As I observe the racially motivated insults recently, such as First Lady Michelle Obama (insulted by a SC GOPer) and the President insulted by some government employee forwarding an image of all the Presidents
that depict President Obama as a pair of eyes open in a dark room, I
wonder. I have written about the matter of this Disney film a couple
of years ago, when it was nothing more than a thought. Even wrote a
letter to them in hopes that they would get this right, by not giving
us what they want us to have, but giving us what we want: A great and
positive image of a real princess of color and African descent. To the
credit of a couple of the Disney board members, a couple of them asked
to be involved in the development of the film but were refused by the two men creating the film. I was discussing
my thoughts with my business partner, who has twins, one of whom is a
little girl. He'd taken them to the movies where a trailer of The Princess and the Frog was shown. His little girl asked him: Why would the princess have to turn into a frog? My partner was not at all happy with what he saw either.
I had a chance opportunity
to speak with an insider who wanted my take on the upcoming movie. He
had been given a clip to check out and expressed concern in its
content. As a result, in February 2009 I wrote a followup commentary,
which includes the original posting. I have included it here and will
simply say this: Is it truly a positive thing for us to have our
princess become an animal creature, given the history in this country
about how we have been viewed as 3/4 human? Is there a reason why they
could not portray the prince as a black young man? I am not willing to
accept good as enough, when better was always an option.
DEAR PRINCESSES: SOMETIMES A FROG IS JUST A FROG
I
wanted a story that would make my niece smile. A story that she could
relate to, a story about what really defines her, a fantastic journey
upon which she knew she was a passenger. So I researched
and wrote her a story. What gives me absolute joy is that smile I see,
I hear every time I read that story to her. On March 16, 2007, I wrote
the following on my Blog:
Disney has announced that they are
finally going to have a black princess. Hmmm.... Makes perfect
marketing sense, given that all money is green and this is yet an
untapped market. Problem is...the image of this black princess is not
dissimilar to what is done by doll manufacturers. Take an
Anglo featured doll and color it brown. Further , there is nothing to
relate this image to the history or culture of the African American
population, unlike Pocahontas or Mulan, which are at least [very] loosely based on the history of the cultures they represent. I can hear the jokes already: A frog princess; if we kiss her will she turn white? and on and on...
Maybe
a bit of bias on my part, since as I promised my niece, for whomI took
the time to do research and write a really good story about an African
princess, yet I cannot get an audience with the powers within the
animation industry to pitch it. I am disappointed. Disney has a great opportunity
here. Instead of going the usual route of giving the African American
market what you want us to have, instead of what we really want --
which is traditionally what happens -- then get mad if we complain about the way we are represented. I am one who believes that if better is an option, good is not enough.
Today, nearly two years later, I read in the online version of USA Today (http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/2009-02-15-disney-black-princess-tiana_N.htm)
that Disney was releasing their line of toys for the Princess and the
Frog although the movie is not scheduled to hit the theatrers until
December 2009. I suspect the Disney corporation wanted to leverage the current interest in the Obama family and all things "tween." I contacted Lisa Skriloff,, president of Multicultural Marketing Resources (http://www.multicultural.com/), who the article quoted as saying: "It's [a black princess doll] very significant," says Lisa Skriloff, president of Multicultural Marketing Resources. "It's like a stamp of approval for one of the most outstanding family (entertainment) companies to say this is important." She was kind enough to respond and honest enough to let me know that she wasn't completely
aware of the point of view of the African American market when it comes
to this subject. She was gracious enough to invite me to her website
and open the door of dialogue.
While there are formidable names associated
with this animated feature, with Disney casting Oprah Winfrey, Jennifer
Lewis and Anika Noni Rose, it still does not measure up to my
expectations. I am just not so excited about the end product. I
am not a fan of being given what they -- who are empowered to provide
big screen imagery -- want you to have versus what has been asked for.
I think that Mothers of color will take their daughters to see the
film, their daughters will clap in delight to see a darker version of
the Disney princess line on the big screen, yet the mother will feel a
vague sense of disappointment and not really understand why.
Two years ago, I was hugely disenchanted when the producers of this project chose to create this film without a lot of input from those it is targeted toward.the producers even refused volunteered assistance from two Disney board members. For the record and according to a knowledged
source, the Asian market was not thrilled with the Mulan feature film
either, as it was not a true depiction of who they are, or even
remotely depicts their true history and culture. They saw a part of the
film and confirmed my expectation of what this film would turn out to be. Yes, this is fantasy, yes these are commercial films, but when you have limited opportunity
to be defined on the big screen, you just want a certain degree of
truth woven into the tapestry of the story told. While there were some
name, title and image modifications since 2007, it is what it is:
a sanitized version of the same story, just in living color and voices
that they still believe define us. .
I am a realist. My point
if view is not enough to derail the Disney train; they have made it
clear that they could care less about what I think. The film will be
profitable, will likely carry some degree of controversy, if for no other reason than because controversy
sells in this country. Most will decide that good is enough, even when
better was an option, because that is how we often do. We accept the
mediocre as the best we can get, assuming nothing else will be
offered. I am however, still hopeful that I will realize the dream I
have for what an animated feature of and for African America will look
like. And I smile.