When I was little, there were many movies that I watched. A lot of these movies had characters that were seemingly predominantly white. As I have gotten older however, I have come to realize that there actually were black characters in the movies I watched. They were, however, never the main characters and usually portrayed as unintelligent. For example, in the movie Dumbo, there are crows that are depicted as being black and it is fairly obvious in the scenes where they are shown. Below, I have embedded a scene from the movie Dumbo in which you can see what I am referring to.
In this scene, it is very clear that these black birds are depicted as poor and uneducated. It is also clear, by the way the birds are acting and talking, that Disney tried to link their mannerisms to black people. In fact, the lead bird is named Jim Crow. Jim Crow in the older days, was essentially an extremely exaggerated black character that was seen in Minstrel Shows, in which this character would dance and sing and imitate blacks in front of an audience. Jim Crow was also known as being a set of rules and laws that segregated blacks from white and oppressed black people in every way possible. It's obvious that Disney purposely characterized the crows in a way that would illustrate the idea that black people were seen as a minority race.
This clip from Dumbo provides an example of what "privilege" is. Privilege is a special advantage, immunity, permission, right, or benefit granted to or enjoyed by an individual, class or caste. There is an underlying privilege that white people are granted in this movie. White people are privileged to be associated with the characters that are opposite of the crows in Dumbo. They are privileged to be able to watch this movie with their families and know that the reasons that they are associated with the protagonists is because black people are "lesser" than whites. Even when I was younger and watched this movie, it was clear to me that these crows were dumb, lazy and had an undesirable life. It was also clear to me that they sounded different from the other characters. Although I never put two and two together and was able to understand that they were being portrayed as black, I did understand that I didn't talk and act the way they did. Neither did my family and friends. I associated myself with the characters who had mannerisms that closely resembled my own. This was a privilege. If I were a young black child or a black person in general watching this movie, I would feel as though it was a blatant act of discrimination against black people for no rhyme or reason.
Although this movie racially stereotyped against black people and benefitted white people, there is one show today that does a great job of doing exact opposite. The term Color-blind Ideology comes to my mind when I heard about this show that is currently airing on the Disney Junior channel. Color-blind Ideology is the deliberate avoidance of privileging any one race over others. This show is called Doc McStuffins. It features a 6 year old black girl, Dottie, who nurtures and takes care of her stuffed animals because she wants to someday be a doctor, like her mother is. Below, is a clip from this new show. It is a lengthier clip, but just from skimming through it, you can begin to understand how this show takes on the idea of Color-blind Ideology.
This show caught my attention because it features a black character as a lead role. Not only is the lead character black, but it's also a girl. This show illustrates how far we have come today. I'm not trying to say that we are living in a post-racial society and racism is forever vanished. But when comparing this show to how black people were depicted in older shows, such as Dumbo, it is clear that race is being seen less as a threat, and more as a teaching device. This show teaches children from a young age that people come in all sizes, shapes and colors and we are equal. It teaches kids that no matter the color of your skin, you can achieve what anyone else can achieve. I love that the roles have completely reversed in this show. It has such a positive message and is vital for young children from newer generations to watch.
Overall, I found it very interesting that there are many different examples from the media that demonstrate the different sides of how race has been portrayed. In Dumbo, it's clear that black people are associated with antagonist characters and white people are privileged in more ways than one. However, in Doc McStuffins, Dottie is seen as a protagonist and the theory of Color-blind Ideology is being brought to the surface. There have been many changes made in our society, and while we still might not be at a complete post-racial society, we have made the steps necessary to improve what our society once was.
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