Princess Tiana is Disney’s latest princess, and their first African American character in this type of a role. There is a lot of hype around the creation of this story line and the character. Unfortunately it's not all positive. The biggest complaint seems to be because the prince, who plays her love interest, is not African American.
I for one, think that multicultural couples & families are beautiful! My own family is made up of different cultures and races. But it does worry me that Disney may be sending out mixed signals that an African American male image is not good enough to play the role of a Prince Charming. Although some of the arguments being made have some good points, I am still very happy that Disney is stepping out of their box by creating their first black female princess character. I hope that when the film finally comes out, that it will be just as magical as our past fairy tale favorites.
From People.com:
"Rounding out Disney's multicultural royalty (see below) are Mulan, from
This is very interesting.
ReplyDeleteI also realize that whenever a black male from different ethnicities {Like Sabastien} are eventually used they take minor significant, often troublesome roles.
Disney has always been on my watch list for subliminal messages.
Time will reveal all things.
Wow, how interesting. I did not know that. I think there's really no way to win this argument. If it had been a black prince and a white princess, black women everywhere would have thrown a shitfit. So, then, what's the answer? Stick to your own race?
ReplyDeleteI wonder... would it make a difference if culturally, both the prince and the princess were the same, but of different races? If they both had the same accent amd were from the same economic class? For example, would there still be an uproar if they were black and white (or asian or whatev), had heavy hispanic accents, were from the same barrio, but were a different race? Things that make you go hmmm...
I predict, that this new doll will hit the market and sell out within 1 week! :)
ReplyDeleteI further predict {like my early teen yrs. of the Cabbage Patch craze}, that parents, will even fight over the last one in the stores.
Good call QueenLi. I just wished that this character was out when my daughters where younger. Although I beleive we've done a good job of empowering them to know they are queens in every way; it would have been nice for them to see an African American princess at a younger age. But I guess now is better than never.
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