My 11 year child has been asked to re write a Disney story of his choice but without the sexist/racist aspects. AIBU to write back..

[SecretsInSpitalfield]

That I will not have the teacher pushing her views on my child?

As far as he (and his younger DB) Disney has always been a POSITIVE thing! Fun films , cinema days and even a dream once in a lifetime trip to World Disney World.

I wouldn't have minded if they said 'do you think any Disney films are racist or sexist? If so, please elaborate why. But this has been set as if it's FACTUAL that they are and my child is just 11.

Please give me your honest opinions

Thank you 😊

I like Disney. My family is more Star Wars Disney than princess Disney but I personally love Disney. But there is no escaping the sexism and racism from it.

I think the homework is a really good idea. It's able challenging ideas and thinking critically about things. That's wonderful. I actually think is a really powerful lesson. I mean, it doesn't mean you don't watch something, and it's certainly not unique to Disney but I assume most children will have watched at least one Disney move and recognise them, which makes the task easier.

The OP of this thread is a fascinating contrast with the other one going at the moment where the OP is objecting to the idea of having the innkeeper's wife referred to as such in the nativity because of the connotation that the wife is nothing more than the innkeeper's property.

One is challenging everyday sexism and its insidious message, this one is objecting to something that addresses exactly that.

One thing's for sure. Teachers can't win.

(Btw for those ‘knowing’ that the supporting link was by a Christian...I’m a Christian. Please don’t fall into stereotyping/bashing us)

It's not christians that are the problem, I know many wonderful christians. It's poorly written Christian blogs. I knew it would be one of them!

I don't think Disney is alone in being guilty of this but it will never not be a good thing for a young (I presume white?) man to be aware of sexism and racism. It is a very privileged position to think a young teen's "innocence" in loving Disney films without hearing them criticised is more important than him learning about these issues and ultimately learning not to contribute to them.

You are only in a position to say those things are even remotely in the same league because sexism and racism don't affect your son. This is the kind of homework that would have been the norm at my all girls school, it's not a great mentality to object to your son being set it because the issues don't affect him.

The only time my son has ever got into a fight was when he was in year 7. Several older kids were singing "We are Siamese" whilst stretching their eyes with their hands. At 11 he was quite capable of understanding that this was racist bullying of the pupil sitting nearby who has a Chinese parent and he was, at least initially, the only kid who challenged this. I am very grateful to the 6th formers who intervened and saved him from being completely pulverised and of course we had the "violence doesn't solve anything" talk. But I was still very proud of him for standing up to the bullies. He could see that it wasn't just a silly song from a cartoon and I am stunned that so many adults on here can't.
Disney films are riddled with prejudice. It doesn't stop them being entertaining or visually appealing, and of course they are not the only films or books like this. But to deny it is just foolish.

I have met a Muslim child who wasn't allowed to take part in Nativity plays, he also worried about singing in case the lyrics were religious.
Of course every other Muslim child in that school had no such problem, and was perfectly happy - after all Jesus is a prophet in Islam.

I spent most of my career in school where 80% of pupils were muslim. Never had a single parent unhappy about Christmas events and the nativity play. They sent me Christmas cards and gifts, and I sent them Eid ones.

They're fine with Jesus, as the pp said.

Yet constantly, the whole 'no more nativity plays in school because of muslims' thing is wheeled out. And it's entirely invented.

he also worried about singing in case the lyrics were religious

Some conservative Muslims consider any singing at all to be haram (not permitted) - it may not have been to do with the lyrics.

My mixed race daughter is supposed to be grateful that the new little mermaid is allegedly not going to be white, she will still give her voice up to a man, but hey ho. Sorry. I let my kids watch Disney, I just don't let them watch it alone if I know there is a terrible racist/sexist plot or scene as I feel it needs explanation. YABU to think the teacher is pushing views.

As I was reading the OP's opening post, I initially agreed with her. However, having read through this entire thread up to 435 posts, I now see that the teacher is right. I loathe racism and am always fighting against it. In particular, the posts by BlouseAndSkirt and Neome made my heart sink. And caused me to have a complete rethink. I think that is a very important thing; to keep an open mind to other's experiences. And acknowledge and adjust your attitudes when faced with such testimony from people. I only hope the OP will be able to have that revelation, have a change of heart and attitude, and admit it to herself, even if not publicly on here.

