Disney's Black Princess

So Disney is coming out with a new film starring a Black princess. My first thought is how great this is, and how long overdue! However, I quickly discovered that there is already controversy stirring among the Black community as to whether or not Disney is “about to vaporize stereotypes or promote them” with the movie’s characters. The movie is set in 1920’s New Orleans and the star of the show is the Black Princess Tiana. After reading this article, which discussed at length the various racial issues people are having with this movie, I definitely felt the urge to put in my two sense.
Here are some excerpts from the article that was published in the New York Times on May 31st. My comments are the words not italicized.

“The film, directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, two of the men behind “The Little Mermaid,” unfolds against a raucous backdrop of voodoo and jazz. Tiana, a waitress and budding chef who dreams of owning a restaurant, is persuaded to kiss a frog who is really a prince. The spell backfires and — poof! — she is also an amphibian. Accompanied by a Cajun firefly and a folksy alligator, the couple search for a cure.”
Pre screeners have found fault with “the prince’s relatively light skin color”. “Disney obviously doesn’t think a black man is worthy of the title of prince,” Angela Bronner Helm wrote March 19 on the site. “His hair and features are decidedly non-black. This has left many in the community shaking their head in befuddlement and even rage.” While I’m not exactly sure why a couple of mixed ethnicities in the year 2009 would bring out “rage” in anyone, I will say that because they’ve always given the White princesses a White male partner, it does come across as questionable as to why they would choose to give the Black princess a male partner of a different ethnicity……especially in the 1920’s. But, I do however applaud Disney for writing an interracial couple into one of their stories!

“Disney should be ashamed,” William Blackburn, a former columnist at The Charlotte Observer, told London’s Daily Telegraph. “This princess story is set in New Orleans, the setting of one of the most devastating tragedies to beset a black community.” Okay, I’m pretty sure Disney was just thinking of the cultural aspects of New Orleans, the jazz, the food, the strong Black communities, and how well they fit with their idea for the storyline.

Disney originally called her Maddy (short for Madeleine). Too much like Mammy and thus racist. A rumor surfaced on the Internet that an early script called for her to be a chambermaid to a white woman, a historically correct profession. Too much like slavery. I’m not so sure I understand this, because in the movie Aladdin, the character Ali lived on the streets and was looked down upon by royalty and considered to be not worthy of marrying a princess---which I’m guessing fits with the Arabian culture? Sooooo to have a Black woman living in the 1920’s South working as a chambermaid to a White woman…….I’m sorry, but I think that would be culturally appropriate for that time period. History is history, it can’t be re-written just because some of it isn’t pretty.

“people are really excited to see how Disney will handle her language, her culture, her physical attributes.” And, here’s where I have the biggest problem of all. Raise your hand if you think Snow White, Belle, or Ariel accurately portrayed the average White woman in regards to physical attributes, language, and culture. Anyone? I see no hands….. That’s because they didn’t. The average White woman is not 5’9 with 36-24-36 measurements, she does not speak grammatically correct at all times, and her culture is not that of Royalty. So why it is that people are getting their panties in a wad over whether or not Princess Tiana will accurately portray Black women? She’s not a real woman! She’s a Disney Princess, people! Big difference. The Disney princesses float around in monochromatic ballgowns, gloves, and heels; they wait for their Prince to save them from some treacherous fate. They say things like “oh my!”, and go on adventures while giggling carelessly with birds, dwarfs, and underwater sea creatures. So while I’m the first person to say that we are all one blood, and the color of our skin does not matter in terms of equality, I do agree that our unique heritages and cultures should remain significant to us. However, I definitely don’t think we need to rely on the characters of a Disney movie to help our children identify with their own heritage or culture. So to all of you who are putting all your hopes and dreams of breaking down racial stereotypes on this one little movie……don’t hold your breath. Princess Tiana can graciously take her place next to Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, Ariel, Jasmine, and Snow White in Disney’s world of “these women don’t actually exist on planet earth”.

Some People.....

Originally written July 17th

I had a classmate the other night who voiced a concern during her presentation. She mentioned that she was reading her niece’s Texas history book and was concerned by the lack of black people in the book. She then stated that she was from Mississippi and there were lots of black people in their state history books. Now remember this is a graduate level class. But I wanted so badly to say “Helloooo! Texas belonged to Mexico and I’m pretty sure (now this is just a guess), but I’m pretty sure that there weren’t many black people in 1800’s Mexico”. I could be wrong. But, that might be why there aren’t a lot of black people in our history. Furthermore, there are generations of black families who have lived in Mississippi for years. This could be why there was great mention of them in the history of that state. She was also implying that Texas purposely left out the black people in their history books. As if that is really something the textbook writers and publishers would allow to happen in 2008. History is history. We cannot change it. And if you’re getting an advanced degree at a University you might want to study up on it before you make ignorant comments in front of your classmates.

Ethnicity

Originally written July 17th

I have a bone to pick with the way this country classifies ethnicity. Let’s start with the term African American used for all people with black skin. What if they are from Jamaica? Or the Dominican Republic? Do we still refer to them as African American? Or what about the white skinned people who live in South Africa? If they move here, do we still refer to them as African American, because that would probably be confusing. Here’s my suggestion for classifications. Black (non Hispanic), Black/Hispanic, White (non Hispanic), White/Hispanic, Asian, Native American. With a higher rate of interracial relationships and bi-racial children, I also believe we should be able to check more then one box on these things. Things just aren’t that black and white anymore (hahaha). Furthermore, I have a huge problem with people who assume all white people come from the same culture. Yes, we may all be white skinned, but we come from oh so many different cultures because we have so many different heritages. I don’t mind being referred to as white because as I mentioned before, you cannot always tell someone’s heritage just by looking at them. Which brings me to the term Hispanic. Some “Hispanics” are up in arms about this terminology (my father in law particularly), there have even been t-shirts made condemning the term. But wouldn’t someone be angrier if they were referred to as Cuban when they are really Mexican? Or Puerto Rican when they are Cuban? Or vice versa? Just a thought.