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If you haven’t figured it out by now, the picture above was released by Disney to promote its latest pride and joy, The Princess and the Frog. Well, what’s wrong with this picture? At first glance, nothing. It’s about damn time that an African-American princess graces the silver screen. If this is a symbol of progress, then why are critics threatening to destroy the fairytale? Not only do they want the fairest of them all to not be fair at all; they want her prince to look like her, too. But is America truly ready for a black Prince Charming? Is it easier to pass Halle Berry as Catwoman than Denzel Washington as Bruce Wayne?
One outraged female blogger writes,
“Even though there is a real-life black man in the highest office in the land with a black wife, Disney obviously doesn’t think a black man is worthy of the title of prince. I guess Sasha and Malia and all the other little black girls out there should just shut up and be thankful to have something! Little black boys will have to wait another 20 years.”
Was the heroine’s race chosen because the creators truly wanted to represent multicultural characters? Or did they subconsciously want to tame the elusive black panther by pairing her up with a white lead? After all, Hollywood often pairs white actors with black actresses (Has Halle Berry even been in a movie with a leading black actor?) but rarely pairs black actors with white actresses (I’m telling you, Julia Stiles is the EXCEPTION not the rule).
Nevertheless, Disney’s first African-American princess will be monumental for no one more than African-American females; they no longer have to superimpose themselves onto the likes of Cinderella, Belle, and Ariel. Instead, there’s Tiana – a strong-willed heroine who can be embraced by females of all races. That fact alone makes me reserve my judgment for the movie until I actually see it. Face it – there’s going to be racial overtones in the movie regardless of how cautious Disney tries to be; someone is going to be offended. Let’s not view the absence of an African-American prince as an impediment for equality. Instead, we need to view this as an advancement for the African-American community, for our community, for females of all races, and for interracial dating.
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“Or did they subconsciously want to tame the elusive black panther by pairing her up with a white lead?”
For crap’s sake it’s a Disney movie
Seriously? I think that showing an interracial relationship is absolutely awesome. I think maybe the people who are so against this white prince have a problem with interracial relationships… it goes both ways. Why should he have to be black? This is such a rock and a hard place argument, either way it goes people would be unhappy. Little girls don’t really give a fuck about the prince’s in Disney movies anyways. The money is in the princesses. The dolls, the bedding, the lunchboxes, that’s where it matters. Most people couldn’t tell you the names of most of the princes (like how many know that “Beast” is really named Adam?). I’m excited for this movie I love disney 2-d it’s what is inclining me towards 2-d animation in school.
Took the words right out of my mouth, verbatim. I completely agree!
You’ve said exactly what I was going to say. I think it’s better and more positive to have an interracial couple in the movie. It’s going to teach the kids that colour doesn’t matter. If the Prince was black too what message would that send? Black goes with black and white goes with white? Ridiculous.
No matter what they did someone would complain. You can’t please everyone.
I think they’ve done a good job
I totally agree. I think having an African couple would say “look, Africans can have their fairytales too!”. An interracial couple says “look, race has no importance, people can fall in love and couple with whoever they want”.
The real fight, IMO, should be instead of trying to make people accept other races, eliminate the old notion of race. Otherwise we’ll just keep analyzing every single commercial, movie, cartoon and article trying to decide whether it’s acceptable to every single racial group they define. To kill racism we must understand that the only race is the human race, even though some of us have blue eyes, brown eyes, light hair or dark skin.
She looks Indian to me…
Why does the black princess need to have a stereotypically black name? That’s what bothers me!
Since when is “Tiana” a stereotypical “black” name?
I would say “Monique”, “Shoniqua”, or oh I don’t know…”Chiffon” would be more stereotypical- not Tiana.
Nice try though.
Tiana is the second name. It was originally Maddy (short for Madeline) and it pissed off black people because it sounded too “slaveish”. People are also angry because she has a Louisiana accent (she sounds “Ghetto”) and are angry that in a teaser there is a firefly with a Cajun accent (portrays southerners as hicks). It’s ridiculous that people need to find something to be offended or bothered by.
