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Adriana Hernández Rosa

Professor Thames

ENC 1102

4 October 2020

In what ways does diversity within a production team affect the authenticity of Disney

Animation Studios’ films’ cultural representation on screen?

Statement of Significance

The discussion surrounding the lack of representation in the animation industry is

important because it largely affects the general population. Furthermore, it is also part of a wider

issue of race in this country’s past and present history. The research surrounding this topic could

bring about substantial change within the industry, thus, affecting many generations to come. It

is for this reason that researchers should care to investigate and continue the conversation, as it

ultimately serves to spread this information and communicate these views and concerns to a

larger audience and even impact industry higher-ups to be more sensitive and understanding of

these minority-group discrepancies. As a hispanic woman studying animation and film, I can be

considered part of two minority groups within the industry I intend to break into. Thus, I feel it is

my duty to inform myself and others in order to help bring about the change I want to see in

order to better my future and that of many others within the industry.

Review of Literature

Through my research I was able to identify a particularly wide scholarly conversation in

relation to diversity in front and behind the scenes of Hollywood, more specifically Disney films.

This topic of conversation aims to evaluate the ways in which diversity within the production

team influences the authentic outcome of a production. Through my investigative research I was
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able to recall many instances where films felt insensitive, and unauthentic. Upon further research

and gathering of evidence it became obvious that Hollywood as a whole lacks diversity both, on

screen, and behind the scenes. This shouldn’t be shocking information. However, it is notable

that there is a greater discrepancy behind the scenes. This can be seen through the 2019

Hollywood Diversity Report which shows only 17.4% of writing credit being earned by women

and 13.9% earned by minority groups (Wolf). This is extremely alarming as the U.S. Census puts

the women population at approximately 50%, and minority populations at 40%. Numbers like

these within the production team are what lead to tone deaf productions that use racial, ethnic,

and cultural diversity soley for monetary value. These are not only prevalent within the sci-fi and

action genres, but also in the animation industry. Arguably, it is because if this lack of cultural

consciousness that films such as ​Moana,​ ​The Lion King,​ ​Mulan​, ​Pocahontas​, and ​Princess and

the Frog​ are based off of many stereotypes that ultimately perpetuate exclusivity and

discrimination (Cappiccie, Neal, Yoshinaga). Some examples of this include how in ​The Lion

King,​ the hyenas and the elephant graveyard seem to represent Hispanic and Black minorities in

a decaying urban setting; how in ​Pocahontas​ she defies her familial and cultural values for a

white man; how ​Mulan’s​ story shifted purpose from its original historical proem, favoring the

Americanization and changed values of the character; how Tiana and Naveen spend the majority

of ​The Princess and the Frog​ film as literal frogs; how Maui, a piece of cultural myth, was

reduced to a basic stereotype in ​Moana.​ These are not isolated instances, and can be seen

throughout many other films throughout past and present history.

Overall, this phenomenon is quite harmful to each culture it appropriates as it creates a

false mainstream view of what a people should look and behave like. This is especially harmful

when considering animations are marketed for a young and impressionable audience, which can
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hold certain views for generations to come. With that said, it is worth noting that significant

improvements have been made throughout the years. For example, on screen and behind the

scenes diversity increases every year, little by little. This is thanks to an audience that is willing

to demand and embrace change within the media that they consume. Further, the Oscars put forth

diversity requirements in order to be eligible for their most prestigious award, Best Picture.

Additionally, new studios like Lion Forge Animation, the first and only Black-owned studio to

date, are being developed and established. Thanks to their mission of seeking out unrecognized

talent and striving for a culturally diverse team, they were able to win an Academy Award on

their debut short, “Hair Love” (Tangcay). More changes and improvements like these are what

we, as an audience, look forward in the coming years of the film industry.

Methodology

For my data collection, I will compare and contrast four Disney movies and their

respective screenplays. Two of these will be representative of ethnic princesses, and two others

will be representative of white princesses. In the same way, the movies will be selected

according to their release state; two of which will come from Disney’s Renaissance Era

(1989-1999), and the other two will come from Disney’s Revival era (2010-present). This way I

am able to compare and contrast the​ progress that was made throughout Disney’s history as well

as present day discrepancies of ethnic portrayal and representation to those of their white

counterparts. Following these guidelines I chose to study the films: ​Pocahontas​ (1995), ​The

Little Mermaid​ (1989), ​Princess and the Frog​ (2009), and ​Tangled​ (2011) and their screenplays

in search of trends and word choice sensitivity.

