearly....
Left =/= Liberal

Click to expand...

ADigitalArtist said:

I'm as left as they come while still being a mixed economist and I have no problem with showing problematic media. I think content warnings are a good idea in general, that's why we have ratings systems.
Most of the hard left film and media studies that I've run into feels the same way. Including so-called breadtube, a group of philosophers and media critics with tens of thousands of views.

This one specifically goes over the nuance of Disney's actions that's really relevant to the topic at hand:

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ADigitalArtist said:

I'm as left as they come while still being a mixed economist and I have no problem with showing problematic media. I think content warnings are a good idea in general, that's why we have ratings systems.
Most of the hard left film and media studies that I've run into feels the same way. Including so-called breadtube, a group of philosophers and media critics with tens of thousands of views.

This one specifically goes over the nuance of Disney's actions that's really relevant to the topic at hand:

Click to expand...

Stevicus said:

I guess the question might be asked: Should these movies even be shown at all? Or more specifically, should people even want to watch them? I can't imagine myself watching them, even for nostalgic reasons.

On the other hand, the Disney name itself is being called into question. If he was a racist, an anti-Semite, and misogynist, then should the company live on and immortalize his name? Should they change the name of "Disneyland" to something else?

I'm not sure either way. Some of my fondest childhood memories were when we visited Disneyland, and at the time, I thought Walt Disney was a great man. They didn't mention his unsavory side in "The Walt Disney Story."

Click to expand...