In the wake of the Trump Administration’s stifling of DEI policies, Disney+ plans to change movie disclaimers on classic films.
Viewers who love some of Disney’s older films like “Peter Pan,” “Dumbo,” or “The Aristocats” and even newer films like “Aladdin” might notice a change. The change involves the movie disclaimers that appear immediately before the movies begin.
It was four years ago that Disney announced it would add the disclaimers. Back then, as CBS News reported, Disney wanted to acknowledge the works contained “racist stereotypes.”
The original wording was this:
This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures. These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now. Rather than remove this content, we want to acknowledge its harmful impact, learn from it and spark conversation to create a more inclusive future together.
But that was then. Now that President Donald Trump called for an end to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs, Disney has become one of the latest companies to make changes.
This program is presented as originally created and may contain stereotypes or negative depictions.
On the surface, it might seem simply like a streamlined version of the same message. It isn’t.
The old version told you the “negative depictions” or “mistreatment” were there and acknowledged they were wrong. The new version says the content “may contain” stereotypes or negative depictions.
May contain is different than includes.
Why it matters
It’s no secret that early films included a variety of stereotypes, not only against Black people but also many other groups.
Such disclaimers do upset some viewers. Some cable networks like TVLand and others run similar disclaimers before older Westerns, which offer similar stereotypes in their depictions of a variety of peoples of color.
It might be easy for people who aren’t part of those stereotypes to just ask, “Well, what’s the big deal? It’s just a movie.”
Yes, it’s just a movie. But those films are seen by different kinds of people of different ages. There is value in understanding that they movies are a product of the times in which they were made. There’s also value in understanding that at least in some ways, we’ve made a bit of progress in how we treat each other these days compared to the not-so-distant past.
It’s important for people who were targeted with such stereotypes to hear or see the acknowledgement that those depictions were wrong. It’s as close to an apology as they’ll likely get.
But it is likewise important for those of us who might have — in any way — benefitted by the use of such stereotypes to receive the reminder of what we should have known back then. Stereotypes are wrong. Disguising them in cartoons or comedy doesn’t make them less wrong. It may make them more palatable. But then, that stands out as an even worse wrong.
When it began implementing the disclaimers, Disney officials said in 2020 that while it can’t change he past, “we can acknowledge it, learn from it and move forward together.”
When they tone down the disclaimer, it sounds like they can no longer even acknowledge it.
So how are people supposed to learn from it and move forward together?
We constantly hear reminders that our words matter.
Sometimes, silence — even silence through revision — matters, too.