But the South is the cradle of black culture and of the Afro-American Renaissance and the site of most it not all the cultural, artistic, and scientific contributions by notable African-Americans! It should be an honor. I’m not being sarcastic, either.
Um… Tiana sounds Russian to me. Or at least Slavic. Maybe because I grew up with a white girl named Tiana? That might be it, though. But really, since when do names have to be identified with a race? Ethnic names are beautiful and popular across the board and often across racial borders.
i know 5 black girls named tiana….
Uh. Everyone who is saying it’s racist that Disney isn’t having a black prince is being pretty racist themselves. Why are black women only allowed to date black men? I think that by making the couple interracial, Disney is actually doing right by themselves.
And maybe Halle Berry has never been in a movie with a black male lead because she’s never chosen to take on any of those projects? That’s not Hollywood being racist, that’s her being picky … which there is nothing wrong with.
It just seems to me like everyone is trying to make such a huge deal about this. It’s just a movie, guys. It’s not a social commentary.
Exactly!
This is much ado about nothing. Some people just look for an excuse to bitch and whine about “racism” and I agree that people offended that the prince is White are just being racist themselves. Is black hatred of white people so deep that they cannot even tolerate a white cartoon dating a black one? OMG.
You know that if it had been a black prince, people would have been offended that Disney was too racist to portray an interracial relationship, that a black princess had to have a black prince. Yep, people will find anything to complain about…
Umm.. Halle Berry has been in a movie with a black male lead. “Boomerang” with Eddie Murphy – Halle’s character hooked up with him in the end, remember? After he determines that Robin Givens is a bitch. She was also in “Their Eyes Were Watching God” and “The Last Boy Scout” – both with Black male leads. Anyhoo…
And as a black mother with a black 5-year old daughter, it isn’t just a movie. Especially when your little girl wants to have ‘princess hair’ that ‘lays down’, who has school friends who play the ‘let’s run away from you because you have dark skin’ game. If grown women can complain that Vogue and Elle hold women to different standards, that we grown women feel less than beautiful sometimes because we cannot emulate all that we see in glossy magazines, the same would hold for little black girls who watch Ariel and Cinderella and Belle ad-freakin’ nauseum.
Nothing’s ever just anything. Especially when Disney will be raking in lots of dough. On a good note: thank Cheesus we’ll have a black princess (other than my daughter) in the house.
Also Afro-Caribbean Voodoun & Louisiana voodoo are very, very different.
It sounds like in this article you’re trying REALLY HARD to be offended.
And oh lordy do not bring up Catwoman
That movie had about as much to do with actual Catwoman as Spider-Man has to do with actual genetics.
I saw Halle Berry’s boobs once. True story. She was also Storm and that one Bond chick… in the orange bikini.
Disney deserves some credit for doing interracial relationships!!
I thought he looked mexican personally, oh well doesn’t bother me one way or another.
I though that I had read somewhere that he was supposed to be Latino
I’m not convinced the prince is meant to be White.
The prince is named “Naveen” and hails from the fictional country of “Maldonia.” He’s voiced by Bruno Campos, a Brazilian actor with a strong (and sexy!) Brazilian accent. Make of this info what you will. Given that Maldonia could be anywhere, it’s hard to say WHAT race “Naveen” is supposed to be.
At least they didn’t go w/an American or European prince, as pretty much all of the rest of them were (not counting Aladdin, who technically wasn’t a prince but played the hero/love interest role) .
And I agree with the poster who said that if Naveen had been drawn as clearly having African ancestry (how’s THAT for PC??), people would be upset that Disney felt the need to “make them match.” I think they came up with a pretty good compromise, actually.
Why can’t the Prince be White? Is there something wrong with being white or being attracted to a white man? Wow, that just screams racism if that’s the case. I would like to remind everyone that royalty is pretty much a european thing.
