Lady and the Tramp

Episode SummaryJoin Erin and Rachel as they examine the surprising amount of ethnocentrism and classism imbued in the 1955 classic Lady and the Tramp. Walt Disney Studios did its part to promote the myth of the American melting pot while also cautioning audiences about the "yellow peril," memorably embodied by the infamous Siamese cats who disrupt Lady's idyllic Victorian home life. Episode BibliographyAkita, K., & Kenney, R. (2013). A “vexing implication”: Siamese cats and Orientalist mischief-making. In J. Cheu (Ed.), Diversity in Disney films: Critical essays on race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality and disability (pp. 38-49). McFarland & Company, Inc.  Axinn, J. & Levin, H. (1975). Social welfare: A history of American response to need. Harper & Row.Cavendish, R. (2014) Siam Becomes Thailand. History Today, 64 (2).https://www.historytoday.com/archive/siam-becomes-thailandChang and Eng Bunker. (2020, August 23). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chang_and_Eng_BunkerGeronimi, C., Jackson, W., & Luske, H. (Directors). (1955). Lady and the Tramp [Film]. Walt Disney Animation Studios.Goldmark, D., & McKnight, U. (2008) Locating America: Revisiting Disney's Lady and the Tramp. Social Identities, 14(1), 101-120, DOI: 10.1080/13504630701848705Greene, W. (1945). Happy Dan: The cynical dog. Cosmopolitan. 118(2): 19-21.Greene, W. (1953). Lady and the Tramp: The story of two dogs. Simon. Lady and the Tramp. (2020, August 23). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_and_the_TrampMa, S. (2003).  Rodgers and Hammerstein's “Chopsticks' musicals.” Literature/Film Quarterly, 31(1), 17–26.Ness, M. (2016, September 8). The First True Disney Romance: Lady and the Tramp. Tor.com.https://www.tor.com/2016/09/08/the-first-true-disney-romance-lady-and-the-tramp/Rabuy, B., & Kopf, D. (2015, July 9). Prisons of poverty: Uncovering the pre-incarceration incomes of the imprisoned. Prison Policy Initiative. https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/income.htmlSiede, C. (2015, August 3). Lady And The Tramp is Walt Disney’s most grown-up film. AV Club.https://film.avclub.com/lady-and-the-tramp-is-walt-disney-s-most-grown-up-film-1798282631Smith, D. M.  (2012) The American melting pot: A national myth in public and popular discourse. National Identities, 14(4), 387-402, DOI: 10.1080/14608944.2012.732054 Spector, A. J. (1998). Disney does diversity: The social context of racial-ethnic imagery. In  (Y. R. Kamalipour & T. Carilli, (Eds.), Cultural Diversity in the U.S. Media (pp. 39-50). SUNY Press.Waters, M. C., & Jiménez, T. R. (2005). Assessing immigrant assimilation: New empirical and theoretical challenges. Annual Review of Sociology, 31, 105-125.