When children are the target audience of media productions of any kind, it is crucial to be extra careful, as they are, in the broadest sense, in a developmental stage of their lives. The Canadian psychologist Albert Bandura aimed to investigate if social behaviours can be acquired by observation and imitation through his 1960s social experiment. It involved children, their parents, and a Bobo doll. The experiment consisted of children (3-6 years old) observing the aggressive behaviour of the adults with the doll, and then their attitude when they are alone with the Bobo Doll. Bandura concluded that children's learning processes are influenced by surrounding social interactions. Applying this to children's film and media consumption means that when young audiences consume any media product, their behaviour could be impacted by it.
Generation Z is more politically and socially progressive, deconstructing countless taboos and prejudices left by previous age groups. Recently, one of their targets is the media we consume as children, which can mould and manipulate the audience's behaviour unintentionally.
Disney, for example, is loved by many around the world and is one of the reputed big six movie studios. Many of its productions hold great importance in cinema's history and are held in fond memory. In these 100 years of motion pictures, there have been three key attempts to be inclusive. Firstly, during the Second World War when Disney was in the wartime era, dominated by short propaganda films that reflected the Good Neighbor policy. In a nutshell, this was a foreign policy presented by President Roosevelt in 1933, which encouraged friendly relations and mutual defence among the nations of the Western Hemisphere. In Disney, this was reflected by films like Saludos Amigos (1943) and The Three Caballeros (1944), which introduced Latin characters to the Disney crew, like Zé Carioca (Brazil) and Panchito (Mexico).
Walt Disney Animation Studio evolved with its fans, success after success, until it required a sacred place in the memories and hearts in the corners of the world. These hundred years of history can be divided into eras.
Disney's Golden Age films, from 1937 to 1942. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) was Disney's only box office success. It acted as an escape as it was released during the Great Depression. Once again, Walt Disney kicked off with a bang with its first animated feature film. A pioneer, it was also the first to create the illusion of three-dimensionality using a multiplane camera. Another significant movie from that era was Bambi (1942), which was the first Disney film to include a story centred on a talking animal. Walt Disney Studios established itself as one of the leading animated filmmakers in this period. The movies from the era are famously known by its darkness sandwiched between upbeat and positive scenes, extreme mood shift that engages all of the audience’s emotions.
Disney wartime, from 1943 to 1949. As the name indicates, this was when the United States joined the war and many Disney artists enlisted in the military. This is why Disney films were anthologies. War propaganda anti-Nazi commercials and fliers encouraged citizens to support the war and buy war bonds. Studio productions had help from Latin America due to the good neighbours policy in order to reduce production costs. Besides that, animators used abstract and experimental concepts in their productions.
Disney's Silver Era, from 1950 to 1967. This was the post-war era, Disney restoration with narrative-style animations and large productions with innovative on a visual level and the famous storytelling formula. Animation with ornate backgrounds and soft colours, detailed props and new techniques, such as the CinemaScope anamorphic format. The stories were adapted specifically with songs in mind.
Disney's Bronze Age was from 1970 to 1977. This era was marked by the decline of the studio and experimentation. The transition between old and new. Original cohort animators passed away or retired, including the owners. The torch was passed on to the next generation of creatives. Along with them, new methods. From hand-inked films to xerography. However, the era did not explore bigger themes and make a lasting impression on audiences with low budgets and recycled animation. Additionally, the company diversified into live-action films and television.
Disney's Dark Ages from 1981 to 1988. It was Walt Disney's last touches with productions he worked on prior to his death. The characters and storylines became darker, more frightening villains and greater peril than ever before. Computers assisted in Disney animations for the first time.
Disney Renaissance from 1989 to 1998. The company returned to its roots, adapting classic fairy tales and animated films. Simple plot structures returned, adorned with techniques learned in previous eras. New narrative formula in which stories were told in Broadway-style acts and the character projected their internal emotions as a song. All movies during this era are huge box-office hits. Pixar was its competitor with complex and in-depth storylines and digital animation.
Disney's Post-Renaissance from 1999 to 2009. Its films changed the plot and visual styles to create stories touching on family, personal growth and the search for one’s identity. Disney was attempting to find an innovative method of storytelling, time and a less Eurocentric setting in order to reattract its audience, especially when splitting attention and competing with other big names. Pixar and Marvel, for not long, as Disney bought them respectively in 2006 and 2009. Dreamworks, which was created in 1994 and had its first computer-animated film in 1998 Antz. Fantasy coming-of-age franchises, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. Dinosaur (Eric Leighton and Ralph Zondag, 2000) was the first Disney animation to use Computer-Generated Images and witnessed the transition from the old to the new storytelling. Also, their source material was diversified. For the first time Disney used science fiction.
Disney's Revival from 2010 to the present time. Disney mixes techniques learned and implemented previously with CGI. Different storylines than before, less about romantic love, instead about protagonists’ inner journeys towards self-discovery and confidence. 'Twist-villains' are new trends in movies, character designs that appear innocent and kind, but soon reveal their true colours as enemies. Additionally, there is more diversity, representing the widest groups of society, in characters and storylines.
Secondly, there are a few examples of non-white protagonists like Tiana (The Princess and the Frog), Mulan (Mulan), Jasmine (Aladdin), Mowgli (The Jungle Book), Kuzco (The Emperor's New Groove), and Kenai (Brother Bear). Most of them fail to be truly representative, having been given physical traits of white people and being dubbed by individuals who don't even share the same ethnic background as their characters. Also, these characters adhere the Disney technique to camouflage minorities into other bodies that are not their own.
In addition, secondary characters and even villains have been seen to reflect many prejudices, meaning many scenes and portrayals from Disney have not aged well. Besides that, Disney always focuses on heteronormativity, gender binary opposites, and inequalities, with a noticeable lack of characters with disabilities. Last but not least, Disney has been massive criticized over cultural appropriation,not only in the past but present time too
Thirdly, in more recent times, especially after the release of Shrek in 2001, Disney has been changing with more diverse storylines, which are important, especially given its dominance and popularity on a global scale. After Disney+ was created in 2019, there are disclaimers in its old productions.
Having said this, Disney is not the sole target of Generation Z. Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon have also been subject to criticism for their offensive content and misrepresentation. Off-screen, there are countless problematic stories from classical children's books that use literary devices that mirror society's prejudices towards class, gender, ethnicity, disability, religion, and sexuality. It is essential to highlight the differences in the context between past times and nowadays with countless achievements, which influenced representation (or lack of it) in the stories. Additionally, this is not related exclusively to the old narratives, as some choose traditionalism and refuse to welcome these changes around the representation of those marginalized groups in society still fighting for their rights.
Nowadays, there is a variety of entertainment sources and media available at the touch of a button. This globalization has been full of advantages, one of which is the increased accessibility of stories outside of our socio-geographical bubble. On the other hand, this can allow "Western colonialism" when people from the West impose their lifestyle preferences, values, beliefs, and ideologies on Eastern culture. In that way, the Westernization and ethnocentrism we see in the media somehow mirror the past. According to the Spanish philosopher George Santayana, "Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Storytellers must bear this in mind and should consider the power they hold when it comes to young audiences, who are the future generation.
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