If you don't visit the Stories Matter website (and I wonder how many of you reading this are visiting that site now for the first time), you won't even know. Racist imagery and cultural stereotypes in six Disney animated classics including Peter Pan, The Jungle Book, Lady and the Tramp, The Aristocats, Dumbo and Swiss Family Robinson are being flagged on the Disney+ streaming site with warnings and detailed explanations of the negative depictions in each title. WebThe father believes the dogs to be useless because they are both heavy (hard to transport on a raft) and because they eat too much while not providing any specific help. WebThe Swiss Family Robinson recounts the adventures of a father, mother, and four sons marooned on a tropical island. On the island, the family must also constantly adapt to survive, which is a source of new adventures. Another offensive show is Bunkd, in which an Asian girl studies super hard, and when her friend told her to take it easy a bit, she said if she let up, she would disappoint her mother, who would then die, and does her friend want her mother to die??? This is an example of totalitarian wokeness. Own it, teach it, let people learn, and move on it wont be taboo anymore. It's noticeable then for adult viewers, by the act of omission, that the Robinson parents' names are never revealed. "We do not see the same success in Switzerland, Germany or France, where the work, although present, re-worked and adapted over time, has a much smaller readership than in American culture". It was his son, Johann Rudolf, who published the novel. Wyss' attitude towards its education is in line with the teachings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and many chapters involve Christian-oriented moral lessons such as frugality, husbandry, acceptance, and cooperation. Many of us have an abundance of wonderful memories with Disney films. Swiss Family Robinson (1974) E04 - Animal Kingdom. Disney is overcorrecting. After they fill the tubs with food, ammunition, and other items of value they can safely carry, they row toward the island. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn But the title card doesn't do the work for you. However, it is no longer available in the childrens category. More specifically, the news focused on the dark side of where and how Disney began, acknowledging its racially and sexually insensitive material in films like, If you're a Disney+ subscriber and play those titles now, you'll see a generic message letting you know that the film you're about to see has something offensive that was treated as unproblematic upon release but is now correctly seen as Not Great, Bob! No, Dumbo is about a character that is different than the other elephants. The ship survives the night, and the family finds themselves within sight of a tropical desert island. But being a quintessential Disney adventure means you have to take the good with the bad. Also in Pocahontas 1995 film is considered one of the most racist films, which depicts racism and discriminations against Native Americans being called Savages including a song about savages which is derogatory towards Native Americans. Also in Bedknobs and Broomsticks and The Rocketeer features Nazis who put millions of people in concertation camps in real life. There aren't any surfing scenes, bonfire parties, or other tropes found in the genre that was popular around the time of Swiss Family Robinson's initial release in 1960, but it's a film that takes place almost entirely in, on, or around a tropical beach. There's no point excusing any of these choices, and you can contextualize it all you like. Swiss Family Robinson (1974) E04 - Animal Kingdom. But the title card doesn't do the work for you. )Swiss Family Robinson is by no means the only troublesome film the Walt Disney Company ever released. WebSwiss Family Robinson is by no means the only troublesome film the Walt Disney Company ever released. and "Swiss Family This is a story about a lily-white family arriving on a tropical island and colonizing it for themselves. The possibilities for new stories are endless, which makes it very attractive to audiences". Again, the word for this movie, in good and bad ways, is "simple." Because you never know, in 50 years the new shows might be considered offensive for other reasons that we dont know about right now. Furthermore, Candances round eyes are round as a ball, which should offend all white people because no white people have eyes as round as a quarter, its ridiculous. Im wondering if someone took away your ability to read. { The films are still available on standard Disney+ profiles with a content advisory warning directing viewers to www.disney.com/StoriesMatter. Nobody cares about you policing content. Yeeaubrey 1770. Swiss Family Robinson s1 e15 attack cat. These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now, reads an explanation on Disneys