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Most Controversial Disney Films Pt. 1

As an adult I’ve gone back and re-watched many of my favorite Disney films. They’re as wonderful as ever, but in some cases I am disturbed by the content I find in them. I realize that many of these movies were made in a different era, but part of me wants to believe that Disney was always squeaky-clean and welcoming to people of all backgrounds. In this two-part article I’d like to address how we might approach the controversial material in Disney films, both as adults and as parents. Here’s a rundown of some of the more controversial Disney films: … Continue reading →

Racism, Current Events, and Halloween History

Not many people know what Halloween meant to the early Celtic Christians of Ireland. I knew that the name “Hallow-even” meant “eve of All Hallows (All Saints’ Day), a feast day still celebrated by many Christian denominations. I knew that one of the origins of trick-or-treating was the custom of children holding lanterns (perhaps made of hollowed-out squash with a candle inside) and going from house to house offering prayers for the dead. The homeowners then served “soul cakes”. I’m not exactly sure what those were, but that fact may be why I always associate Halloween with doughnuts. That was … Continue reading →

Book Review: Orientals: Asian Americans in Popular Culture

My last blog wondered about the impact of anti-immigrant feelings, worsened by economic conditions, on international adoptees and their families. In that blog, I quoted from the book Orientals: Asian Americans in Popular Culture. This blog will be a further review of that book. The first thing I should note is, as I said last time, that the word “Orientals” is deliberately used by the author to demonstrate negative stereotypes of Asians as too irreconcilably different by nature to ever fit into American society. Do not use the word “oriental” when referring to people today. Use Asian-American if you need … Continue reading →