It's a White World After All
In January I went to southern California for a family wedding and
let's say there's nothing better than walking along the Pacific in
shorts and a t-shirt in the middle of winter. Since we were close to
Disneyland, my brother and I decided to take my young nieces for the
day.
As you can imagine the park was ridiculously packed and ended up only getting on five rides the entire time. Yet the most memorable ride for me is always "It's a Small World." It's memorable because it's frustrating (although understandable) as to how they try to depict the diversity of each culture and country. There's no way possible to escape stereotyping when you can only choose one or two elements to show a complex culture and people.
I sincerely believe that most of us are smart enough to know that there's more to Alaska than igloos or Africa than thatched huts. But, unfortunately, I've heard international students tell me how they are asked questions that are ignorant and perplexing. Even when I lived in Alaska for a year, kids complained to me how people in the "lower 48" (yup, that's what they call us down here) thought they lived in snow all the time and, yes, in igloos.
But the most perplexing and, again, maddening aspect of the ride is that after floating on a boat and passing by all the diversity of color, costumes, and landscapes, you end up in a completely white world. That's right. Everyone is wearing white clothes and, well, everything (and I mean everything) is white. Now of course I like to believe that it was not intentional but all I can think is that this is so true. Whether through colonialism or assimilation, cultures and peoples were often subjugated to White European mores, habits and expectations.
So I guess we're not as smart as we think when images and ideas are reinforced again and again through media or, yes, Disneyland.
As you can imagine the park was ridiculously packed and ended up only getting on five rides the entire time. Yet the most memorable ride for me is always "It's a Small World." It's memorable because it's frustrating (although understandable) as to how they try to depict the diversity of each culture and country. There's no way possible to escape stereotyping when you can only choose one or two elements to show a complex culture and people.
I sincerely believe that most of us are smart enough to know that there's more to Alaska than igloos or Africa than thatched huts. But, unfortunately, I've heard international students tell me how they are asked questions that are ignorant and perplexing. Even when I lived in Alaska for a year, kids complained to me how people in the "lower 48" (yup, that's what they call us down here) thought they lived in snow all the time and, yes, in igloos.
But the most perplexing and, again, maddening aspect of the ride is that after floating on a boat and passing by all the diversity of color, costumes, and landscapes, you end up in a completely white world. That's right. Everyone is wearing white clothes and, well, everything (and I mean everything) is white. Now of course I like to believe that it was not intentional but all I can think is that this is so true. Whether through colonialism or assimilation, cultures and peoples were often subjugated to White European mores, habits and expectations.
So I guess we're not as smart as we think when images and ideas are reinforced again and again through media or, yes, Disneyland.
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