Mitchell Broomhall

University of Wolverhampton
1519069
4AD010

Discuss How Politics and Culture Affected Disney

Animation?
The focus of this essay will Discuss how politics and culture affected
Disney animation?. This will explore how Disney animation and
storytelling has interpreted political and cultural concepts over time and
how they express ideas and opinions on certain issues, such as
environmental issues, major events or changes in politics and how culture
in general has changed. The information used has been gathered using a
mixture of resources such as the Internet, journals, documentary films and
books.
Whilst some Disney feature films may just seem like an ordinary fairy tale
film to younger audiences, they may have some obvious or not so obvious
undercurrents relating to issues within politics and culture. One of the first
Disney animations that explored politics and culture at that time was
Song of the South (1946) with a continuation of these issue addressing
films throughout the years with the most recent being Zootopia (2016).

The feature film Song of the South is based on an adventure of a

character called Brer Rabbit whose tales are told by Uncle Remus a
black plantation worker. The film touches upon the issues of slavery, and
is a good representation of how white Americans often chose to view this
issue. During this period, popular culture was shaping the views of most
American people, including Walt Disney, as to what life was supposedly
like in the South.
(Davis, David Brion. Pp.65-68) The slave system did incalculable
harm to the white people of the South, and benefited nobody but
the negro, in that it served as a vast training school for African
savages.
This attitude was not unusual. (Inge, M.Thomas. pp.219-230) Phillips
believed that the plantation functioned as primarily a method of social
control of a stupid, genetically inferior race Although the
representation of a plantation worker singing happily and slave families
living together is an unrealistic one, the Gone with the Wind era of
popular culture and education which represented slavery as something
which damaged the white southerners equally as bad as the black
workers, was the most common way American viewed the South and its
inhabitants.

Mitchell Broomhall
University of Wolverhampton
1519069
4AD010

More recently, Disneys partner Pixar created Wall-e (2008), in which

several key cultural issues are explored. The characters (Wall-e a little
robot who is cleaning Earth, and his companion Eve another robot that
joins him) have an adventure together. The adventure theme of the film
could evoke a sense of wonder and simple excitement in children.
Wall-e could be seen in a different light to an older and more
understanding audience it explores current culture and the possibility
that this is how the human race may have to live in the future. The
animation includes their perspective of what may happen with global
warming issues, the state of the planet and what effect the constantly
evolving technology may have on us. The film looks at many aspects that
are global problems such as obesity and (Herhuth, Herhuth. Pp.53 76)
consumer driven lifestyle.

The subjects explored within Wall-e are ideas still being addressed today,
for example; recently in the United Kingdom the government have
brought in a sugar tax (Triggle, Nick. BBC News) as a significant step in
the fight against child obesity. Another main aspect of the story is the
idea of a (Herhuth, Herhuth. pp.53 76)consumer driven lifestyle. In
Wall-e this is represented by all of the human characters on electric
chairs that are moving around the aircraft that they inhabit, which has a
(Herhuth, Herhuth. pp.53 76) cruise ship atmosphere. The human
characters also have a screen constantly in front of their faces meaning
they are oblivious to their surroundings, and all needs are met by the
(Herhuth, Herhuth. pp.53 76) corporate state Buy-n-Large. It is also
shown through a scene where most of the human characters change the
colour of their bodysuit, due to an advert despite being sedentary and
inactive. Another sequence in the film shows the evolution of these people
and how they have lost vital bones for movement due to technological
advances.

Another recent Disney animation The Princess and the Frog (2009)
displayed a cultural shift with its character and storytelling. Released the
same year that President Obama was inaugurated, this was the first
Disney animation to feature a black princess and other lead characters in
the story. The Princess and the Frog also explores feminism and the
concept of hard work Tiana (Kurti, Jeff. [Online]) stands apart from other
Disney princesses not simply because of her race but because of her
drive. Another Disney animation that contains similar values is Mulan
(1998).
(Jing, Yin. pp. 53-74) Mulan is one of the rare G-rated films that provide
positive role models for girls (Toppo 2006, 8D) .
2

