The Right Thing KAREN WENSLEY It’s a Biased World After All I
HATE AMUSEMENT PARKS — TOO MANY PEOPLE, long lines, horrible food and relentless merchandising. But my sister- in-law was visiting from the UK and she loves all things
Disney, so off we went to Orlando. Her favourite attraction at Walt Disney World is “It’s a Small
World.” On the boat tour you glide through the continents, each complete with mechanical singing and dancing animals and children. It’s intended for small kids and grandparents, and there were lots of them lining up for the chance to hear the classic “It’s a Small World (Aſter All)” over and over again (those are almost the only lyrics to the song). The clichés abound (dolls doing the cancan to represent France — really?). The goal, I assume, is for everyone to come out feeling warm and happy and that underneath we’re all the same. I emerged really angry. The problem is that almost all the little wooden boys and
girls have white skin. OK, there are children with dark skin rep- resenting Africa and a lone Australian Aboriginal boy. But the kids from the rest of the world are pale — the only distinction being that those from the Nordic countries have blond hair and the Asian ones have brown hair. The American kids are almost all white. With all of the unethical behaviour going on in the business
world these days (never mind the political realm) I can hear you thinking, “Karen, why on earth is this personal gripe of yours worth a whole column?” But I think there are larger implications. As a child going through this ride, you would undoubtedly be
convinced that both America and the world are made up of 95% white people. What message is this sending? If you are a small person with dark skin, and there were many of them in the lineup, it says you don’t fit in Disney’s picture of the world. And if you are a small person with pale skin, it tells you the world is just like you and people who look different are an anomaly. It’s a short step from those perceptions to feelings of inade-
quacy on one side and fear of people who are different on the other. For the grandparents, I suspect the primary emotion is nostalgia for the era more than 50 years ago when the ride was created. Once I cooled down, I acknowledged that maybe the lighting
in the dark ride made the dolls look paler than they really are. And of course, Disney did not invent racism and xenophobia and the ride, albeit misguided, is an attempt to bridge differ- ences. The ride is iconic — people love it because it’s old-fash- ioned and any attempt to change it would be met with horror.
24 | CPA MAGAZINE | MARCH 2017
Last time Disney changed it, to introduce Disney characters amongst the dolls, there was an uproar. On a larger scale, though, the Disney ride is emblematic of
the role that commercial messages aimed at kids can play in how they perceive the world around them. Do businesses have an ethical obligation to consider the impact and take steps to correct biases that have crept in? Surely a more inclusive message is good business — Disney,
to its credit, has changed the princess heroines in its movies from passive Cinderella types to active, courageous young women of various races. No doubt that has expanded its audi- ence. So please, Mr. Disney, send painters to Walt Disney World.
Do businesses have an ethical obligation to consider the impact and take steps to correct biases that have crept in? Marketers have always known that subliminal messages
matter. Ads with beautiful young women sidling up to guys in a bar sell beer. In the Trump era, calling out messaging that dehumanizes whole groups of people is disparaged as political correctness. But in my view, selling things (whether products or politicians) in a way that makes people feel excluded is as unethical as stealing from customers or shareholders. It’s also bad for business, although it seems to be good politics. So if you’re heading for Disney over spring break, please look
for messages your kids might be getting and have a conversa- tion (aſter the sugar and adrenalin high has worn off) about what it all means.
KAREN WENSLEY, MBA, is a lecturer in professional ethics at the University of Waterloo and a retired partner of EY. She can be reached at
karen@wensley.ca
Photo: Jaime Hogge
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