The time for tolerating intolerance has come and gone. Now more than ever, movies and filmmakers are seeking to tell inclusive stories from a wide array of perspectives and different cultures. If you ask me — it’s about damn time.
But there are some people who aren’t content with focussing on the future. Instead, they’d rather look to the past, having the benefit of hindsight, and prop themselves up on a soapbox of morality. Which leads me to ask: can we please stop hating on classic movies ?
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First of all, no one is denying that certain films haven’t aged well.
One of the easiest examples to point to in this instance is a Disney film called The Song of the South .
This movie came out back in 1946 and tells the story of Johnny, a young adventurous child who goes to live on his family’s plantation.
The film’s central character is a man named Uncle Remus; a walking stereotype of a Black southern man.
Song of the South has also been accused of glorifying and white-washing slavery. It’s bad. No argument for that one.
But what about those more ambiguous moments from classic movies; how should we react to those?
For example, in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs , Snow White eats a poisonous apple and falls under the spell of eternal sleep.
The only way that the curse can be broken, is by true love’s first kiss .
Heartbroken by the loss and unable to bring themselves to properly bury her, the dwarfs opt to encase Snow White in a glass coffin.
A year later, Prince Charming happens upon Snow White’s tomb. Saddened by her death, he bends over and kisses her — thus breaking the spell.
Many people have pointed out that this scene is problematic because *Snow White* never gave her consent to be kissed.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs isn’t a true story or a real-life depiction — it’s an animated fairytale from the 1930s.
Trying to inject 21st-century morality into a Disney movie that’s nearly 85 years old will always leave you wanting.
Furthermore, when the Prince came around, Snow White had already been in a coma for over a year.
Had he not kissed her, she would have remained encased in the glass coffin for the rest of her life.
Would that have been better; should he have left her to die?
The same situation applies to *Sleeping Beauty*.
Yes, she was asleep. But also, there was no other way to wake her up .
The whole kingdom was plunged into an eternal sleep! Was the prince just supposed to let that be? It makes no sense.
Racism is unacceptable and understanding the merits of proper consent is paramount.
But sometimes you need to be able to call a spade and spade and look at something for what it is, within the timeframe and context that it was conceived.
Otherwise, we become like the great Don Quixote — fighting windmills believing them to be giants.
We need to be able to discern the difference between that which is intrinsically harmful, and a quasi-offensive morally ambiguous moment from a children’s fairytale.
This distinction is what separates those who seek to implement real change, from the dime-a-dozen social justice warriors looking for any cage in which to rage.
