Disney Is Taking Stereotypes And Diversity Seriously, Or Is It?

WAMU 88.5

Published June 20, 2017 at 11:06 AM EDT

Songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda, actress Auli'i Cravalho and actor Dwayne Johnson speak onstage at The World Premiere of Disneys "MOANA" at the El Capitan Theatre on November, 2016 in Hollywood, CA.

From “Moana” to “Beauty and the Beast” and “Zootopia,” new Disney films for children are becoming more inclusive, and they’re questioning racial and gender stereotypes.

Between 2016 and 2018, about 24 percent of the studio’s live-action releases will feature ethnic minority leads, Disney says.

Things are changing behind the scenes too with more people of color and women directing films. But that doesn’t mean Disney is without critics on how it depicts women, people of color and LGBT people.

A look at new Disney films, stereotypes, representation and diversity.

GUESTS

Geena Davis, Academy-award-winning actress; founder and chair of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media

Jim Steyer, Founder and CEO, Common Sense Media

Aisha Harris, Culture writer, Slate, host of the podcast Represent

Sean Griffin, Professor of film and media arts, Southern Methodist University; author, “Tinker Belles and Evil Queens: The Walt Disney Company from the Inside Out”; co-author of “America on Film: Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality at the Movies”; former producer of television ads for Disney and Touchstone motion pictures

Chrissy Guest, Assistant professor, Media Arts, Ithaca College; her film, “Beyond Ink & Paint: The Women of Animation” will be released in 2018

For more, visit http://the1a.org.