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By Ben Field and Lisa Wier
Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens is set to release December 18th, 2015. During the film's first teaser trailer, it was revealed that one of the main characters (Finn) would be black. This created controversy over the Internet along with the hashtag #blackstormtrooper.
The film adaptation of Annie was released on December 19th, 2014. The film's about an orphaned girl named Annie who lives in New York City and gets adopted by a wealthy politician. Previously in the older adaptations, Annie was white. Once again, people were outraged over a black Annie.
Arthur is about Arthur the aardvark, along with his friends Francine the monkey, Buster the rabbit, Alan the bear, Binky the bulldog, Muffy the monkey, and Sue Ellen the cat.
Although Francine and Muffy are both monkeys, they have obvious differing characteristics. For example, Muffy has a lighter skin tone than Francine. She is also known to be significantly wealthy. Francine, however, is shown to be much less wealthy. She also wears clothes that are much more casual than every other characer. Her hair also randomly springs into an afro...
The two main characters, Blu and Jewel, are voiced by white actors, Jesse Eisenberg and Anne Hathaway. The supporting characters were voiced by other races, such as will.i.am and Jamie Foxx for Pedro and Nico, the rapping birds; George Lopez as Raphael the toucan. Furthermore, the villains of the movie are more noticbly darker than the protagonists.
Rio is a film produced by Blue Sky Studios and was released on April 15, 2011. The film is about rare Brazilian birds and their adventures in Rio de Janeiro.
Althought not as common, modern shows do protray some inequality amongst the races. Sometimes when an actor of a minority race is chosen for the lead role, people become irritated. There is also the problem of a mostly white cast.
In Power Rangers, a group of friends are secretly a gang of crime fighting superheroes. Each person has their own color, but do the colors porttray racist views? Trini and Zack, the yellow and black rangers, are of African American and Asian decent. Does the color of their suits suggest racial themes, or it is just a coincidence?
High School Musical was a Disney Channel Orignal Movie released on January 20, 2006.
The song "Stick to the Status Quo" starts off with a black character singing about his dreams of becoming a chef. His colleagues chastize in him (in song, of course) to stick to what he knows, which is basketball.
Here are some popular children's cartoons on today. Did you pay attention to their cast?
Gerald
Gerald is Arnold's best friend in the show. He is a tall, thin African American with a tall afro and always wears a sports jersey. Are they stereotyping Gerald by portraying him with his hair style and his jersey?
Hey Arnold is a show about a group of friends trying to survive their middleschool lives. In the show, they battle common problems like crazy teachers and bullies.
Sofia the First is a Disney Junior series that premiered on November 18, 2012. The series stars the adventures of Sofia who becomes a princess after her mother marries the king of Enchancia.
The Fairly Oddparents is a Nickelodeon series that premiered on March 30th, 2001. It stars the adventures of Timmy Turner and his fairy godparents.
Phoebe
Phoebe is the only character in the show that is of Asian nationality. She has strict parents, is very smart, and has a meek personality. Like Gerald, is Phoebe also having her race steroetyped?
Phineas and Ferb was a Disney Channel series that premiered on August 17th, 2007. It stars that adventures of step-brothers Phineas and Ferb creating wacky inventions with their friends.
Gravity Falls is a Disney XD series that premiered on June 15, 2012. The series stars the adventures of twins Dipper and Mabel Pines who are sent to work at their great-uncle's "tourist-trap" in Gravity Falls, Oregon.
Mammy Two-Shoes
Mammy Two-Shoes, the maid of the house that Tom and Jerry live in, is a large black woman who wears the same worn clothes in all of her appearances, has a stereotypical southern accent and her face is never shown throughout the show. In more modern versions, she has been edited out and replaced with a slim white woman.
Tom and Jerry is an old madcap slapstick cartoon about a cat named Tom and a mouse named Jerry. The two terrorize each other to the audience's amusement and have periodic visits from the house's maid or the neighboring alley cat.
Butch
Another reappearing character in series is the black cat Butch. Butch is an alley cat that causes problems in the show. He is presented as being very unintelligent, violent, and hits on Tom's lady cat friend, who happens to be white.