Racial Issues in Fairy Tales and Film

Paper Summary:

The paper explores how racism and sexism are present in fairy tales and how even the Disney stories of our more enlightened era are filled with all sorts of stereotypical depictions of good characters and evil. The paper uses the Walt Disney movie, "Alladin", to show how the characters have become "Anglicized" to suit a more Caucasian audience.

From the Paper:

"It probably surprises no one to see to recognize the racism, and sexism, that was everywhere in traditional fairy tales. After all, that was a very unenlightened time when people were uneducated and rarely had the opportunity to get to know, and come to understand, people of other races.

"But things are different now. We have had decades of education and desegregation. It is surprising, then, to see some of the blatantly stereotypical images that fill Disney's movie screens. After all, a long time has passed since the brothers Grimm penned their tales, when bad men were always swarthy, or black, and could be spotted the second they stepped onto the page. Nevertheless, after looking closely at a few of Disney's recent hit movies, one might conclude things have not changed that much at all."

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