This document discusses several Disney films and how they portray disability, gender, and race. It analyzes Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and how the character of Dopey is portrayed negatively as mute and childlike. For Aladdin, it discusses how the original lyrics contained offensive stereotypes about Arabs and how Disney changed them after protests. For The Lion King, it notes how the hyenas are voiced by African American actors and portrayed as unintelligent and evil. Finally, for Pocahontas, it discusses how Disney distorted the historical events and romanticized the brutal exploitation the Native Americans faced by colonial powers.

1. Imaginary Reality
Disability, Gender, and Race in Disney Films

2. Introduction
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Aladdin
The Lion King
Pocahontas
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Finding Nemo
The Princess and the Frog
Conclusion
Index and Bibliography
4
6
14
24
32
44
52
60
68
70
Contents

3. According to cultural critic, Henry Giroux,
approximately 200 million people a year will
watch a Disney film. Steven Watts, a professor
of cultural and intellectual history of the United
States, claims that Walt Disney is perhaps the
most influential man of the twentieth century.
In 1963, Walt Disney was awarded the George
Washington Award for “promoting the American
way of life” from the Freedom Foundation. What
is it about Disney films that are so pervasive as to
“promote a way of life,” to represent cultural ideals,
and arguably to have an affect on the way in which
American society views the world?
The Walt Disney Company is one of the most
popular entertainment industries in Hollywood.
Social scientist and scholar Alan Bryman wrote
a book called “The Disneyization of Society,” in
which he addressed the enormous impact that The
Walt Disney Company has had on United States
culture by saturating it with Disney images, prod-
ucts, and theme parks.
While these Disney movies were released, many
cultural events helped to inspire storylines, char-
acters, and various social issues. These events can
be found at the bottom of the pages in this book to
put the movie in perspective of worldly events. This
timeline provides a sense for what happened in the
world outside Disney at the time.
Disability discrimination Gender inequality Racial discrimination 5

4. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Disability
Gender inequality
Topics
Understand how the Disney
company started talking about
social issues in feature films
Significance
1937

5. 9Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs features
characters with disabilities portrayed in a negative
manner, particularly the character of Dopey. The
dwarfs work every day at the mine like any other
person without a physical disability; Disney shows
that these characters are capable of completing
any task and are not excluded from the rest of
society. Dopey is unusual because he is the only
character with additional disabilities and does not
blend in with the other dwarves. Dopey is the only
dwarf who is mute and therefore cannot speak his
opinions to the other characters.
Through his dwarf manner, the mute char-
acter sends a negative message to children.
Additionally, with his over-sized clothing and
childish manner, he communicates to Snow White
and the fellow dwarves by dancing and tripping
around in his baggy clothes. He acts like a child,
when the dwarves are all supposed to be mine
workers. Over time, Dopey has become one of the
most recognizable characters in any Disney film
because of his likeable personality and child-
like persona; although his disability makes him
stand out from the rest of the dwarves, he still is
perceived in a positive light and as an entertaining
character in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
1935: A disability
protest results in
Works Progress
Administration
1937: Snow White1932: Franklin Delano
Roosevelt becomes the
President of the United
States of America
1932: Amelia Earhart
becomes the first
woman to fly solo
across the Atlantic
Ocean and the country
1935: A disability
protest results in
Works Progress
Administration
1937: Snow White1932: Franklin Delano
Roosevelt becomes the
President of the United
States of America
1932: Amelia Earhart
becomes the first
woman to fly solo
across the Atlantic
Ocean and the country

6. What makes Snow White so
“beautiful” as a person?
MIRROR,
MIRROR,
ONTHE
WALL

7. 1930s: Women entered
the workforce twice
the rate of men
12 Gender stratification is a prominent theme
amongst the Disney animated princess movies.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, sets a stan-
dard for full length-animation and established a
pattern for later Disney heroines to follow”. When
she is faced with danger, Snow White simply
flees in a weak manner. Stereotyping women as
weak and mild mannered became the recipe for
a prototypical Disney princess. Beautiful, young
women are homemakers who exist within a world
of suspended animation, awaiting the arrival of
their prince, their savior.
The Queen in Snow White is motivated by her
yearning to be the most beautiful woman in all
of the land, and is characterized by a sense of
wickedness that is intensely startling at its depth;
her searing cruelty is almost palpable.
She instructs her huntsman, “Take [Snow White]
far into the forest, find a glade where she can
pick wildflowers, and then my faithful huntsman,
you will kill her! But to make doubly sure you do
not fail, bring back her heart.” The pure, humble
beauty scrubs the floor and wears rags, content
and accepting of her position. She befriends the
animals and is childish, innocent, and modest.
1941: National Service
Act is passed so that
unmarried women
between the ages of 20
and 30 are called up
for war work
1948: National Health
Service (NHS) gives
women free access
to healthcare
1937: Japanese inva-
sion of China, begin-
ning World War II in
Far East

