Snow (All) White

Michelle Wallace talks about how racism can so subtly, yet so thoroughly leech through into the media that society produces. And while I personally haven’t seen The Birth of a Nation (nor do I want to) I think that it really is such a wonderful example of how racism is unfortunately sewn into the fabric of society– that something that is considered with such eminence is about the eradication of Black freedom. And while this example is egregious, it did jog my memory to a few other examples that are far less bad… but still similar in a sense. Notably, my mind went back to the original Snow White, among other things. To my memory, I don’t remember there being any characters of color at all (but it’s been awhile since I’ve seen it), and so while that means there wasn’t explicit racism akin to that of other media at the time, the lack of anything except a white cast speaks volumes. And it might be in some way forgivable that there weren’t any characters of color in Disney’s first animated feature if… that wasn’t a clear and purposeful theme throughout most of their existence. And the fact that one of the most “family friendly” corporations that still exists today is still inlaid with such prejudice is indicative of the need to intervene in some significant way. Although the question remains how to change or better something that could not have gotten so far without racism… almost as if racism is core to it’s existence. Much to think about! (Week 6)