Princess and Frog

Summary: This article is talks about the upcoming movie, The Princess and the Frog. It talks at the beginning about how this movie has been under a "microscope" because of accusations that Disney has been racist is movies like Dumbo. In this movie the princess isn't a helpless woman whom always needs to be rescued. According to this article there is a Village Voice article that says part of the reason that the princess  turns into a frog is that if she is a frog the filmmakers don't have to worry to much about race relations, the prince is supposed to be Spanish which apparently some people are mad about because they think he should also be black.

Response: I think that it's a brave move of Disney to have African American princess. But I think that it's a little risky on their part because viewers are inherently going to assume that the filmmakers are white men so if it's bad people are going to get really mad at Disney for not being culturally diverse enough. The article brought up the concern that if the movie doesn't do well in the box office people will assume that the world is not racially accepting enough. Reading this article reminded me of the 6th season where Melinda Doolittle only got 3rd place despite consistently being considered the best, I think that might have been because the majority of Americans are white so Melinda didn't appeal to them as well. I think that this movie's main disadvantage isn't race, but animation style. These days Pixar like animation is becoming more and more popular while traditional animation is becoming less popular. I also find it interesting that this movie takes place in New Orleans instead of some fictional fantasy land. 

One of the reasons that those Mickey Mouse Monopoly people where mad at Disney is that media companies like those are mainly controlled high ranking rich white men. However, the reason we have to read boring books in school is because they are "classics," but the people who decide what a "classic" is are probably smart Ivy League English professors and I imagine the majority of them are white men. Is anyone saying "screw literature stupid white men selected those books," probably not.

Washington Julie. The Princess and the Frog is under a microscope as viewers analyze how Disney portrays its first black heroine. The Princess and the Frog is under a microscope as viewers analyze how Disney portrays its first black heroine Movies - cleveland.com -. Cleaveland.com. 05 Dec, 2009. 06 Dec 2009