8. 15
1992
Aladdin
Racial discrimination
Gender inequality
Topics
First Disney movie that created
public controversy over stereo-
typing certain races
Significance

9. In the movie Aladdin, the original lyrics in the
opening song “Arabian Nights” contained
offensive and racially discriminatory speech.
The lyrics were:
Oh, I come from a land
From a faraway place
Where the caravan camels roam.
Where they cut off your ear
If they don’t like your face
It’s barbaric, but hey, it’s home.

10. 19
1990: Gulf War begins,
war waged in the
Middle East
18 The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination
Committee protested and after six months,
Disney altered lines four and five. Disney distri-
bution president Dick Cook said the change
was made after meetings with members of the
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee,
but “it was something we did because we wanted
to do it. In no way would we ever do anything that
would be insensitive to anyone. So on reflection,
we changed it.”
Albert Mokhiber, president of the Washington-
based American-Arab Anti-Discrimination
Committee, said that the committee also sought
to have the word barbaric removed from the lyric
and will continue to press for that.
Cook said, “‘Barbaric’ refers to the land and the
heat, and not to the people. The changes were the
right thing to do,” he said, “but we are still one
word away from being pleased. We remain
concerned that (Disney Co. Chairman) Michael
Eisner has yet to respond to our letter or to
meet with us.”
Do you think people would have
noticed if the lyrics were not
changed? Did the lyric change help
defy other stereotypes in the movie?

11. 2120
1964: Civil Rights Act
of 1964 prohibits
discrimination in
public places on the
basis of race, color,
nationality, or religion
Flimmakers developed Aladdin during the 1991
Gulf War under the Bush administration. The war
was a conflict between Iraq and 34 countries in
the U.N., including the United States, trying to
return order to Kuwait.
Aladdin is a lanky, yet athletic teenager. A poor
orphan, he lives with his pet monkey Abu in an
abandoned building that over looks Agrabah.
Aladdin’s home resembles what a life of poverty
looks like, having no possessions, establishing
shelter wherever possible and stealing food in
order to survive. Aladdin is portrayed as a thief,
which is a common stereotype among Arabs.
Arabs are said to be cheap, conniving thieves,
solely after what benefits them.
Similarly, Aladdin goes around Agrabah trying to
restore order; much like the American troops did
in Kuwait during the Gulf War. He saves Princess
Jasmine from the socially acceptable punishment
of having her hand cut off for stealing and saves
Agrabah from Jafar’s evil wrath. Aladdin seems
and looks American.
He has an American accent and a much lighter
complexion than those who actually do portray
Arabian characters. He has dark, luscious hair
with a very 90s American haircut, looks clean and
well kept even though he is poor, and is overall
extremely handsome.
He also embraces what one would call American
values. He feels trapped by his poverty and hopes
to one day rise up and achieve success; Aladdin
wants to obtain the American dream of success
and living well. He also loves the idea of freedom
and being able to make choices freely. Jafar is the
complete opposite. He is portrayed to be more
Arabian than Aladdin through speech, appearance,
thoughts, and actions. He symbolizes evil and
disorder. Aladdin cannot be categorized as evil
because his negative actions are justified,
as was the American intervention during the
Gulf War, and he carries American values.
Aladdin, like the American troops, bought hope
and structure.
Do the American and Arab stereo-
types of Jafar and Aladdin define how
people thought during the Gulf War?
1967: Six Day War1965: President Lyndon
Johnson’s affirma-
tive action policy of
1965 expands to cover
discrimination based
on gender

