“It’s not as progressive as you’d think,” said Joyce, who studied race in Disney productions during Randolph College’s Summer Research Program.
Joyce has been skeptical of Disney movies and the widespread belief that they present wholesome family entertainment. A communication studies major from Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, she decided to test her theories in an academic study. Joyce worked with Chad Beck, a communications professor, to analyze several films and television series.
Joyce studied race in Disney sequels, including Aladdin: The Return of Jafar and Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World. She said sequels have not received as much academic attention as other movies.
“The project revealed that Disney’s multicultural marketing and animated media representations incorporate minority characters and audiences, yet the company’s commercial strategy ultimately prioritizes white perspectives, revives historical stereotypes, and obscures ongoing racial inequalities,” said Beck.
Joyce said that in most cases, the antagonist and protagonist in the productions are of the same race, but the protagonist has more Anglican features. In the case of The Princess and the Frog, Joyce found that the dark-skinned main characters were not obviously racialized, but other characters revived old stereotypes. The villain had the physical appearance and personality traits of a “brutal black buck,” one caricature identified in media studies, she said. “It’s just being reiterated by this multibillion dollar company that everyone sees as wholesome,” she said.
Joyce hopes her research will result in a paper for an academic conference and help prepare her for graduate school.
