Level of support for access to controversial movies U.S. 2020

A survey held in June 2020 found that the majority of Americans feel that historical films should be made available to rent or stream, regardless of possible racist themes. The conversation around historical films portraying stereotypes that are considered racist in modern times led to streaming services reconsidering what to show. This survey compared consumer attitudes to 16 movies, and the most controversial was found to be 'Song of the South' with nine percent of respondents stating the film should not be made available, whilst family favorite 'Peter Pan' was considered to be an historical movie by 69 percent of respondents.

Attitudes to availability of controversial content on streaming services in the United States as of June 2020

Characteristic	Controversial and should not be made available	Historical and should be available	Heard of, no opinion	Never heard of
Song of the South	9%	41%	20%	31%
Gone With the Wind (1939)	7%	67%	19%	7%
The Love Guru (2008)	6%	25%	25%	44%
Tropic Thunder (2008)	6%	30%	27%	37%
Pocahontas (1995)	6%	65%	24%	5%
Fantasia (1940)	4%	57%	27%	13%
Dumbo (1941)	4%	68%	23%	5%
Jungle Book (1967)	4%	67%	23%	5%
Lady and the Tramp (1955)	4%	68%	23%	5%
Sixteen Candles (1984)	4%	52%	31%	13%
Peter Pan (1953)	4%	69%	23%	4%
Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)	4%	56%	29%	12%
White Christmas (1942)	3%	60%	24%	13%
The Aristocats (1970)	3%	55%	28%	13%
Mulan (1998)	3%	57%	30%	9%
Swiss Family Robinson (1940, 1960)	3%	56%	25%	16%

Loading statistic...

Download

Source

Show detailed source information?

Already a member?

Sources

Use Ask Statista Research Service

Release date

June 2020

More information

Region

United States

Survey time period

June 11 to 13, 2020

Number of respondents

2,200 respondents

Age group

18 years and older

Method of interview

Online survey

Supplementary notes

Question: The following is a list of movies and TV shows. Some believe their depiction of black Americans, people of color and indigenous people is controversial and racist and they should not be available to rent or stream. Others believe they accurately depict the historical time and context and should be available to stream or rent. Based on what you know about each, which is closest to your opinion, even if neither is exactly right?

Citation formats