Is Popeye Sexist? Bugs Bunny Racist?

Sometimes when we use the term "institutional racism," it is perceived as a vague, illusive concept that resists concrete definition or example in our daily lives. "The system," "cultural institutions," "socialization," are generic references we use to point to the pervasiveness of racism and sexism in our society. These concepts can be made more real and specific when we look at the example of children's popular culture: cartoons, video games, comic books, and toys, all a part of two important American institutions - the corporate manufacturing industry and the media. Through these various channels children are socialized from a very early age to tacitly accept the notions of white supremacy, misogyny (women hating), and violence: "Black is bad, white is good," "men are central, women are peripheral," "and hurting people can be fun, if you are the perpetrator."

Any trip to the local Toys R Us gives ample evidence of the promotion of violence in children's culture. A hundred simulated ways of shooting, maiming, and torturing other human beings have become, or perhaps always have been, acceptable leisure activity for our 6-, 7- and 8-year-old children, mainly our sons. Unfortunately, the same messages are reinforced on our television sets through cartoons like He Man, Road Runner, and the most recent craze, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Moreover violence is disguised in comical and unrealistic scenarios in which characters are blown up, beaten up, shot or crushed and then reappear, seemingly unscathed, in the next scene. Young children can easily go away with the message that violence is okay because no one really gets hurt. The heroes are the strongest, the toughest and the best fighters. And of course all of their destructive deeds are justified because the goal is to make the world a better place. Sounds frighteningly similar to the ridiculous rationale given for the United States' exorbitant military budget.

The violence is often clear and unapologetic in many of these kiddie dramas, however, the racist and sexist messages are sometimes not as overt, but just as ubiquitous. Cartoon "classics" like Bugs Bunny will frequently interject an episode in which early American history is rewritten to cast Native Americans as mindless, bloodthirsty savages out to capture and scalp the poor defenseless settlers. Then, to give the same racist message an international flavor, scenes are frequently aired in which Bugs finds himself in the jungles of "deepest darkest" Africa confronting a mob of angry and uncivilized African cannibals, another figment of the white colonial imagination. The Disney series Tom and Jerry, which generally does not even include human characters, gives us a dose of racism with the caricature of an African American maid, whose hands, feet or voice chastise the mischievous cat and mouse to "gets out of my kitchen, y'all." Cartoon depictions of various Asian characters are no less malicious. Most are either Kung-fu killers, diabolical scientists or nonexistent.

These racist images are not relics of the past inadvertently shown from time to time by some insensitive producer rushing to fill a Saturday morning time slot. For example, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT): there are TMNT cartoons, videos, video games, toys, t-shirts, lunch boxes, posters, pajamas, and if that's not enough - a soon to be released movie.

Now, given the era of "racial enlightenment" this country supposedly went through two decades ago, one would expect this updated good vs. evil scenario to be more "culturally sensitive," right? Wrong. The central hero figures in the TMNT drama are all named symbolically after Western art icons: Michaelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael. Symbols, we presume, of civility, intelligence, culture, and progress. The bad guys, conversely, are named Bebop and Rock Steady, themes from African American and Afro-Caribbean musical culture. Rock Steady, by the way, has a rather large ring in his nose, another exaggerated stereotype reference to caricature images of Africans in popular media.

These are an extension of the longstanding Eurocentric notions in popular culture which equate white with good and Black with evil. Of course the subtle and symbolic cultural references in TMNT may not have an obvious and immediate impact on how kids understand and interpret issues of race, but the covert messages have already been planted. As children grow older and learn what these terms mean they already, however subconsciously, have a dichotomized frame of reference and a hierarchy within which to place "heroic" Renaissance artists and "sinister" Black musicians.

The portrayal of women in children's popular media are as offensive as the portrayal of people of color. The 40-year-old Popeye cartoon series, still a staple of children's prime time viewing, is probably the most sexist and misogynist of the lot. The cartoon's central theme is the struggle between two macho male figures, Popeye and Brutus. What do they struggle over? Olive Oil, the passive, mindless, screeching "love interest" of the cartoon' s protagonist, Popeye. Olive is the prize for which the two male characters compete. Some scenes show Popeye and Brutus literally playing tug of war with Olive's body. Other equally violent scenes show Olive being inadvertently tossed around and knocked down as she becomes caught up in the brawl between her two "suitors." Other cartoons offer similarly negative images of women as cute, coy animals being pursued by love-struck male characters or as helpless victims of some, usually dark-faced, evildoer, waiting to be rescued and swept away by some masculine Anglo superhero.

Does all of this mean our children are doomed? No. But it does mean they are under siege daily by a culture seeking to reproduce itself, replete with all of the biases and bigotry that has pervaded it for generations. Particularly, children of color must be given a deep sense of pride and an alternative set of images from which to formulate their view of themselves and the world. Carefully selected books, some videos, and stories, games and cultural traditions we invent within our own families and communities serve as a starting point. For all children, a new, self-consciously progressive culture is needed and it is the obligation, not only of people of color, and not only of parents, but of all of us who envision a more humane and egalitarian world to begin to rebuild a culture that will reinforce the kind of values we want our children to embrace. We cannot trust Walt Disney, especially given his overtly right-wing sympathies, with our children's hearts and minds.