Proceed with Caution While Enjoying Disney+ as Some Original Films Include Outdated Cultural Depictions
Disney+ has placed content warnings on some of its classic animated movies to notify users about “outdated cultural depictions.”
Classic movies like Dumbo, The Aristocats, Jungle Book, and Lady and the Tramp have a disclaimer about outdated cultural depictions. Each description for said show or film ends with: “This program is presented as originally created. It may contain outdated cultural depictions.”
Some of the content that is offered on the Disney+ streaming service include films and cartoons that date back to the 1940’s. Cultural norms of the time period shape the content of the cartoons, which is why aspects of certain content can be interpreted as racist or offensive. An example of this can be found in Dumbo, where there are crows that are depicted by some as African Americans with one of the crows being named “Jim Crow.” For this reason users will not find Song of the South, which has faced criticism for its portrayal of African American characters.
Below are some of the other programs on the site that feature the same disclaimer.
“This program is presented as originally created. It may contain outdated cultural depictions.” @disneyplus https://t.co/GjByhNPqp9 pic.twitter.com/0LAuSOuGQO
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) November 13, 2019
Some Disney+ users suggest that the content shouldn’t be allowed on the site. However, the warning messages allow Disney to point out the flaws in its old films while still keeping them as they originally were when they were first released.
*Cue the confetti and tears and fireworks* Start streaming #DisneyPlus now by signing up at https://t.co/wJig4STf4P. pic.twitter.com/0jHLP0MPqb
— Disney+ (@disneyplus) November 12, 2019
Stream your personal favorites on the site now.
