2. Article Overview
Disney, a company that used to be synonymous with pretty white princesses
and equally handsome white princes, has more recently been including more
diversity in their productions.
The three newest diverse animated productions will star a Latina princess, an
African queen, and an adorable little Polynesian girl, respectively, in Elena of
Avalor, Queen of Katwe, and Moana.
There are also hints of LGBTQ+ representation, with a possible lesbian couple
appearing in Finding Dory and rumors of Queen Elsa possibly having a
girlfriend in the upcoming film Frozen 2.
3. Article Overview (cont.)
Live action films have recently been getting some new different faces as their
stars as well.
New movies Captain Marvel and Black Panther are set to hit theaters in 2019
and will star a female heroine and an African-American lead.
The new Ghostbusters movie also cast all female leads.
Twitter trend “#GiveCaptainAmericaABoyfriend is also pushing for Marvel to
pair up Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes, but Disney has not responded one
way or the other to the suggestion.
It’s clear that Disney is proactively including diversity in their recent productions.
4. Changing Demographics
Demographics: “Statistical descriptions of characteristics of a population, such
as age, race, income, educational attainment, and the like.” (Miller 8)
As a country, our demographics are changing.
According to the Huffington Post, by 2050, minority groups will make up the
majority of the American population.
In 1960, white Americans made up 85% of the U.S. population. By 2060, that will
drop to 43%.
Meanwhile, by 2060, African Americans and Hispanic Americans will make up
45% of the population.
5. Changing Demographics (cont.)
No exact number can be determined for the LGBTQ+ population, but experts
estimate it’s somewhere between 5-10%, on the rise from previous estimates
of 1-3%. (PFLAG NYC)
Similarly, 55% of people now support same-sex marriage with 37% still
opposing, compared to 57% opposing and 35% supporting in 2001.
(Steinmetz 1)
These numbers do not necessarily mean that more people now identify as
LGBTQ+, but likely that more people feel comfortable with reporting their
sexuality since acceptance is on the rise.
7. Applying the Concept
Since the demographics of people in the real world are changing, it only makes
sense that the ones we see on TV and in movies follow suit.
Unfortunately, however, this is often not the case. The media has a strong
tendency to “whitewash”, or if minority groups are cast, they are often
misrepresented.
“According to a study by USC, “across 100 top-grossing films of 2012, only 10.8
percent of speaking characters are black, 4.2 percent are Hispanic, 5 percent
are Asian, and 3.6 percent are from other (or mixed race) ethnicities.” The
same study noted the lack of positive roles assigned to the few people of
color (POC) characters. The roles written often perpetuate stereotypes,
whether it is the sassy, independent black woman, the spicy
Latina maid, or the nerdy and emotionless Asian student.”
8. What do whitewashing and Disney have to do
with each other?
As mentioned before, Disney used to be one of the leading companies in media
responsible for whitewashing.
But by taking steps to include more diverse characters into their productions,
Disney, as one of the largest companies in media, has the opportunity to
change the faces portrayed in all of media and therefore the lives of those in
those changing minority demographics.
9. Disney’s Influence on Media
According to Business Insider, Disney is the second largest media company in
the world--second only to Google-- bringing in $22.45 billion in media revenue.
Disney also bought out Pixar in 2006, creating Disney-Pixar films, using Pixar’s
reputation as a leader in animation to its advantage.
Disney owns a large portion of TV channels, including Disney, Disney Junior, and
ABC, and all 200+ of ABC’s affiliate channels.
Imagine what Disney could accomplish if it pursued diversity inclusion in all of
its productions like it is with movies.
11. Disney’s Influence on Audiences
In June of 2012, Communication Research published results of a study
concluding a correlation between preteen white girls, black girls, and black
boys who watched TV and lower self esteem, while predicting higher self
esteem for white boys. (racebending.com)
This makes perfect sense when you consider the fact that the vast majority of
media protagonists are white males. They’re the attractive, powerful heroes
who save the town and get the girl, while minority representation is limited to
sidekicks, love interests, and villains, or none at all.
