(repost from a FB friend who raises some good points)
Some people think Disney has done the right thing in mostly presenting vintage content (Dumbo, Lady and the Tramp, and The Jungle Book) that remains as faithful to the original versions as possible, but with a disclaimer about “outdated cultural depictions.” Other people argue that the disclaimer suggests that the content in question was approved of in the past, and so validates it. You can’t please everyone. The Song of the South is fair enough completely out of rotation, and some editing / revisions have been executed in the case of the other “classics.” For me, the problem remains that cancel culture (or even apology / disclaimer culture) seems nearly endless, and fundamentally retrograde. I also ask, is the original Dumbo significant enough today to merit concern in any social frame? I don’t think I ever saw it. I wonder how many young people now want to watch it. So, who are the disclaimers and revisions aimed at? I’ve done cultural fluency experiments with my university students, and when presented with photographs of people like the Three Stooges, Laurel & Hardy, Abbott and Costello, Nat King Cole, Lucille Ball, and Sammy Davis, Jr, there’s virtually no recognition—certainly not of any immediate and consistent kind. In any case, if the argument now is that we’ve moved beyond stereotypes, then we have to deny the entire history of vaudeville, which underlies almost all forms of public entertainment since. The very concept of “popular culture” is to a great extent predicated on stereotypes. Revisit Super Fly on Netflix. Youngblood Priest, an African American pimp and cocaine dealer isn’t a stereotype? And while that role is a caricature, it’s not a cartoon. We have a huge number of pressing problems to face right now. Repairing or excising past commercial entertainment products (which often seem utterly obscure to younger folks) can only be a priority if you’re lost in magical thinking.