Self-proclaimed anti-woke Disney Parks fans across the internet are lashing out after the company discontinued a ride based on a movie that contained harmful anti-Black racist tropes.
Disney’s Splash Mountain, the original ride, was themed to the “Song of the South,” which contained racist stereotypes, the Associated Press reports. Criticisms about the ride’s racist themes came to a head in 2020, following the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer.
To date, it is the only movie removed from Disney’s catalog due to criticisms that it contains racist themes, The Daily Beast reports.
The new ride, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, is based on “The Princess and the Frog” and will open this summer. The move has received widespread praise, with many pointing out how meaningful it is to see Black women represented through Princess Tiana.
“For little Black girls, Tiana has meant a lot,” English professor Neal Lester told the Associated Press. “When a little child can see somebody who looks like them, that matters.”
“Disney is first and foremost about money and getting people into the park, and you can make money, still have representation and be aware of social justice history and make everyone feel like they belong there,” Lester continued.
However, a group of social media users are lashing out about the change, with some claiming Disney has become too sensitive while dismissing concerns about the racist content of the original ride, The Daily Beast reports.
“Because a bunch of people raised on Disney became all in their feelings and offended by everything,” one user wrote about the change, per the Beast. “And Disney not only accepted it but encouraged it.”
“They’re not going to admit it, but the Disney company succumbed to a very loud minority of people claiming the film the attraction was based on was rac*st,” another user wrote. “What they didn’t understand was that Walt made Song of the South partially to help mend race relations.”
It is unclear what this user meant by “mend race relations,” given the film was met with harsh criticism by the NAACP when it was first released in 1946 over concerns that it glorified slavery.
“[The NAACP] regrets, however, that in an effort to neither to offend audiences in the north and south, the production helps to perpetuate a dangerously glorified picture of slavery,” the organization wrote in a statement at the time.
“‘Song of the South’ unfortunately gives the impression of an idyllic master-slave relationship which is a distortion of the facts,” the statement continued.