12. 23Disney’s image of females has changed very little
in the many years since it’s rise. This presents
girls with a notion of what femininity is and what
males take pleasure in. The women in the movie
are overly sexualized. They are all portrayed as
beautiful, exotic, sexual creatures that are “to be
won”. The negative portrayal of Arab women in
the movie does not match up with the cultural
reality. Agrabah is a Muslim city where Islamic
women are supposed to be fully clothed to avoid
sexual output. The movie tries to save face by
having a veil cover the women’s face and head
but it actually serves no purpose other than to
arouse sexual thoughts. The veils are see-through
turning something that is supposed to be reli-
giously affiliated into a sexual innuendo.
Many girls who watch the film idolize Jasmine
as a beautiful and charming princess who gets
whatever she wants.. Her big breasts, tiny waist,
tanned skin, and low cut belly shirt gives young
girls an idea of what you use your body for; to
manipulate people to get what it is you want.
It is clear Disney glorified a body type of extreme
attractiveness over all others, as Princess
Jasmine is represented as an outstanding female
of true beauty. However, getting everything
doesn’t come easy, and she must use her sexu-
ality to become a seductress to subdue Aladdin’s
aggressor, Jafar, in one of the final scenes of
the movie.
Jasmine is chained and dressed in a red, revealing
outfit. Jafar has her wearing a sheer red veil and
feeding him grapes. Chaining her, having her
wear red and forcing her to comply to his every
request degrades her to nothing more than a sex
slave. Her outfit resembles lingerie, with its silky
texture and added sheer veil. She wears a similar
outfit throughout the entirety of the movie, which
is identical to the clothes worn by the women in
the brothel whom the view meets before being
introduced to Jasmine. Having her dressed exactly
the same as the women in the brothel suggest
that Jasmine is no different from them; she is a
sexually desired object for other men.
1991: The Cold War
ends; USSR dissolves
1992: Aladdin1968: Assassination
of Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr.
1968: Shirley Chisholm
becomes the first
African-American
woman elected to the
U.S. House of Repre-
sentatives.

13. 25
Racial discrimination
Topic
First Disney movie to use animals
as metaphors for people and
racial identity
Significance
1994
The Lion King

14. 27African American voice-overs are always used
for animals, and while James Earl Jones plays
the martyred Mufasa, most roles filled by African
American voices are not so flattering. The crows
in Dumbo talk in slang terms and are depicted in
a highly stereotypical fashion. The hyenas in the
Lion King are voiced by Richard “Cheech” Marin,
whose evil and somewhat incapable character
uses a Spanish slang term within the movie, and
Whoopie Goldberg. The final hyena simply laughs
throughout the film, but all three are darker
characters considered to be unintelligent, smelly,
unattractive, and evil.
1994: Oklahoma City
bombing, a terrorist
bomb attack on the
Alfred P. Murrah
Federal Building
There is plenty of Disney’s “home” prejudice in
The Lion King, indeed. Its infamous reinforcement
of racial and social stereotypes through formulaic
voices and visuals is but an obvious instance.
1994: The Lion King1993: Oslo accords end
First Intifada between
Israel and Palestine
26

15. 2928

16. 31
1994: South African
multiracial elections
are held for the
first time
30 The British accented and Shakespeare-allusive
Scar of The Lion King (Jeremy Irons) is consistent
with Harriet Hawkins’s view that in popular enter-
tainment interest in intellectual matters makes
characters look “as either a sissy (by implication
homosexual), an ineffectual intellectual (a wishy-
washy liberal), ... or a sinister, un-American
villain” and confirms what Douglas Lanier has
recently noted: “The act of citing Shakespeare
[has been] a conventional mark of the Other, the
sign of a character’s deviation from the bourgeois
norm” (Shakespeare, 66).
Would you consider hyenas evil
animals? What else does Disney do
to portray these characters poorly?

17. 33
Racial discrimination
Gender inequality
Topics
Using historical events to
create a story for children
by using real ethnicities
without metaphors
Significance
1995
Pocahontas

18. 35Pocahontas begins to demonstrate the company’s
progress towards a more inclusive approach
in their media productions. Nevertheless, the
portrayal of Native Americans is deceitful, and
the story in the movie is heavily distorted. Racism
in the film exists more in the story than in the
character representations. This film portrays the
exploitation brutally inflicted on the American
Indians as a romanticized encounter between
a British colonizer, handsome and blond John
Smith, and Pocahontas, a beautiful and sexualized
American Indian. The film ends happily ever after,
strategically erasing the terrible pain, torture,
and destruction the colonial powers brought to
the Native Americans and their community. Here,
Disney rewrites history and in doing so redefines
an event that would objectively be described as
criminal behavior.
This is a combination of Disney working with
cultural norms that are already prevalent in
American society: the United States’ rendering
of its own imperialism, and Disney’s ability to
define on screen what does and does not consti-
tute crime. This portrayal is steeped in racism
as Disney erases the racial discrimination and
persecution that ensued in colonizing the
United States.
34
1993: The American
Indian Disability
Legislation Project
collected data on
Native American
disability rights laws

