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Last update - 08:18 17/08/2009
Do Disney movies promote anti-Semitism and racism?
By Dana Shweffi
Tags: disney, animation 

Heroines who pride themselves on Barbie-like figures and big eyes with long eyelashes, who await the arrival of their prince; Arabs that feature anti-Semitic noses; hints about the connection between authority and sex - these are just some of the undercurrents in Disney movies, many of which are childhood staples for children in the Western world.

But what are the repercussions of seeing such images and ideas? This is just one of the questions that Rachel Shalita of the Education Department at Hamidrasha art academy will address in a lecture at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque's Animation, Comics and Caricature Festival this week.

"I am trying to read these films differently and show the messages hidden within them," said Shalita. "These are messages that are not necessarily manipulative, but they reflect an extremely conservative worldview in terms of religion, anti-feminism and are problematic with regard to representations of the 'other.'"
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An extreme example of the rejection of the "other," according to Shalita, can be seen in the film Aladdin. Despite featuring a cast comprising entirely Arab characters, she says, the film is actually insulting to them.

Shalita claims Aladdin depicts Arabs in a way that is reminiscent of old anti-Semitic cartoons and caricatures. "The movie opens with and Arab character that looks like a caricature of a Jew with a long nose and all of the Arab characters speak English with an Arabic accent except for Aladdin and Princess Jasmine who speak with an English accent.

"An American child cannot identify with an Arab character," Shalita continues. "When they show a market where the signs are meant to be in Arabic but are written in a form of gibberish, it implies there really isn't a culture in existence that uses that language."

Shalita noted that when Aladdin opened in theaters, there were many protests by Arab communities at universities and elsewhere in the United States.

The "other" that is not accepted in the world of Disney includes women as well, according to Shalita. In Beauty and the Beast, for example, Belle is first seen as an independent, educated woman. As the movie, progresses, however, she becomes just another woman whose goal in life is to find a good husband.

The prime example of this, said Shalita, is in Mulan, which tells of a Chinese girl who disguises herself as a man to serve in the army instead of her father. "She accomplishes all the missions and even gets recognition and a medal, but her realy victory is that in the end she marries a general," said Shalita.

In general, Shalita said, behind each movie or children's program is the question of how childhood is portrayed. "Is a child good in his essence and does he require protection from evil and scary things? Or is he bad in his essence and susceptible to bad influences in what he sees? Or does he need to be stimulated and have things revealed to him like a blank page?

"I am interested in what values are truly transferred to a child, and not just those on the surface," Shalita said.
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  1.   Yes, but just try to avoid those princesses... 21:35  |  Aphemia 16/08/09
  2.   Fictional characters are designed as stereotypes. 22:22  |  disgusted american 16/08/09
  3.   Biggest Insult To Arabs... 23:05  |  Yosemite 16/08/09
  4.   Admit it Shalita,films portraying Comrade Stalin are best for chi 23:17  |  Absolute Sweden 16/08/09
  5.   No They Don`t And I`ll Tell You Why... 23:24  |  Yosemite 16/08/09
  6.   The British acsent is only evil 23:38  |  John Phee 16/08/09
  7.   You Can Only Print One Joke Or The Other... 23:49  |  Yosemite 16/08/09
  8.   Disney mirrors changes in America 23:55  |  Mark Lincoln 16/08/09
  9.   Fish That Look Like People 00:02  |  Yosemite 17/08/09
  10.   Anything Disney is just trush 00:10  |  PARIS 17/08/09
  11.   grow up 00:34  |  corey 17/08/09
  12.   Compare to original 00:45  |  Ahimaaz 17/08/09
  13.   BR 00:47  |  I had an Arabic GF 17/08/09
  14.   Spnge Bob? Seriously? 00:50  |  IknowIknow 17/08/09
  15.   History and Geograph Challenged, Too 00:58  |  Mark of Lewiston 17/08/09
  16.   The good way 01:30  |  Uncle Scrooge 17/08/09
  17.   Everyone in Alladin is an Arab Muslim 02:16  |  steve from raleigh 17/08/09
  18.   disgusted american 02:26  |  potobac 17/08/09
  19.   Despicable Hyena Stereotypes 02:32  |  Moshe 17/08/09
  20.   every ethnic group went thru this path... 02:42  |  Sal-USA 17/08/09
  21.   disgusted american - Er how does one get to .... 04:49  |  CJ 17/08/09
  22.   A little too PC for this old egg 05:49  |  Morris Valentine 17/08/09
  23.   A Blue Djinn is an Arab Muslim? 07:29  |  Mark of Lewiston 17/08/09
  24.   Unforetunately, 08:40  |  Yosemite 17/08/09
  25.   Excellent article, lucid and well explained. 09:52  |  Fortuna Benmayor 17/08/09
  26.   I deplore all stereotypes and generalizations 11:34  |  Landztranz 17/08/09
  27.   To Yosemite #3 12:40  |  Hector Bon 17/08/09
  28.   The Violence is Worse 15:48  |  Shmuel 17/08/09
  29.   What Rubbish! 18:15  |  GHook93 17/08/09
  30.   Disney and hollwoods portrayal of the other 18:59  |  Bobby Sands 17/08/09
  31.   Spare us such politically correct babble. 21:50  |  Raymond in DC 17/08/09
  32.   Disney is creepily pervasive 02:02  |  Dorothy 18/08/09
  33.   What about Cruella DeVil? And Pocahontas? 02:56  |  Yoni 18/08/09
  34.   She doesn`t understand what anti-semitism is 06:54  |  Keren 18/08/09
  35.   Noses? NOSES?!?! 07:20  |  angeldust 18/08/09
  36.   Dead mothers 07:22  |  K 18/08/09
  37.   Nah, no racism there! 07:41  |  Mark 18/08/09
  38.   its dangerous to be a disney parent 21:28  |  Alex 18/08/09
  39.   anti-semetic noses in Aladdin? 17:25  |  Rose 19/08/09
  40.   semetic ethnicity 19:12  |  Nadia 20/08/09
  41.   ok then 13:43  |  disco 29/10/09
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