Imperfect but Improving: Disney Channel and Representations of Race

           Upon examining the current lineup of Disney Channel shows, one would rightly conclude that there is more racial diversity than ever before, with many shows featuring biracial and/or non-white protagonists. However, one would also observe upon further examination, Disney falling back on certain racial stereotypes within those seemingly progressive, "post-racial" narratives, highlighting the true nature of Disney Channel's modern representations of race as improving but imperfect.
           Over recent years, the

Disney ABC Television Group (DATG), the sector of the Disney Company that directly governs Disney Channel, [has shown] its diversity interests through its implementation of the Creative Talent Development and Inclusion department.(1)

         It has continued to display its interest in diversity by implementing shows such as K.C. Undercover, Stuck in The Middle, Andi Mack and countless others. These shows feature female protagonists who are biracial, with Andi Mack being Asian and White, Zendaya who plays K.C. Cooper being African American and White (although K.C. Cooper herself is coded as solely African American) and Hispanic in Stuck in the Middle. This, of course, could lead to an entire tangent of discussion examining the intersectionality of Disney Channel's representations of race, gender, and class (especially with Stuck in The Middle). However, for the purposes of this post, I will attempt to focus solely on Disney Channel's representations of race.
       Disney Channel has in recent years expanded its lineup to include shows which star boys and girls of varying racial identities. Many see the current program lineup as progressive, due to the extent of its diversity.

[As of 2017] There are currently two shows with Asian American leads (Bizzardark and Andi Mack) and a second show centering around an African-American family (Raven’s Home). This making every current live action show on the channel center around people of color. (2)

While Disney Channel has indeed expanded the lineup to focus on people of color, the prevailing favorite racial identities for Disney seems to have become that of the (again, primarily female) biracial child, and often ones that can be portrayed with predominantly white features and/or mannerisms. This could in part be because, 

claiming a multiracial identity has become socially acceptable and even desirable. With the emergence of this trend the media, as a business, has turned the multiracial identity into a commodity. (3)

        Regardless of the reasoning, there is no doubt that it has become Disney Channel's favorite mode of projecting diversity, while also emphasizing the inherent superiority of 'whiteness', as well as playing off some racial stereotypes. For example, in Andi Mack, when the titular character discovers that her old 'sister' is, in fact, her mother and that she was raised by grandparents, the show greatly contrasts the behavior of her Asian grandmother and her White grandfather. with her grandfather being portrayed as understanding and agreeable, falling back on

a familiar strain of American history, where white men bring progressive, modern freedoms to backwards foreigners and especially to culturally oppressed non-white women. (4)

         In other shows and Disney Channel Original Movies, there is also an expression of biracial children feeling a sense of loneliness and otherness (e.g. The Descendants film in which a large array of biracial characters exist, but seem to be consistently trying to take from or become more like the white characters).
        This complicated and confusing myriad of portrayals of such characters serves to reinforce that yes, the world is diverse, but not diverse enough to acknowledge and validate the unique experiences and existence of racial identities -biracial or otherwise- outside of those that have already been typecast. In short, while Disney Channel is definitely attempting to and moderately succeeding in improving its representations of race, there is still a reliance upon old preconceptions of racial identities. Disney Channel is on the right path even if the delivery is occasionally flawed, and while its representations of race are currently imperfect, they are definitely improving.

Works Cited

1. Larson, Paloma Miya, "The Mixed Race Mouse: Discovering Mixed Race Identity in Disney Channel Programs from High School Musical to K.C. Undercover" (2016), https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0g83r10v, 2
2. http://culture.affinitymagazine.us/why-disney-channel-is-one-of-most-diverse-channels-right-now/
3. Larson, Paloma Miya, "The Mixed Race Mouse: Discovering Mixed Race Identity in Disney Channel Programs from High School Musical to K.C. Undercover" (2016), https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0g83r10v, 2
4. http://www.racismreview.com/blog/2017/04/18/andi-mack-asian-americans/