19. 36 The lyrics of the song Savages are extremely
offensive. They lack cultural sensitivity and are
incredibly detrimental to Natives Americans,
especially, Native American children who attend
mainstream public school in US. These lyrics
first portray Native Americans as unpredictable
individuals who are governed by their emotions
and uncontrollable desires. Also, some lyrics term
deliberately insult Native Americans for their lack
of acknowledgment of the Christian God. Once
again, Disney highlights the American standard
form in religious views and portrays as deviant all
that which differs from it.
Likewise, the term savages just perpetuates
the idea that Native Americans are not civilized,
normal, and educated people. Consequently, the
theme of trust is introduced in the music lyrics. All
those who are like you deserve trust but does who
are different from you should be rejected.
Such phrase appears to support the segrega-
tion of individuals in a world where every human
being is unique and part of a whole. The fact that
the “Indians” in the movie sing the song that is
offensive to them appears paradoxical. To make
matters worst, the “savages” also refer to the
English settlers with offensive words like demon
and paleface as if to make such less aggressive
towards both parties.
1995: Pocahontas1994: The American
Indian Religious
Freedom Act passed
What happens when Disney mixes
historical events with a fantasy
experience? Does a child’s knowledge
become distorted or enhanced?
1996: President Bill
Clinton declared every
November to be
National American
Indian Heritage Month

20. Their skin’s a
hellish red,
They’re only good
when they’re dead

21. 41When women turn into men in Disney films they
become more terrifying and dreadful. In contrast,
male villains that assume feminine qualities are
more laughable and silly. Governor Ratcliffe of
Pocahontas (1995) even looks like a woman with
his pig-tales, hair bows, and pink outfit. Besides
the fact that he is overweight and ugly, he seems
almost dainty in his refusal to engage in any
manual labor and his possession of a stuck-up,
snooty pug dog. Though certainly evil and intent
on killing and exploiting the American Indians, the
character representation of Governor Ratcliffe is
not especially condemning and certainly not as
frightening as manly Ursula. Through this use
of gender reversal, Disney continues to portray
female villains are superiorly evil to male villains.
When women become men they are especially
terrible, but when men become women they are
ridiculous, laughable and much less terrifying.
1995: Pocahontas1994: End of apartheid
in South Africa and the
Presidential election of
Nelson Mandela
1995: Disability
Discrimination Act
made it unlawful to
discriminate against
people in respect of
their disabilities in the
United Kingdom for
employment purposes

22. 42 Pocahontas indeed breaks the mold for Disney
heroines, providing a role model sharply divergent
from the submissive Snow White of 1935 who
concerns herself with domestic duties and later
waits passively to be rescued. Nevertheless, this
movie and its sequel reinforce stereotypes of girls
whose identity is determined first by romantic
relationships and later by their role as a selfless
nurturer, not so starkly different from Snow White,
after all.
According to Disney’s animated film version, when
the English arrive in Virginia in the early 1700s
to plunder the land for its riches, Pocahontas
and John Smith fortuitously meet and gradually
replace their prejudice with passion. At the end of
the movie, when Smith must return to England for
treatment of his wounds, Pocahontas must decide
whether she will go with him.
Although she wishes to stay with the man whom
she loves which also would allow her to pursue
further adventures, she instead fulfills her
perceived obligation to stay with the villagers
who “need” her. Youth must adapt to a new adult
role for which there has often been little prepara-
tion. Pocahontas, however, suddenly shifts from
her obsession with Smith to a resolution to fulfill
her community’s needs, while subverting her own
desires. In doing so, she traverses with ease the
often tumultuous transition from self-absorption
to self-denial.
How is Pocahontas different than
Snow White? Who is a stronger
role model for children?

