Overshadowed by Controversy: Difference between revisions

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* [[Walt Disney]] is hailed as the godfather of American animation, having been behind such seminal works like ''[[Mickey Mouse]]'', ''[[Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Disney film)|Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs]]'' and many others, but in recent years his legacy has been peppered with accusations of racism, sexism and antisemitism (which [[Seth McFarlane]] is more than happy to throw potshots at in ''[[Family Guy]]''), as well as the fact that the company which bears his name has infamously lobbied to keep Mickey out of public domain, not to mention that the company's sway and influence over global culture gave Walt the dubious honour of being a purveyor of [[Eagleland Osmosis|American cultural imperialism]] (e.g. the criticism towards [[Disneyland]] Paris). Much of the accusations leveled towards him were addressed by both his peers and historians, however: The Walt Disney Family Museum acknowledges the ethnic stereotypes present in at least some of his films during his heyday, and it wasn't unique to Disney either as studios like [[Warner Bros]]. has made similarly insensitive content before. In addition, Walt regularly donated to Jewish causes and hired Jewish and black people as well.
* The renovated dark ride based on ''[[Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Disney film)|Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs]]'' gained controversy in 2021<ref>[https://www.distractify.com/p/disney-snow-white-ride-canceled Disneyland's Snow White Ride Might Be Canceled Because of One Scene]</ref> for depicting what is seen by some as an inappropriate, non-consensual romantic interaction. A ''San Francisco Chronicle'' editor ran an op-ed about how supposedly inappropriate the "true love's kiss" scene is (as Snow White is unconscious and thus could not consent to the Prince's actions towards her), and soon enough, right-wing news outlets such as [[Fox News]] picked it up and made the situation bigger than it should. There were however those who came to Disney's defense and argued that the supposedly problematic scene was taken way out of context and viewed in an overly cynical light without taking into account the customs of the era the film was released (or the fairy tale itself for that matter), and an editor for the ''Toronto Star'' opined that the outrage is "a kiss of death for common sense".
* [[Looney Tunes]] character Pepé Le Pew gained notoriety in recent years as his dogged pursuit of love–to which other characters express revulsion largely due to his unpleasant odour–did not age well with modern audiences who viewed Pepé's actions as "normalising rape culture". Linda Jones-Clough, daughter of Pepé's creator [[Chuck Jones]], disagrees with the contemporary assessment however, as she opined that in no way was Chuck Jones intent on depicting a sexual predator, but to poke fun as screenwriter Tedd Pierce's "ladies' man" status and his then-lack of success with romancing women at the time. Nonetheless, Warner Bros. announced that Pepé had been cut from ''[[Space Jam A New Legacy]]'', and would no longer be included in its current Looney Tunes roster.
 
== Real Life ==