Stories Matter website regarding the new advisory notices. Here's the polar opposite of a spoiler. Because for all of the dazzling shipwrecks, pirate chases, tricky sailing trips, and fending off wild animals, Swiss Family Robinson is really just the story of a mostly normal, loving family trying to survive and stay intact, all while relying on each other. listeners: [], Father Robinson (John Mills) playfully spits out the water after falling in, and that water is most definitely full of all kinds of germs, bacteria, and the diseases spread by virulent microscopic life. They're relentlessly cheerful, even. "At that time, it was rather rare in our country for German books to be translated into French," says Professor Daniel Maggetti, director of the Centre des littratures en Suisse romande at the University of Lausanne. Thehighest-grossing film of 1960, this adaptation of the classic 19th-century novel by Johann David Wyss is one of the most enduring non-animated Disney films, thanks to home video, reruns on cable TV, and the Disney+ streaming service. Oh thank goodness. The first two of the four volumes were published in 1812 and 1813, and the second two in 1826 and 1827. The domesticated animals on the ship are towed back to the island. WebThe Swiss Family Robinson Questions and Answers - Discover the eNotes.com community of teachers, mentors and students just like you that can answer any question Im totally watching my DVD of Song of the South in honor of this absolutely nonsense! You stick to your guns and do you. The male characters, meanwhile, do take off their shirts, if working in the sun, but they're careful to rarely display their navels. WebA Swiss Family Robinson remake is currently in the works for Disney+, as well as a live-action Peter Pan & Wendy, both of which we can expect to handle race much better In their continued effort to promote diversity and inclusion, Disney has made select films unavailable on childrens Disney+ profiles due to negative cultural depictions, particularly racist stereotypes. Its all up to you now. The Robinson family's epic journey was born of the imagination of the Bernese pastor Johann David Wyss, who wrote the story for his children at the end of the 18th century. Both novels are important to Swiss literature, but Heidi remains the better known of the two. Or the time he showed his gun at the bus driver to force the driver to accept the kids pet on the bus? The larger point is one I've repeated before, both on Twitterand on this very website: Disney+ needsa host. Ernst (played by 60s-era Disney stalwart Tommy Kirk) is a bookish sort, but both he and Fritz end up havinguhlet's call them teenage yearnings for Roberta (Janet Munro), a young woman they rescue from the pirates and invite into their family. Nodding towards the existence of the bad isn't quite enough. WebRacist imagery and cultural stereotypes in six Disney animated classics including Peter Pan, The Jungle Book, Lady and the Tramp, The Aristocats, Dumbo and Swiss Family Have Disney+ removed it? The ship's cargo of livestock (including a cow, a donkey, two goats, six sheep, a ram, a pig, chickens, ducks, geese, and pigeons), guns and powder, carpentry tools, books, a disassembled pinnace and provisions have survived. (Sadly, there is no Will Robinson of whom to speak.) The Swiss Family Robinson achieved worldwide popularity. 23:41. "The Heidi model is the opposite of The Swiss Family Robinson. 2023 Deadline Hollywood, LLC. The family also befriends a large turtle and walks by some flamingos and ostriches at one point. Many appear in yellow face or brown face and are The films werent removed, just blocked from the childs profile. Although movie and television adaptations typically name the family "Robinson", it is not a Swiss name. The book covers more than ten years. The other major struggle throughout the film with more teeth in it than the vaguely defined threat of pirates, about whom more soon is between the two older Robinson boys, Fritz and Ernst. But being a quintessential Disney adventure means you have to take the good with the bad. So stupid. Perhaps children shouldnt have been watching then without their parents to begin with?? S01E47 - The Swiss Family Robinson. There's no point excusing any of these choices, and you can contextualize it all you like. WebThose unique cultural indicators made the final cut of Swiss Family Robinson, and the boys' names stayed as Swiss-German as they were in the original 1840 novel Ernst, Fritz, and Francis. It's an attractive premise which appeals to readers. WebWatch more of the latest Super WHY! As such, they read 18th century natural history textbooks and encyclopaedias. But it should/can be used as a learning tool. There is also a great store of firearms and ammunition, hammocks for sleeping, carpenter's tools, lumber, cooking utensils, silverware, and dishes. So, you can understand why the film has persisted over time, if gradually less so in the last few decades. These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now. Or the time he shoplifted lightbulbs and got away with it? Daniel Defoe's story of Robinson Crusoe has inspired many Swiss figures. But it's not enough. "The protagonists are characterised primarily by the Protestant ethics espoused by the father and pastor: the family, which venerates its homeland, is pious and believes in the virtues of hard work and religious obedience.". 