23. 45
1996
Disability
Gender inequality
Topics
Storyline revolves around
the struggle of having a
physical disability
Significance
The Hunchback of Notre Dame

24. 47
1996: President Bill
Clinton establishes
Telecommunications
Act allowing people
with disabilities
access to cell phones
46 In The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Quasimodo, a
character with a physical disability is ridiculed and
bullied throughout the whole movie. Quasimodo’s
disabilities include a deformed face and a hunch-
back. The narrator constantly asks the audience,
“Who is a man and who is a monster?”, which
serves as a strong theme throughout the story.
While Quasimodo looks like a monster, deep down
he has a gentle heart and cares about the people
in France. Removed from all social interaction
and society, Quasimodo is held up in the tower by
Frollo, the evil archdeacon. Frollo, although not
deformed in physical appearance, has the heart
of a monster and a tyrant. Because Quasimodo
is taken away from the townspeople, he cannot
integrate himself into society and make a life for
himself. In the end, the question is answered that
Quasimodo is the true man while Frollo serves as
the monster figure. Although Quasimodo escapes
the tower eventually with help from some friends,
the movie presents the point that society is still
not accepting of people with disabilities.
There are always going to be villains such as
Frollo who do not treat people with disabilities
with the respect that they deserve. The end of
the movie proves promising with the young girl
guiding him into the rest of society, but this act
could have been out of pity which still proves to
be disrespectful. The little girl actively seeks out
Quasimodo to bring him into the town square;
once the girl brings him into the light, the towns-
people begin cheering for Quasimodo.
Children who watch this movie can really put
themselves into the persona of the little girl.
Whether the girl was feeling pity for Quasimodo
or she actually felt the obligation to physically and
metaphorically bring him into society, she took
a step for the town to bring Quasimodo into their
world. Quasimodo was no longer an outsider, or
a “monster”, but a man with the same privileges
as everyone else With a happy ending, children
can learn to see that there are still righteous,
respectful people; however, Frollo represents part
of society that still exists: monsters who judge
people based on physical appearance and other
characteristics that disable a person.

25. 49
Does the girl who brings Quasimodo
into society do the right thing by
including him with everyone else or
calling him an outsider?
48 There are always going to be villains such as
Frollo who do not treat people with disabilities
with the respect that they deserve. The end of
the movie proves promising with the young girl
guiding him into the rest of society, but this act
could have been out of pity which still proves to
be disrespectful. The little girl actively seeks out
Quasimodo to bring him into the town square;
once the girl brings him into the light, the towns-
people begin cheering for Quasimodo.
Children who watch this movie can really put
themselves into the persona of the little girl.
Whether the girl was feeling pity for Quasimodo
or she actually felt the obligation to physically and
metaphorically bring him into society, she took
a step for the town to bring Quasimodo into their
world. Quasimodo was no longer an outsider, or
a “monster”, but a man with the same privileges
as everyone else With a happy ending, children
can learn to see that there are still righteous,
respectful people; however, Frollo represents part
of society that still exists: monsters who judge
people based on physical appearance and other
characteristics that disable a person.
1996: The Hunchback
of Notre Dame
1996: Congress
eliminated more than
150,000 disabled chil-
dren from Social Secu-
rity rolls with persons
with alcohol and other
drug dependencies
1996: The Taliban
gains governmental
control of Afghanistan
1996: President
Jacques Chirac
declares a “defini-
tive end” to France’s
nuclear testing

26. Heroines who are racial minorities are depicted
as being much more athletic than the white
heroines. In addition to the emphasis on these
characters’ athleticism, they are also illustrated
to emphasize that they have reached sexual
maturing. This difference in the construction of
the characters, along with their costuming in
the film, emphasizes the characters of a racial
minority to be exotic and sexual. Clearly, Disney
has created a division in its presentation of White
women versus women of color, where early
characters are weaker, more pristine, and largely
incapable of action, whereas the later heroines,
ail women of color, are depicted in such a way as
to emphasize their bodies and physicality. The
reader is encouraged, through this privileging
of the body and the physical in the rendering of
the physique and costuming, to look at Jasmine,
Pocahontas, and Esmeralda in different and more
voyeuristic manner than the White heroines. They
embody the exoticized Other woman — one whose
sexualized presence is privileged above all else.
Esmeralda is stunningly beautiful, which is to be
expected as all Disney heroines are. Appalachian
State University psychology professors Doris
Bazzini claims, “Parents should be aware that
their children are probably absorbing a message
portrayed consistently that attractiveness and
goodness go together.” An article entitled, ‘Disney
Princes and Princesses Still Slaves to some
Stereotypes’ explains that many Disney movies
contain gendered messages, such as the need
for girls to look pretty; thereby creating a pink
princess culture that emphasizes good looks.
The cliché is furthered with Esmeralda being a
street dancer, wearing tight skimpy clothes, and
using her body to make money. She is the object
of many men’s desire. In one of the scenes, she
dances on a spear, in a manner very similar to
pole dancing. She is also placed in many ‘damsel
in distress’ situations where she has to be saved
by a man. However, Esmeralda is also very
headstrong and rebellious, she constantly defies
and stands up to Frollo telling him, “you speak of
justice but you are cruel to those in need of your
help.” Her fearlessness is a nice break away from
the air-head princess.

