Disney’s Trademark Of ‘Hakuna Matata’ Is Rightfully Pissing Off Swahili Speakers
A petition to release the trademark due to cultural appropriation is growing in numbers.
A Change.org petition nearing 50,000 signatures is demanding Disney release the trademark for the phrase “Hakuna Matata” made famous by iconic animated film The Lion King, stating the corporation’s ownership of the African saying is tantamount to “colonialism and robbery”.
The petition is picking up speed due in part to the building excitement over the upcoming reboot of the 1994 classic with Donald Glover and Beyonce in starring voice roles.
What you can and can’t trademark or claim as intellectual property in an increasingly diverse digital media landscape continues to be a heated debate in 2018.
Just this week we’ve seen several celebs claiming trademark status over literal dance moves, and an attempt to sue the creators of hit video game Fortnite,for unauthorised use of them.
Taylor Swift is another noted trademark stan, known for claiming ownership of as many of her song lyrics that she can whack on a tote bag and charge $60 for as possible. Did you know if you print the phrase “This Sick Beat” on an Etsy coffee mug you’re technically breaching Tay’s trademark? Yep.
In this particular point of late-stage capitalism, it’s a given that almost anything can be sliced up and selfishly claimed as someone’s property for monetary gain.
While some might say the whole process is totally legal and essential for retaining future profits for bla bla bla business synergy bla bla, when the discussion over trademark rights intersects with the broadening understanding of cultural theft, it all becomes very murky very quickly.
A screenshot of the petition.
As the petition’s writer Shelton Mpala points out, “Hakuna Matata is a Swahili language phrase from East Africa; translated, it means ‘no trouble’… Hakuna Matata has been used by most Kiswahili-speaking countries such as Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Mozambique, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I liken this to colonialism and robbery, the appropriation of something you have no right over”.
The petition rightfully brings up the question of can you trademark something from an entirely different culture that you technically didn’t make up? I mean, legally yes, but that doesn’t make it right or ethical.
Disney’s trademark for Hakuna Matata was actually filed in 1994 when it released The Lion King. It was registered in 2003 and blocks anyone else from printing the Swahili phrase on T-shirts. A thread… pic.twitter.com/1xSVQrrtVu
— Larry Madowo (@LarryMadowo) December 17, 2018
Speaking to the BBC, Mpala elaborates on the importance of a language being at the core of what is considered a group of people’s culture. “A lot of Swahili speakers have been utterly shocked, they had no idea this was happening. Growing up in Zimbabwe, I always had an understanding that a culture’s language was its richness.”
Disney is yet to respond to the petition, and it’s unfortunately hard to see them relinquishing such a vital element of The Lion King franchise, which has been slapped across the likes of Timon and Pumba plush toys and Simba t-shirts for two money-making decades.