Racism and Fairy Tales

Hey, family and/or friends. Decided to give everyone a break from the long, personal blogs and keep this one short (relatively!) and (relatively) “fun.”

I keep talking about racism on this blog and in my last post I mentioned that I have met people in Senegal, just like in America, who say things that are disrespectful and intolerant.  I said that its important to be “tolerant,” but I want o make it clear that I don’t think it’s important to be tolerant of “intolerance”–even if the people don’t know better! As I’ve said, education in tolerance, in small amounts is key. I think that letting another person’s little mean/ignorant comments slip by in our daily interactions with her/him can support a culture of intolerance. for example, sometimes even seemingly innocent racist stereotypes like “Asian people are better at math than white and black people,” that might seem silly or harmless can have big implications. It can put undo pressure on Asian kids to fit a “type,” and make white/black/Latino kids feel inherently less worthy or able to do mathematics. It might lead them to feel more defeated in class, or it might lead them to stop trying and cheat off/use/manipulate other students for their answers. It might lead them to make fun of  or belittle Asian kids that do well in class, because they are just “like all the others” and good grades “come naturally” to them.

You see, there is a real danger to letting people get away with making “blanket” statements. Every time we who know better let someone else get away with a clearly intolerant statement without at least trying to play devil’s advocate (“Haven’t you noticed this exception and this exception?”), it makes me wonder: where does it end?

We learned in my Senegalese Society and Culture Class (and my Genocide and Human Rights class last semester!) that people with “right-wing authoritarian” mind-sets are more likely to be prejudiced (and, if they lead a country, make that country–because populations are generally complacent and believe what they are told when lies about the “other” makes themselves feel more powerful– also prejudiced, overall). These people (like George W. Bush, Stalin, Hitler, now members of the French government also, with the burqa ban, it seems…Although, don’t get me wrong, I don’t place them all on the same level!) use “us and them” rhetoric to defend their own worldview, wrongly seeing large groups of other unknown people as (morally, ethnically, intellectually) “superior” or “inferior.”

This kind of thinking doesn’t have to be political rhetoric to be powerful, however. Even seemingly innocent stereotypes and cliches can create racist wordviews. This makes me think of Disney movies and the debate on the racism and bad messages that can be implicit in certain storylines. On one hand, I loved Disney movies growing up and still do. I think that Disney movies made me want to see the world, even if it it gave me the wrong idea about some things. I wondered about this a lot in Senegal, realizing that the only Disney movie I’d seen of Africa–essentially my one reason for wanting to come to Africa as a little girl!–was the “Lion King,” a movie that seemed to suggest that Africa was made of animals, not people. (Here’s a link to an interesting article on this that might really make you think: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1329215/disneys_most_racist_films_and_characters.html…)

The hyenas in the Lion King, according to some scholars (like Naomi Rockler-Gladen who wrote the article "Race, Hierarchy, and Hyenaphobia in The Lion King"), might be seen as representing a minority group because they are poor, hungry, kept on the outskirts of town, speak in a more casual dialect, and are portrayed as thieves and criminals. However, I do feel like it is stretch to call the Lion King overtly racist. The earlier Disney films, like Lady and the Tramp and the Simese cats, offer better examples. And for what it's worth, I'm not gonna lie: I will always love a good Disney film! Despite bad qualities, the music, the art, and the romance. And Disney seems to becoming (or trying to be...But WHAT was up with the casting of Prince of Persia??) more sensitive with time...

However, on the other hand, to be fair, many African folk tales DO involve animals only. And many Senegalese people (at least the ones I have asked who had seen it) liked the Lion King. So, for what my opinion’s worth, I think I have a realistic, balanced perspective of Disney. Sometimes “political correctness” can go too far, but in all honesty (when it is an honest and sincere attempt to encourage people to actually think about/see the world more equally and not just speak about it more equally) I think that it doesn’t deserve all the eye-rolling it gets from some people. Sometimes subtle, embedded judgements and assumptions really can be detrimental to the development of healthy, tolerant and respectful beliefs and egos.