27. 53
Disability
Topic
Pixar movie that layers
disabilities in a more thoughtful
and considerate manner
Significance
2003
Finding Nemo

28. 54 Disney’s positive improvements in the portrayal
of disability are exemplified by the 2003 smash
hit, Finding Nemo. It epitomizes the huge steps
and changing societal perceptions that have
taken place in recent decades. The film is about a
clownfish named Nemo, whose mother and
hundreds of brothers and sisters were killed by
an eel attack.
Besides its breathtaking animation, the movie
features many characters with disabilities and
presents them in a sensitive manner. Because the
main characters with disabilities are fish and not
humans, children can relate in a more abstract
way and have a positive viewing experience. Many
characters in the movie have disabilities and show
how they deal with their disabilities in different
ways; Nemo has a small fin, Dory has a mental
disability, and Nemo’s friends all claim to have
different disabilities. These characters alone
represent a broad spectrum of disability: cogni-
tive, physical, acquired, and congenital disabilities.
Sometimes viewers forget that this movie
surrounds itself with the way people in today’s
society deal with disabilities because the char-
acters all exhibit acceptance and celebration for
each other’s differences. Finding Nemo helps
children with disabilities learn that they do not
always have to be ridiculed and can do activities
alongside their peers.
Nemo’s swimming disability restrains him from
having the freedom to swim alongside other fish;
his dad hesitates to send him to school because
he is concerned about how Nemo will interact
with the other fish. Courageously, Nemo stands
up to his father and asks his dad to allow him to
attend school. Once at school, Nemo swims out
in the open ocean to stand up to his father who
has protected him for so long. By adventuring into
the ocean, Nemo demonstrates that he can still
accomplish things like any normal fish. He strives
to be accepted by the other fish and proves that he
can be as adventurous (and naïve by not listening
to his parent) as his new friends.
2003: Finding Nemo2002: Canada, Pakistan,
and Australia pass
Disability Discrimination
Acts to reduce injustice
in society
2000: Hillary Rodham
Clinton becomes the
only First Lady ever
elected to the United
States Senate

29. 57
2004: Illinois held the
first disability parade,
an event designed
to change the way
people think and
define disability
56 Although Nemo’s fellow classmates treat him the
same and respect his disabilities, Marlin serves
as the stereotypical over-protective father in the
movie. The family dynamic plays a huge role in
how people with disabilities interact with others.
Because of Marlin’s over-protectiveness, Nemo
does not have the opportunity to participate in the
same activities as his peers until he is much older.
In the beginning of the movie, Marlin tells Nemo,
“I will never let anything bad happen to you”.
Becoming eagerly cautious of Nemo’s every
action, the interaction between Nemo and his
father provides tension in their relationship.
Once the dentist captures Nemo, Marlin starts
panicking because he does not trust his son
to survive by himself. As Wolfensberger says
in A Brief Overview of Social Role Valorization,
Disabled people or devalued people “are being
perceived and interpreted by others as having
lesser value than these others see themselves, or
most other people, as possessing,”.
Nemo’s own father sees Nemo as having a lesser
value than the other fish. With more trust and
respect, Marlin might respect Nemo in a different
way and treat him as any other child. His physical
disability does not affect his personality and is
only one piece of Nemo’s identity. In the end,
Marlin re-evaluates how he treats Nemo and sees
that Nemo should be treated like any other child.