23:39. Deadline is a part of Penske Media Corporation. This portrayal reinforces the perpetual foreigner stereotype, while the film also features lyrics that mock the Chinese language and culture such as Shanghai, Hong Kong, Egg Foo Young. You cant learn from something that doesnt exist. "This success is due to the fact that American culture recognised in the text an element of the beloved boy-scout. To learn life lessons. If anything was challenging about Swiss Family Robinson, it would have to be on the technical side. Older viewers will notice that multiple male members of the Robinson family have physical needs besides food and shelter on the brain, and they demonstrate it in as explicit a way that a Disney movie from 1960 would allow. They're bloodthirsty and cruel, and they are also pointedly played by actors of color (or by actors who are made to look like people of color). Ive been saying this about Song of the South forever heck even Whoopie G has stated publicly she wishes they would release it to start a convo. If you're a Disney+ subscriber and play those titles now, you'll see a generic message letting you know that the film you're about to see has something offensive that was treated as unproblematic upon release but is now correctly seen as Not Great, Bob! Most of the titles receiving this treatment are old-school animated classics. I vent occasionally myself and often feel better afterward, but I dont waste my time on non-issues like this. On one hand, we can acknowledge that what Disney is doing by inserting a title card nodding towards the reality of the studio's earlier, more problematic films is vastly more than they ever did prior to the advent of the streaming service. He sings in a poorly accented English voiced by a white actor and plays the piano with chopsticks. Its so good to know Disney is taking care of this for our childrens own good so they cant be damaged by these horribly offensive movies they produce decades ago. The captain is given the journal containing the story of their life on the island, which is eventually published. Get our latest storiesin the feed of your favorite networks. The leader of the group in Dumbo is Jim Crow, which shares the name of laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States. The ship's crew evacuates without them, so William, Elizabeth, and their four sons (Fritz, Ernest, Jack, and Franz) are left to survive alone. Lady and the Tramp, from 1955, receives a similar warning for its Siamese cat characters Si and Am (voiced by Peggy Lee, who sings the films The Siamese Cat Song, a musical number that was cut from the 2019 live-action remake), as well as secondary canine characters each depicted with exaggerated ethnic stereotypes. That's especially true because there's a very obvious element of racist representation that's not accounted for in the more detailed description on the website. } He married a woman from the island, started a family and reigned over his 'small kingdom' until his death in 1905. The life of a well-to-do group from snowy, landlocked Switzerland doesn't suggest there would be much opportunity to learn the expert-level abilities the Robinsons demonstrate in their tropical paradise. How about instead of censoring it, which is part of the doctrine of several tyrannical political parties of Europes history, you actually, you know, learn from it? In truth, what Disney+ really needs is context. The novel opens with the titular family in the hold of a sailing ship, weathering a great storm. They build a shelter, then set about exploring their new home. Switzerland's tradition of migration was not an aspect that the country was keen to promote at the time. Disney is no stranger to the concept of pirate characters in its films and its theme parks, but the pirates depicted in Swiss Family Robinson might as well be faceless stereotypes. M shum rreth seris . ), , I kept thinking about that title card placed in front of the film. So, if youre eager to revisit Swiss Family Robinson on Disney+, you may want to reflect on the pirate scene. I rather think it is just a false flag from various factions within our Power Elite who think they can throw some sops to the masses and all the while offshore and cheat on their taxes as much as possible. This resembles other educational books for young ones published about the same time. 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