There’s nothing wrong with being white or being attracted to a white man. I happen to be both. :)
In my understanding, the issue that people have with Disney’s lack of non-white princesses (1 out of 6 – Jasmine. Disney has made some efforts to include Pocahontas and Mulan in Princess marketing sometimes, but usually it’s the core 6: Cinderella, Belle, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel and Jasmine.) So my point was that European-ancestry princes are already well-represented.
Also royalty is most certainly not a European thing. African countries have royalty, Japan has royalty. Probably others that I’m not remembering…
Whoops! Side-tracked myself. Meant to say:
The issue that most people have is a lack of representation of anything *other* than white princes.
African royalty? I bet if you asked anyone on the street to name ONE african or japanese Prince they couldn’t but they could most certainly name Prince Harry or Prince William. When people think of royals they think of Europeans so that is what cartoons and barbie dolls are based on. I fail to see the problem. Maybe Disney can have their next Prince be a multi-racial, Islamic, Obese, cross dressing sexually ambiguous communist so that all minority groups are adequately represented. *eyeroll*
So, let me get this straight:
I say:
Prince Naveen isn’t European, based on the fact that he has a S. American accent and his name is of Indian origin. And that this is probably a shrewd marketing move, since to make him clearly African or African-American would cause some people to be up in arms because having them “match” would probably upset people, too.
You say: What’s wrong with being white/being attracted to white people? And that royalty is pretty much all European anyways.
I respond: There’s nothing wrong w/being white or being attracted to white men, I am both. And that the white, European male is pretty well represented by Disney’s princess movie franchise and that it’s nice that they shook it up a bit. And that, BTW, royalty is most certainly NOT restricted to Europe.
You say: Hey, nobody can name African or Japanese royals, so it doesn’t matter. (What is this, the Jay Leno “Man on the Street” school of debate?? Did I miss this in Robert’s Rules of Order?) Oh, and why not just cater to the most limited possible subset. And then you virtually rolled your eyes at me.
::Sigh::
There’s no point in engaging in a battle of wits with a competitor who shows up unarmed.
The movie isnt going to do them any good if peole dont go see it. If they were both black, Most white people are not going to see it or buy the DVD for thier kids.
If It is an interacial couple, black and white people are not going to buy it.
Black people don’t go for interacial relationships any more than white people. Just as a black woman.
Now is they would have named him Cooter and her Wander… Now that would be a movie i would want to see! LOL Cooter and Wander together at last!
He’d say ” I sure do love you baby cakes “. shed say,” sho nuff my litt chittlin! ” Oh how funny!!!!
Disney is beyond redemption when it comes to racism, sexism, and plenty of other issues. Having one or two black lead characters won’t make up for all the other problems, especially the ridiculously skinny body types the women have. I’ve pretty much given up on Disney completely and it would take a lot more than this movie to make me give them another chance. Complain about a white(?) prince is sexist, because it’s basically saying that black boys just can’t have black women as role models. As others have mentioned, I think it’s great to see an inter-racial couple.
You people are NUTS. It’s a friggin cartoon! There are plenty of non-white cartoons on tv and in movies so what is the big deal? It just seems like more whining about nothing. I hate to remind everyone that white people are still the majority so of course there will be more white representation because that’s who the majority of consumers are. DUH.
From a 2004 U.S. Census Bureau report:
There are more than 6.5 billion people in the world today. Nearly 2/3 of them are Asians living on less than 1/3 of the land. Only about 5% of the world’s people live in North America.
And if you’re JUST being US-centric (which would be silly, because Disney movies are created for a global audience), the US white majority is shrinking rapidly. Currently, according the Kaiser Family Foundation, the breakdown in 2007 was 66% white, for a total of 199.1 million white people. Out of a population of 301.6 million. That leaves quite a sizable audience for a non-white princess movie, don’t you think? Even if you (wrongly) assume that white parents won’t bring their kiddies to a movie featuring a non-white princess? (And I think the success of Aladdin pretty much blows that theory out of the water.)
