Green is the New Black

Green is the New Black

Stereotypes and Segregation have been big issues around the world for many years.  Segregation of African American people in the United States was a big event between 1955 and 1968, during the civil rights movement.  After the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964, many thought that segregation was, for the most part, over, but new controversy about Disney’s first African America princess, Tiana, in The Princess and the Frog is starting to stir.  Many believe that Disney is being insensitive to the African American community.  There are parts in The Princess and the Frog that could be taken offensively if taken a certain way, but like most movies, problems and criticisms follow.  Let’s not forget that this is a children’s movie.  Disney is not being insensitive to African Americans because they are promoting interracial marriage, showing the culture of New Orleans, and almost every movie can be taken offensively by a group or culture.

Many people would argue about the message Disney is sending by making the prince a non black character.  Angela Bronner Helm was on a website dedicated to African American culture where pictures of the new prince and princess were posted.  She noticed the princes’ relatively light skin color and wrote “Disney obviously doesn’t think a black man is worthy of the title of prince.”  While many thought this was the message that Disney was attempting to send, others believe we should applaud Disney for promoting interracial marriage, adding diversity of ethnicities in this film, and helping teach children about racial tolerance.  There are many different cultures and ethnicities in this movie, so why is the princes’ race so important?  Let’s not forget the fact that both characters spend more than half the time in the movie as small green amphibians where their race isn’t even noticed.

The setting of New Orleans and the stereotypes about its people portrayed in The Princess and the Frog have led people to believe that Disney is being insensitive to the victims of hurricane Katrina.  Disney wasn’t trying to offend, but to promote New Orleans and show its interesting and rich lifestyle.  During the movie Disney shows New Orleans beautiful buildings and infrastructure, its bayou and waters, and it even shows their great celebration of Mardi gras.  The fact that mostly all the Caucasians in the movie were more rich than the ones who were black made people upset, but we have to remember that this movie was set in New Orleans during the 1920’s and the United States hadn’t even thought of the Civil Rights Act yet.

People are making such a fuss about The Princess and the Frog that we don’t even stop to think of the stereotypes of other heritages in movies made by Disney that don’t have as much controversy as this one, such as Dumbo, The Jungle Book, Aladdin and Pocahontas.  The reason this one means so much to people is because of the history of blacks in the United States.  Disney created their first black princess because of the criticism for not having one in the past, and by creating her they are trying to diminish the racial stereotypes that have gone on for years.

            Disney is trying to capture the culture of New Orleans and of the African American people.  They did not mean to offend anyone by making a non black prince, but instead wanted to add diversity to the film.  Anika Noni Rose, the voice of Tiana, defends Disney saying “There is no reason to get up in arms.  If there was something that I thought was disrespectful to me or to my heritage, I would certainly not be a part of it.”  She agrees that Disney is not insulting her heritage and realizes it’s a children’s movie and should not be taken personally.  Floyd Norman, an African American Disney animator, says “overly sensitive people see racial or ethnic slights in every image, and in their zeal to sanitize and pasteurize everything, they’ve taken all the fun out of cartoon making.”  That’s exactly it, everyone is so caught up with being sensitive and making everything perfect that they forget the fact that this is a children’s story.  It has been proven that children learn most of their behaviors and beliefs from their parents, so their actions truly depend on the family lessons and values they are taught as children not so much based on the movies they watch.  Disney has been making princess films for many years and every princess, black or white, captures the hearts of little girls everywhere.  It is time to put our judgments aside and remember that it is the inside that counts and Disney teaches us to dream big, and to love each other for who we are on the inside not by the color of our skin.

 

 

 

The Little Mermaid Movie Review

Let The Little Mermaid be Part of Your World

Disney has done it again; The Little Mermaid is a fun and inspiring tale for all ages with its captivating characters and its irresistible music, it’s a must see for the entire family, a classic in the making.

Story:

Ariel is the youngest of the seven daughters of the ruler of the ocean, King Triton.  Though this rebellious mermaid loves the ocean, she is fascinated by things on land.  She is so curious in fact that she ventures up on land and happens to find the man of her dreams, Prince Eric, and this gives her the desperation to live on land.  She makes a deal with the sea witch to make her dreams come true but gets into mischief along the way.

