Disney's Racist New Film "Eight Below"

[Yollam]

This flick, which stars airheaded surfer-boy Paul Walker, is highly rated by critics but I have a bone of contention with this thing.

The ads claim that its' "based on a true story". In a manner of speaking, that's true. In fact, the true story of the loyal sled dogs who helped their masters, then just two of them survived the antarctic winter all alone was so inspiring that it even spawned a major motion picture in the early eighties "Antarctica".

But there is a key difference between what happened and what is portrayed in Disney's film. All of the individuals involved were Japanese, not white Americans.

It bugs me that Disney felt the need to whiten (not to mention Americanize) this true story. Were there no Asian actors available to play the parts? If Japanese could speak English in "Memoirs of a Geisha", why not "Eight Below"?

It's a major turn-off to me, and I won't be seeing the film. Do yourself a favor - rent the original "Antarctica", with soundtrack by Vangelis.

[Atman]

1. Actually, there is supposedly a "shortage" of Japanese actors.

This was a big controversy surrounding Geisha...the producers hired Chinese actors to play the Japanese rolls, claiming there weren't enough Japanese actors.

That being said, I don't know why they felt the need to Americanize it, except for wanting to maximize their investment, since it would be opening to an American audience. Disney generally sucks these days, but I don't fault them to much on this one. After all Americanizing classic stories like this is an age-old tradition. I hear even that Jesus book even has parallel stories in other cultures.

[Yollam]

4. I don't mind using the outline with American actors...

...but when you do so, you lose the right to say "based on a true story", IMO.

What are we going to do next, do a remake of "Amistad" where all the slaves are played by whites???

People will think that "Eight Below" is what really happened. It's a big cinematic lie.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

14. Well, "based on" isn't the same as saying "is a true story".

Most films that say "based on" take a LOT of liberties, while "true story" alone is usually left mostly intact.

I know, it's sematics, but they're still within their rights.

Still, I agree with your basic point. Although one point of note, they used Chinese actors in Memoirs of a Geisha for the same reason.

[LostinVA]

19. And, it may even be "inspired by true events"

Which allows them even more leeway.

It's a Disney movie with a popular young actor -- it's targeted to white, middle-class teenage girls.

And remember: to say "based on," the real people sold their rights to Disney.

[Kerrytravelers]

5. Somehow, I doub that if the casting directors wanted to find people of

Japanese descent, they wouldn't have too hard of a time.

[Yollam]

8. Shit, even Chinese pretending to be Japanese is better than this.

At least with "Geisha" they did the bare minimum.

[MadMaddie]

2. Hey Yollam....Thanks for the heads up!!

[jilln]

3. Thanks for the info

I won't be seeing it anyway, since I don't like the glorification of animal abuse.

[porphyrian]

6. Is there anything Disney doesn't do that to?

Not that your gripe is in any way less valid. I just won't be surprised until they don't do this.

[_testify_]

7. I agree completely...

I can't stand when studios mangle a true story just to make it fit around their ideal 'put-people-in-the-seats' mentality.

[RaleighNCDUer]

9. To be fair, it does say 'based on a true story'. It doesn't say it

IS a true story. I'm sure if they wanted to make it a pseudo-documentary they could have found the Japanese/ Japanese-American actors for the piece.

But the real story is about the dogs, not the people who abandoned them.
I'll give them a pass on this one.

[mcscajun]

10. Disney films have had a long DISassociation with the truth.

This film is just the latest in a line of "based on" crap they've produced. This holds true for history they've distorted, classic fiction they've altered beyond belief, and outright changes to biblical and mythological tales. They can't keep their hands off, it seems.

"Hidalgo" and "Pocahontas", spring to mind as excellent examples of their distortions.

During the "Hidalgo" flap, one Disney exec had this to say:
"No one here really cares about the historical aspects. Once a picture has been shot, people move on to others. We're like a factory. Its like making dolls. Once the latest doll is out we go onto the next one. If it transpires that the historical aspects are in question I don't think people would care that much. Hidalgo is a family film. It has little to do with reality."

Anything with the "Disney" name on it becomes an automatic "must avoid" situation, I'm afraid.

Don't even get me Started on what they did to "Fantasia." Bastards.

[Yollam]

11. At least "Pocahontas" was animated...

...but boy, did they take liberties there.

I wasn't aware of the film "Hidalgo" - I'll read up on it.

[Johnyawl]

12. Not just Disney - Hollywood does this crap all the time

The movie U-571 is a case in point. The true story is that it was the British navy that pulled off the coup of capturing the first German enigma machine. Hollywood felt compelled to change it to the American Navy.

I don't know that I'd call it racism, though. Americans as a whole are very self centered, and our movie industry caters to that.

[LostinVA]

20. There actually was also a US team who did the same thing

at roughly the same time.

[Yollam]

21. Not aware of that story, but this is based on a Japanese expedition.

n/t

[LostinVA]

23. What? Why would a Japanese team steal an Enigma?

[Johonny]

13. Oh great

Am I going to have to read someone complaining about Al Pacino playing a hispanic in Scareface again. You know they are actors...

[Connie_Corleone]

15. But there's a slight difference.

This movie changes the race of everyone in the "true" story to white.

[Celeborn Skywalker]

16. At least Pacino was playing someone of the same race

It's not like they asked Pacino to play a chinese martial artist or anything.

[Yollam]

17. That was a fictional character - and it stayed Cuban.

This is a true story that happened to Japanese people being passed off as having happened to white people. it totally feeds in to Americans' conceit that they are the most noble and heroic people on the planet.

For example, how many Americans do you think are aware that the Japanese donated twice as much aid to the victims of the Tsunami than we did, and not only that, America only fulfilled 4/5ths of it's pledges! Most Americans think we are the most generous country in the world, but Japan donated twice as much, and they have half our GDP. It's films like this that help further our conceit and self-delusion.

[meganmonkey]

18. Disney is crap

and this sounds like another crap Disney film that I will never see.

Peace!

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

22. It is my understanding that in that Geisha movie the actors

aren't even Japanese.

[applegrove]

24. Wake up! Hollywood will not put a black woman in a film with

a black man. Has to be a Latino or mixed race woman.