Pheroze Unwalla
Film and History: Race, Gender and the Disneyfication of the Past
This course examines the intersection of history and film through an analysis of four Disney movies released in the 1990s and early 2000s– Aladdin, Pocahontas, Mulan, The Princess & the Frog – that (mis)represent of the histories of racialized peoples.
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
1 – Recognize, ‘read,’ and critically evaluate problematic historical representations, claims, and narratives made in Disney films
2 – Analyze how Disney films shaped and were shaped by historical and contemporary understandings of race, gender, and the historical past
3 – Understand how to engage films as historical sources