As a movie fan, I am aching for some originality in movie theaters. Let me be clear that I’m not one of those guys who thinks that adaptations and sequels are automatically lesser works in and of themselves. You can make a tremendously original or even groundbreaking film out of an adaptation such as The Dark Knight. You can just as easily make an uneventful mess out of an original idea as seen in Transcendence. Some sequels are among the best films ever made while lots of legendary duds were original ideas.
Here’s the thing though, no matter how many perfectly good movies we’re getting out of Hollywood’s current obsession with adaptations, sequels, and reboots, too much of it is bad for the soul of a movie culture. New things, new experiences, …show more content…
Even worse, when characters of color are present, they’re usually portrayed as “bad” or are misrepresented. Films that don’t portray a diversity of race or worse, portray it in a harmful manner, are bad for a child’s development and self-esteem. The messages that these films send to white children are messages of dominance and power while the messages that they send to children of color are negative. One example regarding race was the original lyrics for the introduction of Aladdin, where the characters are singing about a fictional Middle-Eastern country and sing “Where they cut your ear off if they don’t like your face. It’s barbaric but hey, it’s home.” Another thing to point out is that most of the characters in the film are pretty white-washed, except of course for the “bad guys,” who have dark skin and look traditionally Middle-Eastern. Jasmine specifically was presented as Disney’s attempt to embrace other cultures but other than a couple different physical traits, her features are mainly white. Similarly, The Princess and the Frog seemed like a step in the right direction for Disney because it introduced their first African-American princess but unfortunately, the film also actually reinforced several different African-American stereotypes. Racial issues that also would have been going on at the time that the film is set aren’t mentioned at all. The main character of Tiana probably wouldn’t be able to buy her own business and would probably also have been forced to sit at the back of the