I didn’t “assume” anything. You crazy libs are the ones assuming disney is racist because they have white cartoon characters. Don’t you have anything better to do then sit around looking for something to bitch about? Who cares wtf color a cartoon is? Does everything have to be “equal” without being labeled as some evil plot against the minorities? My neice is white and her favorite cartoon is Dora the Explorer and my nephew watches that “proud family” cartoon. Kids don’t even notice the race of the character. It sounds like you have entirely too much free time on your hands.
A mom at my kid’s daycare told me that her half-black daughter (4 years old) cries almost every day because her beautiful curly hair doesn’t “go down like princess hair” does.
So I don’t think it makes someone a “crazy lib” to say that it’s good to have some diversity in the characters that are massively marketed towards kids. I think that little girl will be very happy to see that her hair is princess hair, too.
I never said that they should ban the existing white, European-centric princesses. Simply that it’s nice that they’ve mixed it up a bit.
And for you to say kids don’t even notice the race of the character? You’re either spending time with very young kids or you’re not paying attention. They notice. They just don’t judge or apply the filters that many adults do.
I so agree. It is a cartoon! Disney is not responsible for teaching society what is right & what is wrong. Disney’s job is to make cartoons & money.
Right. That’s why corporate social responsibility is not at all popular right now…
Disney has had several overweight charactes to counter act the thin ones. For goodness sake, look at the Aladdins Jeanie? He was fat. Jasmins’s father was fat. It is supposed to be about fantasy. I don’t think anyone fatasizes about being overwieght or being dominated by a black woman as a role model. In reality, how often do you see a white man with a black woman? Think about it! Hell, even black men dont want to be with them, thats why they are all trying to get their own white woman…
Tthat makes me laugh because i have had so many black guys (i’m white) ask for my number at work. i work at a grocery store btw. And Its not a bad thing becuase I’m mostly attracted to black guys. But I just thought that was funny.
In my area there aren’t alot of black people, but I see interracial couples all the time with white/mexican.
I think the prince looks more Latino than anything, and an interracial marriage in a Disney movie should be applauded, not criticized. Expecting the heroine to be with a black man simply because she is black is ridiculous. I saw the trailer, and the prince is a francophone… Obviously they’re just trying to represent another facet of Louisiana culture. I usually enjoy this blog but this post is just silly.
I think that this is difficult to process if you are not African-American. I think people just assumed black princess —> black prince. I assumed so, too, but I’m not upset that my assumption was wrong. I’m a black woman and my “prince” is a blond-haired, blue-eyed Scandinavian. I believe that the fuss is because people think Disney is missing out on an opportunity to positively portray a black man, animated or not.
I remember reading about a number of white people who might be considered racists and their fascination with Barack Obama. They hadn’t been exposed to representations of black men as anything other than criminals on the news, showboating athletes, or materialistic rappers. Then here comes this man that doesn’t fit their stereotypical mold of what a black man is. It was pretty powerful, IMO.
Here was an opportunity to continue combating that stereotype about what a black man is, and Disney passed on it. Some people are upset. Some are not. It’s not as cut and dry as a black woman can only be matched with a black man.
ill79, I agre with you. Its common knowledge that blacks as a race have been challenged. Rather it is thier own fault or someone elses, along comes Obama who is a shinning example that the black community is trying change for the better and a lot of people put him down for it. He’s no Jesse Jackson, Thank God! But he is an example and I think a good roll model who may inspire more people to do as he has.
Every white person I know voted for Obama. The only people I know that didn’t like him were black because they felt he was “too white” because his mother was white. Some nutty black guy on CNN was saying that too. The racial nonsense works both ways and it’s just a shame to drag children into it. Kids don’t notice racial stuff unless adults send out negative signals.
ps: scandanavian men are HOT. :)
Carrie, I hear you. Most white people I know also voted for Obama, even the ones with very racist views about black people in general. I think for them, it had a lot to do with him not being a “thug” or a rapper or athlete, which unfortunately is the picture of most black men on TV (though not the reality of most black men in real life). That’s why I think this was a cool opportunity for Disney to show a black prince, a gentleman, if you will.