30. 59Viewers of Finding Nemo are exposed to all
disabilities, weaknesses, phobias, etc. of
multiple characters in the movie. In Depiction of
Intellectual Disability in Fiction, Anupama Iyer
claims that “fictional images are very powerful
because they have a coherence and accessibility
not often present in random real-life experiences,”
(Iyer, 127). Kids can relate more to the characters
because they see that these characters have
flaws and issues that they deal with day to day.
Whether it is short-term memory loss or being
allergic to water, these different characters are
able to live side by side together in the ocean
without conflict.
How do these fish serve as role
models and inspiration to children?
2008: Senator Kennedy
introduces Civil Rights
Act of 2008 improving
accountability for vio-
lations of civil rights
2005: London hit by
Islamic terrorist
bombings, killing 52
and wounding about
700 civilians
Finding Nemo’s popularity with a younger
generation comes from the subtle social and
cultural diversities displayed by the characters
within the film. Throughout the entire movie,
disability is not a central theme of the plot, yet
indirectly plays a defining role in the movie’s
dynamic character developments.
58 Nemo, Marlin’s only child, has a small fin that
prevents him from swimming as fast as the other
fish. His swimming disability restrains him from
having the freedom to swim alongside other fish;
his dad hesitates to send him to school because
he is extremely concerned about how Nemo will
interact with the other fish. Courageously, Nemo
stands up to his father and fervently asks his
dad to allow him to attend school. Once at school,
Nemo swims out in the open ocean to stand up
to his father who has protected him for so long.
Nemo swims far out into the open water and
is eventually captured by a scuba diver. By adven-
turing into the ocean, Nemo demonstrates that
he can still accomplish things like any normal
fish. He strives to be accepted by the other fish
and proves that he can be as adventurous as his
new friends.
In addition to Marlin dealing with Nemo’s physical
disability, he also interacts with Dory, a fish who
has short- term memory loss. In Finding Nemo,
Dory sometimes serves as a comedic relief
throughout the film with her care-free attitude
and positive spirit. Dory serves as an adult figure
who has a cognitive disability but lives her life to
her fullest, not letting anything hold her back. Her
cognitive disability is demonstrated throughout
the whole movie, but she never is excluded or
casted aside as being different, except by Marlin.
Marlin calls Dory “insane” and “one of those fish
that cause delays” because of her developmental
delays and incorrect answers to simple questions.
Although Dory does demonstrate these qualities,
Marlin continues to fail to recognize the strengths
that Dory brings to their team. When Marlin and
Dory run into a school of fish, the school of fish
criticize Marlin for being disrespectful to Dory.
They remind Marlin that Dory has special char-
acteristics that she can contribute to their team
to find Marlin. Eventually, Marlin’s trust in Dory
allows him to find Nemo.
2005: Hurricane
Katrina floods New
Orleans, Louisiana
2005: United Kingdom
revises Disability
Discrimination Act
2004: The Disability
and Discrimination Act
required providers
to make reasonable
adjustments to
service buildings

31. 61
Racial discrimination
Topic
First movie with an
African-American
Princess lead
Significance
2009
The Princess and the Frog

32. 62 In 2009, Disney truly attempted to step out of their
prototypical Disney princess box, with the release
of The Princess and the Frog. Here, we see the
first African-American princess in a Disney movie.
She is not nobility by birth; instead she is a hard
working, salt of the earth female. Nevertheless,
old habits are hard to break - as she still dreamily
wishes upon stars and falls for the prince.
“Because of Disney’s history of stereotyping,” said
Michael D. Baran, a cognitive psychologist and
anthropologist who specializes in how children
learn about race, “people are really excited to see
how Disney will handle her language, her culture,
her physical attributes.”
Disney often gets criticized no matter how care-
fully it strives to put together its television shows,
theme-park attractions and movies. For years,
Disney has been lambasted by some parents
for not having a black princess. Now, some of
those same voices are taking aim at the company
without seeing the finished product.
Tiana is “a resourceful and talented person” and
the rare fairy tale heroine “who is not saved by a
prince.” The creators of the movie wanted her to
bear the traits of African-American women and be
truly beautiful.”
2008: Senator Kennedy
introduces Civil Rights
Act of 2008 improving
accountability for civil
rights violations
2009: The Princess
and the Frog
2009: Johanna
Sigurdardottir takes
office as Iceland’s first
female prime minister
2009: Members of a
private swim club in
Philadelphia made
racist comments
about a public
center’s children

33. 2009: First African-
American Disney
princess lead
2009: Inauguration of
Barack Obama as the
first African-American
President of the
United States

34. 67Hard work, determination, and negative publicity
are what forced Disney to rethink how they had
originally portrayed African Americans in The
Princess and the Frog. The problem is that had
they thought of the implications their decisions
about the characters would have on the American
people before announcing their plans, this contro-
versy would not have existed. How could an anima-
tion company as influential as Disney have made
such a tremendous step backward, thinking they
were moving forward?
Since the media singled out Tiana
for being African American, does this
continue racial discrimination or
help bridge the gap?
Media influence on cultural identities, misrep-
resentation of ethnicities, and the ridiculous
assumption that issues on race and discrimina-
tion are non-existent today: all of these factors
are prevalent in mainstream media. There is
an oversaturation of mainstream imagery and
ideology being broadcast on a global scale. This
ignorance has been present in America for so
long that major media outlets making decisions
and spreading misconceptions have actually disil-
lusioned themselves.
2011: Osama bin Laden
found and killed
2011: King Abdullah
of Saudi Arabia grants
women the right to
vote and run for office
in future elections.
2012: President Barack
Obama wins his sec-
ond term as President
of the United States
66

