Disneyis well-known for its ability to appeal to the masses without issue; that is, until recently. Disney has not had many issues with its ability to be progressive and with the times. However, in recent years, Disney has come under fire for its artistic censorship. This censorship can be seen when Disney changes the content of films overseas to appeal to overpowering governments; as such,a Harvard articleis titledRated C For Censored Walt Disney in China’s Pocket. It can also be seen on a more local level, with Disney (allegedly) practicingcensorship in Pixar filmsover LGBTQ+ relationships. Most recently, Disney has come under fire for funding lawmakers who support the “Don’t Say Gay” bill in the state of Florida.
Disney+ has alsobeen censoring Marvel filmsfor both violent content and references to Netflix. This combination of censorship in films and in the company as a whole has caused fans of the company to take a second look. The specific censorship of LGBTQ+ stories, when the brand claims to be so welcoming to everyone, is especially disheartening for those who love the work of the company. With these new forms of censorship Disney is using, are they creating a new mold for censorship in the industry, or will social pushback cause them to change their ways?
Censorship Overseas
Disney’s overseas film distribution makes the company a lot (a whole lot) of money. However, the films shown to overseas audiences may not have exactly the same composition and content as the films shown here in the States. When Disney shows films overseas, they cater to the governments of the countries where the film is being shown. In particular, Disney caters to China and its government, which controls the media available in the country.
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Disney is known for cutting out or substituting portions of their films to appease the Chinese government. This is because China fulfills such a large portion of Disney’s yearly box office revenue. In 2020, China becamethe world’s largest film market, overtaking the United States. This shift caused Disney to cater even more to the Chinese government and their censorship laws, because they knew it would drastically improve their revenue. Disney’s focus on monetary gain over artistic integrity shows how the company has shifted from their original goals over time.
Censorship in Pixar
Disney is known for censoring films post-production, but it has recently been revealed that the company censors as early as pre-production as well. Specifically in Pixar films, it has come out that Disney censors the use of openly LGBTQ+ characters in their stories. In fact if you are to look at every Pixar film of the last 20 years, you may only be able to find one LGBTQ+ character with a name. That character in particular is Specter from Pixar’sOnward; her character’s only mention of her sexuality is when she mentions her relationship with her girlfriend’s daughter.
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This is not counting queer couples who may appear in the background of scenes because we as a society are past the point where that counts as “true” representation. Even thoughthe mention of Specter’s sexualitywas minimal, the film was still banned in multiple countries and the phrasing of the scene was changed in Russia to make it seem more vague. Pixar’s workers fought long and hard to include Specter’s sexuality in the film as the representation felt pertinent, but despite all of their hard work, very little about it was included.
The “Don’t Say Gay” Bill and What Comes Next
Disney’s most recent controversy is their monetary support of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill in the state of Florida. While Disney did not directly support the bill, they had donated to politicians and foundations that supported the bill. This brought fans and haters alike out to call out Disney and their longtime claims of inclusivity. Disney has certainly made LGBTQ+ pride merchandise for quite a few years. While that doesn’t mean they are the most accepting company on the planet, one would expect the company to not donate to anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. Their actions have sparked outrage from even their own content creators.
Disney has since retracted their donations and claimed that they will now strive to do better, but as we all know, words are meaningless if they are not followed by action. Fans can only hope that Disney will actually strive to do better in the future. As one of the largest media companies in the world, it would make a big difference to marginalized communities if they felt truly represented in Disney’s films. One can only hope thatDisney will change from inside out, that they will focus on their censorship both overseas and at home, that Disney will change how they make and censor their movies, thus changing how people see the company and its films. No one can fix this but Disney; fans just have to sit back and hope they do.