We all need to be a lot more discerning about throwing the word “racist” around. Do I think this is racist? Nah. Doesn’t bother me one bit. But I understand why some people are upset.
I’m white and didn’t vote for Obama.
I’m white and I didn’t vote for McCain.
And it had nothing to do with race. It has to do with the fact that they both had policy’s I was completely against and could not support.
I am all for there being an African American Disney princess. But to say that they are being racist now because the male counterpart is white is absolutely ridiculous. If you are trying to teach young women, of ANY race, that race does not matter than why throw a fit about this. One day there will be a black “prince”. Till then, give it a rest…
I love SeaKat! YOU ROCK! …and, I quoteth:
There’s no point in engaging in a battle of wits with a competitor who shows up unarmed.
**BRAVO** Very educated and neutral comments, that seem unbiased. It’s unfortunate many do not understand or choose to remain ignorant on issues of relevance such as the global race–not white vs. black; because really…aren’t we (the human race) so much more than that?. It is refreshing to see someone who chooses to expose themselves to items of interest outside of what is perpetuated in mass media, namely TV or what is taught in most public schools here in the U.S.
And, Big Daddy, speaking as a woman of a multiracial background, with brown skin, I can tell you that many “black” woman would not consider themselves domineering. And, I know way too many men of all skin tones and backgrounds trying to “get with” women who are considered “black”. Please, please, please move around, travel, read and EXPLORE! The world is so much more than our neighborhood, or the street we live on.
This debate could rage on for all eternity, and some of us will choose to remain ignorant. *sigh*
Thanks, Shelli. I felt a little bad after posting that particular comment because I felt like I got unnecessarily nasty. Sometimes I let my sarcasm overtake my manners. So for that, I apologize to Carrie.
I just get frustrated with the “it’s just a cartoon” stuff because, as the mom of a 5 year old who goes to daycare p/t, I can tell you that those girls really, really pay attention to these movies. The Disney princesses were very real to my daughter and her friends (at 5, she’s starting to grow out of that phase…but for about a year, this house was princess central.)
As I mentioned, the girl who doesn’t see herself represented in the princess line-up thinks she’s ugly (her mom’s words) because she doesn’t “look like a princess.” That makes me terribly sad.
Finally, I think I was pretty clear that I DIDN’T think that Disney having Prince Naveen be a black man was racist. So I wasn’t sure where the argument was coming from.
To be fair, a lot of a girl’s self-esteem has to do with the way her parents teach her to respond to the world around her. If it’s not Disney that’s impressing what a “princess” should look like, it’s every other movie, TV show, and magazine that shows what an ideal woman looks like, an ideal which most of us fall short of. So should all companies stop portraying what they want to portray because some little kids are getting upset? No. But children should be taught to deal with their own imperfections – I certainly was, and I’m the stronger for it.
Absolutely true, re: parent’s responsibilities. I’m sure that girls’ mother reassures her every day that she’s beautiful. I know the school worked very hard to get books from the library about royalty in various countries (all different races and traditions). But you can’t blame me for being happy that a marketing giant like Disney is expanding the parameters of the “ideal”, as judged by pre-K set, can you? It adds an evidence point that very young kids understand that all kinds of skin colors and hair textures are beautiful.
I don’t think Disney has any obligation to make any particular “kind” of princess — their obligation (to their shareholders) is to make money. I’m not under the impression that they’re releasing this movie out of the good of their hearts. It’s a shrewd marketing choice. The princess licensing has been a HUGE shot-in-the-arm for Disney. The grocery store, Target, clothes the other kids wear to school — the princesses are inescapable w/in a certain age group.
