techboy Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 It's my opinion that racism is a learned trait. I doubt anyone it born racist. It is something that is learned.Put a black, asian, and white kid in a sandbox and I bet they will all play and laugh together and not think anything about the color of their skin. I actually asked my mother about this, because she grew up in very rural Tennessee in the 1950's, and yet when I was growing up, the black kid across the street spent more time in our house eating dinner with us and hanging out with me than he did in his own (literally). My friend was three years older than me, so this ended when he got a bit into high school, as the age difference started to really play out, but around 7 or 8 years there he probably ate dinner at our house at least 5 times a week. I also know that her mother is still subtly racist in the way that older people can be (outwardly polite, inwardly unable to quite accept the changes in the world). It turns out that my mother was raised by her grandparents, and her grandfather was the town taxi driver, and he used to drive all the town around, including the pastor of the black church in the area. She said he was a very unusual man for his time and place. There was a black man that did odd jobs around town, and all the other kids called him "Old Man Whatever", but her grandfather insisted that she call him "Mr. Whatever" or "Sir". She wasn't raised to be racist, so she isn't. I never wondered about my father because he was a Jew from Yonkers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corcaigh Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 But I'm looking forward to seeing gay couples on TV commercials. Some companies want to be progressive, and some want to target a broader market. For either reason a gay commercial might signify some kind of shift. Someone should do an essay on commercials as cultural bellweathers. Yes, the first erectile dysfunction ad featuring an elderly gay couple is something I think would be awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midnight Judges Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 I care even less....didn't even bother reading the OP or the article. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polywog999 Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 Well, Disney has touted this thing for years, mostly as a "black princess" movie. And the stupidiots in the media, suffering from acute white guilt, have just gone nuts. You know, it's sad to say that a truely great day in America will be when we could have talked about the return of the 2-D musical Disney film, and if it would measure up. Maybe a sidenote would mention that this film will be one of only a handfull of times Disney princesses have been other than white. This is so freaking backward from "I have a dream." So...we should just keep everyone white? We've come a long way, even if it has just been in baby steps. TJ, write about something you do like! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsTerps26 Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 um, lion king already came out. all the characters were african. mufasa was voiced by James Earl Jones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 Has anyone actually SEEN the movie? I did yesterday. It was actually pretty good. It doesn't pretend to be color blind, but it doesn't bash you over the head with it either. Suprisingly, I thought Disney found a good balance and made a nice little movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnyderShrugged Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 um, lion king already came out. all the characters were african.mufasa was voiced by James Earl Jones yeah, but his fur wasnt Black:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevenaa Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 Fair enough, and I won't bash your point.But I just fail to see how having a black Disney princess is a real step towards equality. Shouldn't we measure race equality by other things? It isn't really a step towards equality, rather an indication of the steps that have been made. Yes we have a long way to go, but strides have been made. This is merely a reflection of that. And until racism is a non-issue, reflections of the strides made will continue to be of note. Particularly when influential black pundits ( Jackson and his ilk) make such media noise when a non systemic racial issue occurs. The noise from both sides is louder than it should be, IMO, making forward progres slower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevenaa Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 Has anyone actually SEEN the movie?I did yesterday. It was actually pretty good. It doesn't pretend to be color blind, but it doesn't bash you over the head with it either. Suprisingly, I thought Disney found a good balance and made a nice little movie. Thanks for the critique. Sounds like this might be a good one for a movie date with the kiddos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianforster Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 Honestly I didn't see what the big deal was until I talked to a girl that I know who is black. She said that she grew up watching the disney movies wondering why none of the princesses were black. Kind of put it in to perspective for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 Thanks for the critique. Sounds like this might be a good one for a movie date with the kiddos. Let me add that the only reason I went to see it was because my kids wanted to go. I was dreading it for the very reasons people are bashing it in this thread. I expected a gimmick movie. It's not. It's a good, old-fashioned Disney movie. Some really good musical numbers. You can always count on Randy Newman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stadium-Armory Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 Some really good musical numbers. You can always count on Randy Newman. As a father of 4, and kid movie aficionado, I must agree. His songs in Toy Story, Monsters Inc, and Cars are still favorites with my kids. By the way, he has a link on his site to this movie's sound track. http://wdig.vo.llnwd.net/d1/walt_disney_records/PATF/Princess%20And%20The%20Frog%20Soundtrack.wma Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thiebear Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 the green one was a trailblazer? well, and that arab one.. and the split tale one with nice concs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duckus Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 The only thing more annoying that people who constantly see things in terms of race are people who constantly demand we live in a color blind world where any mention of race is taboo. I wish people would stop all this BS that "all races are the same, and I never see any different in any human." We don't have to pretend we don't see differences, we just have to respect all people regardless of differences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPSean Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 What time period is the movie supposed to be set in? I read that it's in New Orleans, but when? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfWashington Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 Who cares? Toy Story 3 is coming out in June! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G.A.C.O.L.B. Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 So here's my question: Why is the race of an animated Disney character a big deal? Besides the history involved and the groundbreaking behind this, here is why stuff like this ,atters: The original experiment done more than 50 years ago was HUGE in Brown v. Board of Education. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_and_Mamie_Clark Here's the full documentary if you want to watch it: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedskinFeathers Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 um, lion king already came out. all the characters were african.mufasa was voiced by James Earl Jones Fairly certain that Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Nathan Lane, and Mathew Broderick are all white Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPSean Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 Fairly certain that Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Nathan Lane, and Mathew Broderick are all white He said characters. Not actors/voices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G.A.C.O.L.B. Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 He said characters. Not actors/voices. I'm sure a 6 year old sees Simba, a warthog and a meerkat and knows that they're actually Black. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tut77 Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 um, lion king already came out. all the characters were african.mufasa was voiced by James Earl Jones They were animals. Are you trying to make a point with that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toe Jam Posted December 12, 2009 Author Share Posted December 12, 2009 They were animals. Are you trying to make a point with that? What point are you trying to make? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tut77 Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 It's a big deal because Disney has never had a black princess before. As someone else commented, it does make a difference to realize that a point has been reached where it is acceptable for a Disney heroine to be a black girl. That a black girl is portrayed in a positive, intelligent, feminine light in a Disney movie. Perhaps some of you commenting so vitriolically about how much of a non-issue this is, should learn about the racial history of Disney to get a better understanding of why this is a remarkable event. And re the comments about the shade of her skin, I believe the character is supposed to be a mulatto (I HATE that word, btw), as is her paramour in the film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tut77 Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 What point are you trying to make? Well, the comment indicated that Africans have been in Disney movies before, but they were not HUMANS. They were animals. Seems like a fairly obvious point to me. AND...the isuue isn't whether blacks have ever been in Disney movies, it's that there has never before been a black Princess. A black HUMAN princess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 It's a big deal because Disney has never had a black princess before. As someone else commented, it does make a difference to realize that a point has been reached where it is acceptable for a Disney heroine to be a black girl. That a black girl is portrayed in a positive, intelligent, feminine light in a Disney movie. Perhaps some of you commenting so vitriolically about how much of a non-issue this is, should learn about the racial history of Disney to get a better understanding of why this is a remarkable event. And re the comments about the shade of her skin, I believe the character is supposed to be a mulatto (I HATE that word, btw), as is her paramour in the film. Nah. I pretty sure she was just black. The Prince was pretty nebulous. They made him sort of dark Mediterranean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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