I don’t think Disney-the-company is “evil” at all. However, I do feel like they have historically shot every movie from a subtly (or not so subtly) male “white power perspective,” and to truly be more encouraging to little kids of all different cultures and colors, and to reduce racism and increase tolerance (i.e. help do away with the “right-wing authoritarian mindset”) they should start tapping into the wealth of other cultural literature in their upcoming films. This would serve two effects: a) Erase the myth, created by the fact that it is so overlooked, that African culture and literature has less to offer and/or is less available for education of the world’s youth, and b) Make Western kids (and adults) more appreciative of the culture of other people when it isn’t watered down or portrayed based on Western stereotypes of what Western people think the culture is–or should be–like.

For your leisure reading pleasure, here is a Senegalese fairy tale that my friend Saliou, our guide in Kedougou and a Pular village resident, told me when I asked for a Senegalese fairy tale. I loved it and think that Disney (or another big children’s film company) should make a film based on it–consulting and working with members of a Senegalese village to ensure accurate representation of the culture. 

Enjoy, all!

“There once was a village in Senegal where there was a beautiful girl, with whom three men were in love. Because she was the daughter of the chief of the village, each man asked the chief for his permission to ask for her hand in marriage. Unable to decide which man had the most to offer his daughter, the chief decided to have a competition. He said that whoever was the most educated and faithful Muslim could have his daughter’s hand in marriage.

So, the three talibes (Islamic students) decided to take sometime  far away from the village and study, study, study the Qaran under the tutelage of three of the best and wisest marabouts (Qaranic teachers) in Senegal. Each was given a special gift by his marabout after he had completed his training, and purified his soul, because the marabout now believed that he would use the magic that the gift provided wisely and for good deeds.

The first man was given a mirror that could see the future. Excited, he looked into the mirror to see if he would be the man who would be chosen to be with his love. However, he was devastated to see that this is not what he saw in the mirror. Instead of a happy image, he saw that his princess was dead from a sudden serious illness. He didn’t know what to do, so he immediately contacted the other two men and told them what he had seen in the mirror. He knew that there wasn’t much time before the girl died.

The second man, who had been given a magic carpet, said that he could transport all three of them over to the village in only a few minutes. The three men got on the carpet and flew over. Luckily, they made it to the daughter as she lay on her death bed and held her hand. The last man looked into her sad eyes and smiled because he had good news: His marabout had given him a magic wand with which he could grant one wish, and he wished that she would be cured.

The daughter was made healthy in one instant, and the entire village rejoiced! The chief of the village thanked all three men, but then he didn’t know what to do. He felt that all three of them had proven themselves to be excellent Muslim students, who had used their gifts well. Who would get his daughter’s hand in marriage? Who had been the most important in the saving of his daughter?”

At this point, Saliou asked me to think about this and give my opinion. What do you think? I literally guessed all three, with Salious playing devil’s advocate every time, before finally saying I didn’t know. But then I guessed the right man at the very end. You should all try at home before reading the ending below! (Wow, I feel like Dora the Explorer: “… … …Did you guess yet? … … … Yet? …Good Job!”)

“The men talked among themselves and in the end the chief decided on the same man as the other two men. All felt that the man who had seen the daughter in the mirror and told the other two men deserved her most. On one hand, without him, none of the other men would have had the information necessary to save her– but then again, without the other men, he never would have been able to save her. The real reason he was chosen was that the other men knew that by the fact that the first thing he had wanted to see in the mirror was his love, and the fact that he had been devastated enough to tell the other two men, he had proven that he was the one who truly loved her the most… Even if his gift itself left him, in some ways, the least powerful.

The chief gave him to his daughter and there was a beautiful wedding in the village. All were overjoyed that the most in-love man had won, and Allah smiled from above on the scene. And they all lived happily ever after, in’challah (God willing, in Arabic).”

Wouldn’t that be a great story in film/animation form? Yeah, it’s a little sexist, but that can be changed. I can see it now! (Dibs on film rights?)

Just thought I'd throw this in here. We all know that Disney is sexist against girls, but no one talks about the effect Disney movies have on boys...Although personally I see nothing wrong with guys thinking they have to be "charming" (but maybe I'm part of the problem :P). I think my mom would get a kick out of this.