It’s not ‘woke’ to have women of colour in Disney films-Asyia Iftikhar-Entertainment – Metro

Would Disney have got the same backlash had white women continued to play Ariel or Snow White? (Picture: REX / DISNEY)

When Disney director John Musker said he understood ‘woke criticism’ and political ‘messaging’ should take a back seat, I couldn’t help but cry – there is no woke agenda!

Over the past year accusations of Disney’s political pandering have skyrocketed following Halle Bailey’s turn as Ariel in the live-action Little Mermaid (a role which inspired young Black girls everywhere) and American-Latina actor Rachel Zegler’s casting as Snow White.

What should have been a non-issue blew up into a fiery social media storm with the right-wing’s favourite buzzword ‘woke’ being tossed around like candy. 

Now acclaimed director Musker – known for helming Disney classics such as Hercules, Aladdin and The Little Mermaid – has put his misguided two cents into the exhausting conversation. 

First, he addressed the backlash to his 2009 Disney film Princess and the Frog, saying: ‘We weren’t trying to be woke, although I understand the criticism.’

John didn’t expand on why he understood the criticism, making this statement even more disappointing. At the time Tiana (voiced by Anika Noni Rose) made history as the first African-American princess since the company was founded in 1923. 

Although the film touched on social class discourse, with Tiana working multiple jobs to support herself and achieve her dream of opening a restaurant, it could hardly constitute as ‘woke’. 

Director John Musker (L) says they weren’t trying to be ‘woke’ with Princess and the Frog (Picture: Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images)

The argument is laughable and it represents the wider issue.

The ‘woke’ agenda that people are taking issue with no longer exists when Disney films centre white male leads who experience their own particular set of problems.

But they magically appear as soon as women, especially women of colour, step into the same roles. 

Would Disney have got the same backlash had white women continued to play Ariel or Snow White? Or they had continued their long tradition of exclusively white male superheroes in Marvel films using the exact same plot points? Unlikely.

If anything Princess and the Frog, as well as the recent live actions, follow the lead of countless Disney films gone by that have also confronted social issues for women head on. From Mulan pretending to be a man so she can join the army to Belle hitting back against the male gaze in the form of her suitor Gaston.

John went on to say that any ‘agenda’ should be deprioritised and ‘[Disney] need to do a course correction a bit in terms of putting the message secondary’.

It seems the only time Disney films are accused of pushing a political agenda is when they have any semblance of diverse casting at the forefront of the movie.

The live action Aladdin was rightfully criticised for ‘fetishising’ Middle Eastern culture (Picture: Walt Disney Pictures)

John is right. We should put ‘entertainment and compelling story and engaging characters’ first – and that is what we’re achieving, with or without political messaging.

He is not alone in his unfounded concerns. Other higher-ups within the Disney realm have also spoken up about this elusive woke agenda. 

Disney stakeholder, billionaire Nelson Peltz, hit out against diverse casting in the Marvel franchise.

‘Why do I have to have a Marvel [movie] that’s all women? Not that I have anything against women, but why do I have to do that? Why can’t I have Marvels that are both? Why do I need an all-black cast?,’ he said back in March. 

This is despite movies such as Black Panther smashing multiple box office records and superhero stars such as Brie Larson being subjected to horrific sexist trolls after her casting as Captain Marvel. 

In April, X owner Elon Musk also poked fun at Disney after posting that he was joining as ‘Chief DEI officer’ to make their content ‘more woke’.

But the discourse becomes dangerous when it actually impacts the already sparse diversity we see on screens. As illustrated by LucasFilm President Kathleen Kennedy who works on the Star Wars franchise.

The Star Wars franchise has a heavily-male fanbase (Picture: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)

In recent comments she explained The Acolyte showrunner Leslye Headland ‘struggled’ against a heavily-male fanbase due to being a woman. 

‘I think a lot of the women who step into Star Wars struggle with this a bit more. 

‘My belief is that storytelling does need to be representative of all people. That’s an easy decision for me.’

On the flipside Disney CEO Bob Iger appeared to want to try and appease critics such as Musk, saying: ‘Where the Disney company can have a positive impact on the world—whether it’s fostering acceptance and understanding of people of all different types—great. But, generally speaking, we need to be an entertainment-first company, and I’ve worked really hard to do that.’

The common thread in many remarks like this? That the ultimate issue seems to not be actual wrong-doing or an insidious agenda (for which no one can provide actual proof) but rather the mere fact that some stories could centre women or people of colour. 

The hysteria has been fuelled by articles claiming Disney has been ‘infiltrated by activists’ and is haemorrhaging money after ‘going woke to a comical degree’. 

If anything, Disney still has more work to do to accurately reflect the world. Just look at the 2019 live-action Aladdin remake which was rightfully criticised for simply adopting an problematic aesthetic that ‘fetishes’ Middle East culture. 

And, as opposed to what critics would have you believe, there are still only a handful of TV shows and films that truly centre marginalised groups in society. We are yet to even have our first openly LGBTQ+ Disney prince or princess after years of pleading.

Ultimately, when truly forced to reflect on why they fear stories that don’t centre straight white men, they have nothing of value to say.

And when they represent women of colour, they suddenly have a lot of opinions, packed with racist dog whistles and misogynist abuse. We need to stop this tiring cycle because – like it or not – we’re not going anywhere. 

What John, and all these critics don’t recognise is that a human being simply existing is not a political message.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk. 

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