Disney wants parents to vote with their wallets FOR their product. So they’re pretty incented to please the greatest number of people while offending the fewest. And that is why I think they made Prince Naveen as racially indeterminate as possible — please the most while offending the fewest. But it looks like that kind of backfired, huh?
Wait wait, hold the phone. Are we even sure he’s white? I heard that he was intended to be more Latino?
And people are pissed at this? But no outrage for the fact that the only Asian female lead was a KUNG FU MASTER?! Wtf?
I bet she was a pro at the abacus too….
Hahahaha! And no one’s pissed that the Disney tale set in Africa, and based on the legends of actual human beings, was portrayed by jungle animals! (The Lion King, if you didn’t know)
I did NOT know that. Bummer. I wonder if they made that choice because of the violence — I could see parents of young kids steering away from a movie that shows the prince’s dad being killed by his uncle.
Or, MAYBE
::scary organ music::
it’s because Disney is a money-laundering front for the KKK!!! (I keeed, I keeed)
I didn’t know that, did the prince really run away and all that?
Copa, the prince did not run away, but was forced into exile. He grew up and came back to battle his corrupt brother for the throne.
It’s based on the Epic of Sundiata, who was called the Lion King of Mali. As far as I know, the stories are part history, part fantasy/legend.
hahahahhaaaa!!
Annie- hilarious. (Although Mulan is my favorite of the Disney female leads – she kicks ass and Shang (sp?) is hot, for a 2-d cartoon guy, that is.)
What about Mulan?
Does no one realize he’s supposed to be Creole? Duh.
people are being WAY too sensitive about this
I can’t wait for this movie to come out, it’s going to be amazing.
People just need to get over their misconceptions about the movie, and just realize that the story is about love, as it is with all Disney Princess movies.
I think this movie will be epic, as all 2-D Disney movies are… well most of them at least.
Hello girls!
I agree that most of the time disney is racist and sexist
BUT
I think this time they’ve done it quite well!
I mean, to date, we are used to seeing white-white couples, black-black, asian-asian, etc
but we rarely get to see black-white, asian-white, etc
hale berry and her gourgeos husband are the exception!
there is MULTICULTURALITY but NO INTERCULTURALITY
so it is a bold choice to hava a white price choose a black pricess, my props to disney!!
america IS prepared for a black prince!
America already has a black prince and princess and they are much better than anything disney will ever do :D
Keep up the nice work! Look forward to reading more from you in the future. I think it will be also nice if you add “send to email” tool so people can forward the articles to their friends easily.
As someone who has actually seen this movie, here are some facts-
The prince is not white. He loves jazz music and is easy going and fun-loving. He’s soo laid back in life his parents cut him out of the family fortune until he learned some responsibility. He took this to mean he should find himself a sugar-momma. Hence his visit to NO (for the jazz history) to court the daughter of a wealthy white man who owned most of the city.
Tianna is a hardworking (2 jobs and no social life) determined woman. It’s her life goal to save up enough money to open a resteraunt, which was her father’s dream before he died. She is freinds with the daughter of the rich man as her mother was the girl’s seamstress and they grew up together.
Tianna teaches the prince the value of hardwork and determination and he teaches her to have a little fun. This is why they fall in love, not because of skin color or social standing or wealth.
All in all, it was a beautiful story, animated in the old disney style. There are prettier scenes in that movie than almost any other before it. My 2 year old loved it and pretended she had a frog in her hand that she was kissing. She would tell eveyone only she could kiss the frog.
There were black, white, hispanic, a good even mix of many backgrounds in the theatre with us. The common denominator was the children. And it’s a great movie for boys as well.
The only racial undertones I saw was the portrayal of some back-woods swamp dwellers. They were basically the southern version of the 3 stoodges but 10 times dumber. So your over-all idea of of white southerners based on the movie is that they are A) Materialistic and spoiled (The wealthy man and his daughter) or B) cruel and dumber than a box of rocks
I’m married to a latino man and so I’m partial to showing mixed couples. But I’m the white side of that equasion so you can take my perspective or leave it.