Posted on 01/26/2021 4:42:13 AM PST by Oldeconomybuyer
A ride that has long been criticized as racist and problematic is finally getting a much-needed update. Today, Disney announced that Jungle Cruise, a boat ride that depicts rivers around the world and what many have called colonialist caricatures of “natives” around them, will be getting an update to remove those problematic depictions.
“As Imagineers, it is our responsibility to ensure experiences we create and stories we share reflect the voices and perspectives of the world around us,” Carmen Smith, executive of development and inclusion strategies at Walt Disney Imagineering, said today on the Disney Parks Blog. “With Jungle Cruise, we’re bringing to life more of what people love — the humor and wit of our incredible skippers, while making needed updates.”
Primarily, those updates seem to be removing the “natives” from scenes where they are either portrayed as hostile savages or as subservient.
While some Disney fans have raised cries of dissent about the changes, citing cancel culture and the fact that Walt Disney oversaw the original ride, many have voiced support for the changes.
“As silly and overly pun-filled as the Jungle Cruise may be, it has long been criticized as viewing adventure through an imperialist lens,” Todd Martens wrote for the Los Angeles Times. “While the ride is meant to be a collage of Asia, Africa and South America, human figures of the regions are presented as exotic, violent and dim-witted, humor that in the 1950s and 1960s was troublesome and today reeks of racism.”
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Hopefully they don’t take out the sarcasm of the operators as they deliver their script.
>> ... it is our responsibility to ... reflect the voices and perspectives of the world around us. Carmen Smith, executive of development and inclusion
Well, there you have it. Mz. Smith would fit right in to the good old Stalinist or Hitlerian world.
I haven’t been to Disneyland in 35 years. I hate amusement parks/tourist traps. The only ride I liked there was the one where you went through a cave on a boat. It was dark and cool and I could take a nap.
“While the ride is meant to be a collage of Asia, Africa and South America, human figures of the regions are presented as exotic, violent and dim-witted, humor that in the 1950s and 1960s was troublesome and today reeks of racism.”
I actually would much prefer America of the 50’s and 60’s to the monstrosity and beastly nation that we have now.
Flooding a civilized nation with people from the uncivilized parts of the world like Asia, Africa, and South America seems to bring it down, not up.
I wonder what will be left once they wipe clean all problematic reference from the Disney world. Not much I suspect since no one can define “problematic” and what is acceptable to some is problematic to others.
How stupid.
They’re killing Splash Mountain too in DW. Gotta get rid of any song of the south reminders. Of course it’ll be replaced with the Princess and the Frog theme.
I really dislike leftist vernacular, such as saying “problematic” all the time for things they don’t like (such as twice in the opening paragraph of this article.)
Jungles are now racist? We better start bombing them now.
I am surprised they just didn’t shut it down like they did with the Hall of Presidents.
Disney will now receive a share of the Super Bowl losing team’s Super Bowl Champions tee shirts, sweat shirts and hats that were produced before the big game. These will be used as costumes for the actors playing indigenous residents of the more underdeveloped nations represented along the boat tour. There will also be throw-back costumes so teams like the Vikings and Bills can represented as the two teams who sent the most clothing overseas, since the Super Bowl started.
Edited for accuracy/clarity.
I distinctly remember a water ride simply called ‘Africa’ at Palisades Amusement Park in New Jersey in the mid-60s that featured the same jungle cruise down a meandering river. It was very dark, A jaguar leaped across the river, overhead. Even then, I could see it was stuffed and on a wire guide but that didn’t take away from the magic. Towards the end of the ride, after the wonderful elephants bathing and the antelope grazing, we came through a still, dark room filled with Zulu warriors standing at attention. Suddenly, all the robots started chanting menacingly and pounding their spear butts into the ground, and shaking their feathered headbands. Very effective and terrifying.
Decades later, in the 90s, I was in Toshi-Maen Amusement Park outside of Tokyo and saw the same ride. Talk about Magic! To this day, I believe it was the same ride. The jumping Jaguar was half bald from the worn away fur. Many of the old favorites were transported to Asian parks when their American counterparts closed or upgraded.
Yeah, “controversial” is another one. Controversial to who?
Once upon a time, civilizations were judged by their accomplishments. Now, everything is reversed. An inability to advance and build is seen as a virtue to be admired....never to be laughed at. Amusement is no longer permissible.
When did they shut down the HoPOTUSes, and why?
ff
With all the money I’ll be saving by not supporting these Fascist corporations I can definitely make some nice contributions to legitimate conservative interests and non-profits. Thanks, CCP Disney!
I was at Disneyland in the mid 60’s it was okay, but truthfully I think I enjoyed riding my 2x4 skateboard with my sister’s steel wheeled roller skates nailed to the bottom. Knott’s berry farm was cooler.
Later on I was visiting my sister in Orlando around Christmas the year they broke ground on Disney World. We sat there watching the boobtube and my sisters friend remarked... “Well there goes the neighborhood” Orlando was beautiful before Disney World got a hold of her.
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