To further solidify my data I will conduct a simple three question survey in which I ask a

random selection of at least 50 people to answer multiple-choice questions based on their

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animated movie preferences, and whether or not they feel represented through them. This data

will be organized into data tables and evaluated ​through ​proportional comparison and chi

squared testing for correlation status.

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Timeline
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Works Cited

Cappiccie, Amy, et al. “Using Critical Race Theory to Analyze How Disney Constructs

Diversity: A Construct for the Baccalaureate Human Behavior in the Social Environment

Curriculum.” ​Journal of Teaching in Social Work,​ vol. 32, no. 1, Jan. 2012, pp. 46–61.

EBSCOhost​,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ955286&site=eds-live&s

cope=site. Accessed 18 Sept. 2020.

Couch, Brittani. Interpreting Cinematic Elements: Psychological Explanations. 2015, pp. 18–25,

writingandrhetoric.cah.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2019/10/KWS3_Couch.pdf.

Accessed 30 Sept. 2020.

Frey, Mattias. “The Authenticity Feeling: Language and Dialect in the Historical Film.”

Research in Film and History​, Universität Bremen, 21 Nov. 2018,

film-history.org/approaches/authenticity-feeling. Accessed 27 Sept. 2020.

Gentry, Katy. ​Changing Scenes: The Rise and Success of Diversity on Broadway.​ 2017, pp. 15–

20, writingandrhetoric.cah.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2019/10/

stylus_8_2_Gentry.pdf. Accessed 30 Sept. 2020.

Neal, Kelle. ​“Part of Your World:” Disney’s Portrayal of Ethnic Minorities​. May 2010, pp.

60–73, digitalscholarship.tnstate.edu/dissertations/AAI1476488/. Accessed 27 Sept.

2020.

Perez, Camila. ​“Spanglish” and Its Effects on L1 and L2.​ 2012, pp. 28–35,

writingandrhetoric.cah.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2019/10/KWS1_Perez.pdf.

Accessed 30 Sept. 2020.

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Pocahontas.​ Directed by Eric Goldberg and Mike Gabriel, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures,

1995.

Tangcay, Jazz. “Disrupting the Animation Genre Through Diversity.” ​Variety​, vol. 349, no. 2,

Aug. 2020, p. 89. ​EBSCOhost​,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bft&AN=145067879&site=eds-live&s

cope=site. Accessed 18 Sept. 2020.

Tangled​. Directed by Byron Howard and Nathan Greno, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures,

2011.

The Little Mermaid​. Directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, Walt Disney Studios Motion

Pictures, 1989.

The Princess and the Frog​. Directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, Walt Disney Studios

Motion Pictures, 2009.

Wolf, Jessica. “2020 Hollywood Diversity Report: A Different Story behind the Scenes.” ​UCLA

Newsroom​, UCLA, 6 Feb. 2020,

newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/2020-hollywood-diversity-report. Accessed 27 Sept. 2020.

Yoshinaga, Ida. "Disney's ​Moana,​ the Colonial Screenplay, and Indigenous Labor Extraction in

Hollywood Fantasy Films." ​Narrative Culture,​ vol. 6 no. 2, 2019, p. 188-215. ​Project

MUSE​ muse.jhu.edu/article/741296. Accessed 18 Sept. 2020.

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Appendix

Survey Sample:

Question 1) What is your racial background? (Select all that apply)

☐ White

☐ Black

☐ Asian

☐ Hispanic or Latino

☐ Native American

☐ Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander

☐ Native Indian or Alaska Native

Question 2) What is your nationality?

_______________

Question 3) Has Disney Animation Studios (including Pixar) made a movie that was intended to

represent your general racial background?

☐ Yes

☐ No

Question 4) If yes, which movie?

_______________

Question 5) If yes, do you feel like they did so in an authentic manner?

☐ Yes

☐ No

Question 6) If you have any input, further opinions, or general thoughts on the issue at hand,

please elaborate and contribute to the conversation. _______________ …

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CITI Certification:
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