12. Disney’s Influence on Audiences (cont.)
If this is how whitewashing and misrepresentation of minorities affects
audiences, then there’s no question that Disney incorporating more diverse
characters into their productions is a positive change.
Intentionally or not, Disney already began making strides toward this with some
of their (white) female leads. Ariel, for instance, did all the work to get to Eric,
who was clueless for most of the film, and then helped to defeat Ursula. And
Belle promoted the importance of brains and kindness over outward beauty.
13. Disney’s Influence on Audiences (cont.)
Unfortunately, however, many of Disney’s previous attempts at more racially
inclusive heroines have fallen somewhat sh ort. Mulan is by far their greatest
success with a non-Caucasian female lead, but even she isn’t enough to break
the trend. Other attempts like The Princess and the Frog just didn’t fair so well
with audiences and therefore haven’t reached as much of their audience.
Hopefully one of their new features like Elena or Moana will fair better and
give their audience another successful, racially diverse heroine to help reverse
some of the effects of minority portrayal in media.
14. Disney’s Influence on Audiences (cont.)
Possibly the minority group facing the least amount of inclusion is the LGBT
community. As already discussed, somewhere between 5-10% of the U.S.
population identifies as LGBTQ+, and yet very little media ever includes them
in productions.
Even when they do, like when they Ellen DeGeneres as Dory and included what
might be a same-sex couple in Finding Dory, they receive a substantial amount
of negative feedback from people.
It’s 2016. Same-sex marriage is legal, and regardless of how some members of
the audience feel, it’s beneficial for the audience as a whole, especially the
LGBTQ+ members, to receive the representation they deserve regardless.
15. Question
Same-sex marriage is now legal and the majority of the population now support
it. Therefore, it isn’t that risky of a business move for Disney to include same-
sex couples in their productions. However, how do you think audiences would
react to a production including, for example, a transgender protagonist? The
transgender community is still largely misunderstood and very much under-
represented, so could Disney use their influence as a large corporation to
promote this group to their audiences in a positive way?
16. Future Research Idea
Following the release of new racially diverse productions like Elena of Avalor
and Moana, it would be interesting to study how other major media
corporations respond. Would more of them begin promoting more diverse
characters in their films and TV shows? How long would it take them to
follow suit? Would they be more successful than Disney’s earlier attempts
because audiences have gotten more accustomed to seeing different colored
faces on their TV’s?
17. Future Research Idea
It’s important that all diverse representation not only exist, but that it also be
accurate. It would be interesting to study how in depth Disney and other
media corporations go in their research on the cultures and people they are
representing from across the globe in their productions and how accurately
those people are being portrayed. Do the people from those locations
approve of how their face is being shown in major media?
18. Works Cited
Moore, Rose. "Disney Gets Diverse: Queen Of Katwe, Moana, Elena And What It All Means For The Future Of Film." Moviepilot. N.p., 18 July 2016.
Web.
Miller, Katherine. Organizational Communication. 7th ed. Stamford: Cengage Learning, 2012. Print.
Moreno, Carolina. "A Study On The Changing Racial Makeup Of 'The Next America'" The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 13 Apr. 2014.
Web.
"PFLAG NYC - Statistics You Should Know About Gay & Transgender Students." PFLAG NYC - Statistics You Should Know About Gay & Transgender
Students. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2016.
Steinmetz, Katy. "How Many Americans Are Gay?" Time. Time, n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2016.
X.O, Isabella. "Misrepresentation of People of Color in the Media." Youth Radio. N.p., 06 May 2014. Web. 18 Sept. 2016.
O'Reilly, Lara. "The 30 Biggest Media Companies in the World." Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 31 May 2016. Web. 18 Sept. 2016.
Http://www.racebending.com/v4/author/mlee/. "Study Examines Television, Diversity, and Self-esteem." Racebendingcom. N.p., 06 June 2012. Web.
