Disney's Effect on Children- Are We Raising Racists?

I had heard speculation that there were hidden messages in Disney films, such as that the smoke in "Aladdin" spells out words such as "sex." But when discussing Hollywood's effect on how we view Arabs- it got me to thinking about other Disney films.

"Aladdin" portrays Arabs in any stereotype possible, as mentioned in the video “Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People” that we watched in class, many of those stereotypes being false. But then "Pocahontas" stereotypes Native Americans and makes it seem that she had to get rescued by the British guy in order to be happy in life. "The Lion King" brings to life African stereotypes too.

Though these films are supposed to educated the children and show them other cultures and good values, what are they really teaching them? The hidden messages in these films can be misleading and can possibly lead to racism later on in life, I believe. Children need to be exposed to the truth (though not at an extremely young age in which it could damage them), but they also need to learn values. So while Disney is a good alternative to most of the trash on TV, there is still more work to be done.