What went well:

The likeness of this movie is fully based on how you feel about fairy tales.  If you’re not a huge fan of the fairy tale scene I would suggest swimming past this film.  As for me, these are the best kind of movies.  Disney fairy tales are classic tales that are loved by generations and generations of people everywhere.  The rebellion and curiosity of this Disney princess is the change the Disney company was looking for, a princess who can stand up for herself and fight for her dreams instead of just dreaming of them.  Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora better step out the way because Ariel’s charisma and attitude make her a prime candidate for a new favorite Disney princess for little girls (and old as well) everywhere.

The music of this film is captivating and gets easily stuck in your head.  From the beautiful and passionate song Part of Your World to the fun and rhythmic tune of Under the Sea, the music from this film won’t have you clamming up, but will have you tapping your feet.

The animation in this movie is quite incredible.  The animators at Disney studios did an amazing job with giving this movie an under the sea feel.  The way Ariel and the merpeople moved through the water was life like and realistic.  Ariel’s animated under sea hair added personality and depth to her character and somehow made me love her even more, maybe it’s the color or the style but either way she made me jealous of her red beach waves.

What went wrong:

            Many parents will argue that this princess is not a good role model for little girls.  She deliberately disobeys her father, claims she’s in love at age 16 with a man she’s seen only once and never spoken to, makes a deal with an evil witch (which we all know never works out) and goes through a drastic body change just to be with someone she’s never spoken to.  Parents agree that these are not good lessons to be teaching young girls.  Sorry Disney, but this rebellious princess still has some lessons to learn.

Characters:

            There are many characters in this movie, to name a few, Sebastian, the loveable crab, Flounder, the scared but adorable best friend, Scuttle, the crazy and scatter brained seagull, King Triton, the strong and overprotective father, Ursula, the evil and deceiving sea witch and of course the main characters of Ariel and Prince Eric.  Ariel, being the main character of this film is a very relatable character to many young girls (well and old too).  Even though at times she may do some stupid things, it goes to show that everyone makes mistakes. There are even relatable characters for boys in this movie, such as Prince Eric.  This young prince is strong and has a huge thirst for adventure but he’s a bit of a perfectionist.  His kingdom wants him to marry but he believes that he’ll find the perfect girl when she comes along, in fact he spends half of the movie looking for her but is blind to the fact that she is right in front of him.  Even fathers can relate to the powerful King Triton, wanting to protect their daughter but having to learn to let go.  As you can see there are many relatable characters for many in this film, who knows, you might find more.

Overview:

            Even though this movie has its flaws and its critics, it has all the joy you would expect from a Disney film, the adventure, the devastation, the determination, inspiration, and happiness that these stories bring.  This movie is a classic that the whole family can enjoy.  I would recommend going to see this film. 

How She Found Her Voice

This is a poem that I wrote pertaining to the essay below.  It compares Disney's The Little Mermaid to Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Seamaid.

A fairy tale is one,

Which teaches our life,

The values and morals,

And that good is what’s right.

 

It teaches that dragons,

And fears can be won.

That dreams can come true,

When the journey is done.

 

There once was a mermaid,

With a voice she must find.

One through a man,

And one being kind.

 

In search for a soul,

In search for a mate,

Both of these mermaids,

Were the sea witches bait.

 

They gave up a voice,

In the quest for a life.

A life they have longed for,

A life as a wife.

 

One of them got it,

The dream they so pleased,

The other gave up,

And fell to her knees.

 

As she started to die,

She was saved by her soul,

With her good, selfless deeds,

She accomplish her goal.

 

She rose to the sky,

As a daughter of the air,

Her soul will be granted,

Through the goodness she shares.

 

The lessons taught now,

Are flawed and obscure,

False hopes and bad message,

Makes it all feel unsure.

 

 

The pureness of message,

And the fate that’s at hand,

Of the children they teach,

May not go as they planned.

 

Sacrifice, love,

And her goodness of heart,

Is what saved this young princess,

From falling apart.

 

The other had won,

In a happier sense,

Though much sacrifice,

She did not dispense.

 

One found her dream,

And the other did too,

One just found out,

In a way that was new.

 

Though one of these lessons,

Is not quite as deep,

Both of them helpful,

And both we shall keep.

 

People escape,

From the world dark and sad,

To a place that is warm,

And not quite as bad.

 

It gives them a hope,

A belief and a love,

To know that happiness,

Can always be won.

 

That good always wins,

That love can cure all,

That the fears they once had,

Are only so small.

 

That happiness comes,

Here and thereafter,

In ways can’t expect,

Our happily ever after.