35. 2013: Disney films
are meant to enter-
tain and to enchant
children and adults
to create memorable
characters who the
audience relates to.
Clearly, the films are doing their job,
though the larger messages they
paint to children must be addressed
in discourse on The Walt Disney
Company and its place in American
society. Children are very likely to
incorporate the things they see
in movies into their play, thereby
repeating, analyzing, and incorpo-
rating into their subconscious the
ideas and themes they take away
from the films.

36. Index
9, 10, 11, 46, 47, 48, 49, 54,
55, 56, 57, 58, 59
16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 26,
27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 35,
36,37, 38, 39, 62, 63, 64,
65, 66, 67
22, 23, 40, 41, 42, 43, 50, 51
“1930’s Lifestyles and Social Trends.” Enotes.com.
Enotes.com. Web. 30 Jan. 2013.
“Aladdin: Disney Movies & Racism.” Web. 30
Jan. 2013.
“American Racial History Timeline, 1900-1960.”
Occidental Dissent. Web. 30 Jan. 2013.
Barnes, Brooks. “Her Prince Has Come. Critics,
Too.” The New York Times. The New
York Times, 31 May 2009.
Bryman, Alan. “The Disneyization of Society.” The
Sociological Review 47.1 (1999): 25-47. Print.
“Civil Rights Timeline.” Infoplease. Infoplease. Web.
30 Mar. 2013.
“Disney Princess Sociology.” Web. 30 Jan. 2013.
“Disney Screencaps.com - Bringing You the Very
Best Quality Screencaps of All Your Favorite
Animated Movies: Disney, Pixar, & so Many
More!” DisneyScreencaps.com. Web. 30
Jan. 2013.
“Disney Will Alter Song in ‘Aladdin’ : Movies:
Changes Were Agreed upon after Arab-
Americans Complained That Some Lyrics
Were Racist. Some Arab Groups Are Not
Satisfied.” Los Angeles Times. 30 July 1993.
“Does Islam Give Women Rights?” Rational Hub
Blogs. Web. 30 Jan. 2013.
Edwards, Leigh. “The United Colors of
“Pocahontas”: Synthetic Miscegenation
and Disney’s Multiculturalism.” Ohio State
University Press 7.2 (1999): 147-68. Print.
“Historical Time Line.” Historical Time Line. Web.
30 Jan. 2013.
Iyer, A. “Depiction of Intellectual Disability in
Fiction.” Advances in Psychiatric Treatment
13.2 (2007): 127. Print.
Modnessi, Alfredo M. “Disney’s “War Efforts”:
The Lion King and Education for Death, or
Shakespeare Made Easy for Your Apocalyptic
Convenience.” (2005): 397-415. Print.
“Pocahontas.” Disney Movies and Racism. Web.
30 Jan. 2013.
Rabison, Rebecca. “Deviance in Disney:
Representations of Crime in Disney Films.”
(2008). Print.
Rubin, Sarah. “Disney Movies and Disabilities”.
17 Nov 2011.
“Tale as Old as Time: A Textural Analysis of Race
and Gender in Disney Princess Films.” Web. 30
Jan. 2013.
Welsh, Jennifer. “Disney Princes and Princesses
Still Slave to Some Stereotypes.” LiveScience
(2011). Print.
Wolfensberger, Wolf. “A Brief Overview of Social
Role Valorization.” Mental Retardation. 38.2
(2000): 105-23. Print.
“Women, Race & Culture in Disney’s Movies.”
Women, Race and Culture in Disney Movies.
Web. 30 Jan. 2013.
Bibliography

37. This book was edited and designed by Sarah Rubin in
Spring 2013 as her senior thesis and seminar piece.
As a young girl until today, Sarah has always been
fascinated with the Walt Disney Company and their
power of storytelling. She believes it is important to
understand how these childhood stories have lasting
impacts on the development of children’s ideas and
opinions. She would like to thank Sarah Birdsall,
Scott Gericke, her friends, and the Rubin family for
their constant support during this intensive research
and design project to culminate her studies at
Washington University in St. Louis.
Sarah will graduate in May 2013 with a Bachelor
of Fine Arts studying Communication Design and
American Culture Studies.