Mitchell Broomhall
University of Wolverhampton
1519069
4AD010

Disney occasionally creates characters that are not considered as a

stereotypical Disney princess, as Yin Jing also says that Mulan is;
a strong and independent girl represents a new kind of treatment of
feminism in popular culture. Mulan she is independent and heroic.
One student claims that Mulan is awesome because she made it on her
own and that she did not rely on the help of a fairy godmother (such as in
the case of Cinderella).
There is a continuation of this theme in The Princess and the Frog as
Tiana reverses classical gender roles, taking charge of the situation and
watching over Prince Naveen. This is shown in the opening sequences as
we are introduced to Tiana as a child, where her father instils hard
working values and teaches her determination this is apparent later in
the film with her continuation of his dream of owning his own restaurant.
This is an interesting juxtaposition to the way Charlotte La Bouff,
childhood friend of Tiana, was raised. This is shown again in the opening
scene and throughout the film with Charlotte getting everything she asks
for handed to her on a plate by her father, and feeling a strong sense of
entitlement. However, this can be interpreted as colour-blind racism, the
idea that the prolonged maintenance of white privilege is acceptable. For
example;
(Kurti, Jeff. [online] ) Big Daddy La Bouffs mansion is juxtaposed
against the Ninth Ward shotgun style home of Tiana and her parents
without questioning or problematizing the socio-economic disparity or
difference encoded within the streetcar journey between the two.
Despite these issues Tiana and Charlotte remain firm friends throughout
the film.

The most recent film they have released linked with the current subjects
within culture and politics is Zootopia (2016). In a documentary
Imagining Zootopia Bryon Howard described the film as (Knowledge TV,
[online]) A film that brings things that are hard to talk about. Howard
also states that the main subject of the film is to do with Bias. Clark
Spencer mentions how culture is split into Two groups that assume
something about somebody else. The film gets across to children how
society as a culture create these groups (whether or not we are aware
that we subconsciously do it) and tries to teach them that it is okay to
break out of these groups of people that society creates, because we as
people are all the same. This is illustrated in the film using animals that
are in predator and prey groups, Spencer describes the social divide in the
film as (Knowledge TV [online]) groups are just managing to co-exist
3

Mitchell Broomhall
University of Wolverhampton
1519069
4AD010

within the same city. Therefore hinting at the divides that exist within our
culture that we are blithely unaware of the majority of the time.

In conclusion, Disney have created many films since the Disney

animation studios started, with the occasional animation that looks at
current topics that they feel need to be addressed, that may be being
ignored, or are a subject being talked about at that time. They manage to
turn any subject into a fun filled story that still has hints of the particular
aspect within the politics or of our culture that children of a certain age
may learn from and change their perspectives on the subjects. These films
are also watched by parents and adults who might see the more serious
side within the stories being told, which could also change their
perspective on the matter. These subjects give Disney new and different
stories to tell, that are enjoyed and watched over and over again. The
issues within politics and culture constantly changing, meaning they will
always have new issues to create fun filled stories and address the issues
in these films for as long as the company is going.

References

Davis, David Brion (2005) The Central Fact of American History.

American Heritage, 56(1), pp.65-68.

Herhuth, Herhuth. (2014) Life, Love and Programming: The Culture

and Politics of WALL-E and Pixar Computer Animation. Cinema
Journal, 53(4) pp.53 76.

Inge, M.Thomas (2012) Walt Disneys Song of the South and the
Politics of Animation. Journal of American culture, 35(3), pp.219-230.

Jing, Yin. (2011) Popular Culture and Public Imaginary: DISNEY VS.
CHINESE STORIES OF MULAN. Javnost-The Public, 18(1) pp. 53-74.

Mitchell Broomhall
University of Wolverhampton
1519069
4AD010

Knowledge TV (2016) Imagining Zootopia Full Documentary

[online]. [16th April] available at: < http://youtu.be/Hiu3qJi0aPY >

Kurti, Jeff. (2013) Diversity in Disney Films [online]. North Carolina:

McFarland. [20 April 2016]. Available at: <
https://books.google.co.uk/books?
id=7r_mJnUxI1MC&pg=PR3&dq=princess+and+the+frog+
+Obama+andlr=&sorce=gbs_selected_pages&cad=2#v=onepage&
q=princess%20and%20the%20frog%20%20Obama&f=false >.

Triggle, Nick. (2016) Sugar Tax: How it will work? BBC News [online].
16th March.
[20th April 2016]. Available at: <
www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-35824071>