Teacher has since said she has worded in an ignorant way and has re set it

The "reset" seems worse.

But anyway YABU. The older Disney films are from the 40s and 50s. The stories are centuries-old folk tales. Of course they're full of racism and sexism! They're also classics that are widely watched and justifiably held in high regard - a work need not be considered irreparably marred by such issues.

If your DS has only seen the newer ones he might have a harder time finding an "easy" target. But whatever a teacher sets there always might be problems like that.

By the way, Walt Disney and his company were far from paragons of ethics.

It's a great way of making them think and start questioning what they see. I would be impressed.

The "reset" seems worse.
If you Google the reset question, it's from (what I assume is) another school's materials. The rest of the lesson is available too.

My 12 year old recently did this although it wasn't a Disney film but was another animated one. One we'd watched together and enjoyed.

I cannot tell you how impressed I was at her critical thinking skills and the way she was able to address both sexism and racism. She got a great mark and we have since watched, and enjoyed, the movie with her little cousin.

But, then again, I do value critical thinking AND education.

I did this, but for A Level media studies. They are in the main I’m afraid, however I wouldn’t expect an 11 year to pick up on the nuances, unless the teacher has analysed in detail a clutch of films in those contexts with the class. Brilliant idea, but hardly revolutionary (I’m 38).

We are a family that love Disney, many trips to Disneyland/world but even i have to admit that much of their older stuff is hugely racist or sexist. However i think its a great task from the teacher to discuss it and let the children understand that although it has not disappeared completely now, it has certainly improved vastly from what it used to be.

You can even put a positive spin on it that Disney has grown with society, with many of the older films being very racist etc as was the norm back when they were made. To now where although not perfect they have certainly made huge strides in improving their image...

Just on a side note tho with the whole consent issue...[now i know these are cartoons etc and not real] If any of you were under a curse and needed to be kissed to wake up from it, would you seriously be on the phone to the police straight away complaining you had been assaulted afterwards?

The age thing is a bit weird with snow white but even now in star wars queen Amidala was 14 when she started having feelings for Anikin {who was 9 by the way} which is just completely weird haha

www.economist.com/prospero/2012/04/04/the-anti-grimm

Actually, forget Grimm's Fairy Tales.

OP you come across as really quite thick. Just a heads up. Representations matter. Ask your 11 year old to explain...I think his teacher might have covered it? 😁😁

OP,

You are really being over-sensitive about this issue.

Of course you and your family can continue enjoying Disney movies, and certainly shouldn't feel bad about watching them in the past. There are lots of positive messages in the stories, and they are indeed good fun and pure escapism to many who have grown up with them.

But your boy is 11 now and in secondary. It is time for him to begin looking at source material with a more critical eye. Some of the older movies in particular have problematic characters and scenes, as Disney themselves acknowledge.

It is often the case with movies and books of a certain age and, whilst it isn't necessary to stop watching/reading/enjoying, it is a good idea to explore the outdated views with your children imo, and to consider the context of history and the fact that many of the original stories were based on even older, traditional fairy stories.

Please don't berate a teacher for setting interesting and thought-provoking work that challenges your son to look at something familiar in a new light.

The age thing is a bit weird with snow white but even now in star wars queen Amidala was 14 when she started having feelings for Anikin {who was 9 by the way} which is just completely weird haha

I wouldn't really describe that as "now", that film is 20 years old.

You'd be surprised the horribly problematic stuff you get in films from as little as 10 years ago, it's only in the last decade or so that I'd say as a society we are particularly conscious of these things. Probably why students these days get assigned projects like these whilst a lot of adults find that strange 🤷‍♀️

This article made me think of this thread ...

www.theguardian.com/books/2019/nov/11/the-first-fairytales-were-feminist-critiques-of-patriarchy-we-need-to-revive-their-legacy

This is my favourite thread in ages. OP is bonkers.

What films have you been watching?
All the films, pretty much, suffer from casual racism and sexism
Sometimes its not even casual

Thank you SarahNade

Student slams Disney for being 'horrendously outdated and offensive'
mol.im/a/7697557