DISNEYLAND'S beloved Snow White ride in California is under fire for its "true love's kiss" scene, which shows the Prince kissing the sleeping princess.
Critics claim that the cartoon character was being kissed without her consent and have blasted Disneyland for including it in the revamped ride in Anaheim.
The theme park experience reopened on Friday after been shuttered for a year with coronavirus and overhauled with new features and scenes.
The ride previously focussed on the Evil Queen and Snow White's "Scary Journey" but now, it incorporates the Prince kissing Snow White and breaking her stepmother's curse.
SFGate reviewers claim the fictional kiss was given "without [Snow White's] consent, while she's asleep, which cannot possibly be true love if only one person knows it's happening."
They wrote: "Haven't we already agreed that consent in early Disney movies is a major issue? That teaching kids that kissing, when it hasn't been established if both parties are willing to engage, is not OK?"
"It's hard to understand why the Disneyland of 2021 would choose to add a scene with such old-fashioned ideas of what a man is allowed to do to a woman.
"Especially given the company's current emphasis on removing problematic scenes from rides like Jungle Cruise and Splash Mountain.
"Why not re-imagine an ending in keeping with the spirit of the movie and Snow White's place in the Disney canon, but that avoids this problem?"
Disney is currently updated its Jungle Cruise, which was blasted for its depictions of native peoples, while Splash Mountain is also being overhauled.
But Snow White (1937) has come under fire in the past by Japanese professor Kazue Muta of Osaka University, who likened the Prince's kiss to sexual assault.
Muta tweeted: "When you think rationally about 'Snow White' and 'Sleeping Beauty,' that tell of a 'princess being woken up by the kiss of a prince,' they are describing sexual assault on an unconscious person."
The academic went on to say that "such a fairy tale allows sexual violence."
The Sun has contacted Disneyland for comment.
Source: Read Full Article
