io9 
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San Francisco, 5:54 AM
Mon Dec 7
11 posts in the last 24 hours
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10/12/09
Meanwhile, I can find exactly zero cases of anyone actually asserting that anything about this clip IS racist.
I dream of a world in which people can watch a 5-minute bit of video and NOT immediately post in defense of it, insisting that it's not racist... even though no one has actually asserted that it is racist. Defensive much?
It's good that little kids will see a movie that makes them feel the unfairness of segregation in our recent history. And it's good to see that that unfairness isn't being overplayed: the underprivileged family aren't letting themselves be victims; instead they're happy for what they have, and focus on how they can reach their dreams with honest hard work.
Introducing kids to these ideas in simple, understandable ways seems to me exactly the sort of thing that Disney should be doing. I hope that the movie becomes a classic for this generation of kids the way Beauty & the Beast and Aladdin were for mine.
11/01/09
It isn't...but it is. It's not racist in the fact that Disney is once again portraying a non-white as the lead character, which is something they've really only started doing starting with Aladdin. But it is in that ever since The Wiz, it's become something of a new custom that whenever you're dealing with characters in early America where it's a key plot-point that they happen to be poor, you can show how non-racist you are by making them black. You know, because that shows that you also write stories about minority characters. Except that it also shows that you tend not to write stories about black characters unless they're _poor_ black characters.
Now, yes, the flip side of this is to point out that given the timeframe, they're basically getting into Huck Finn territory, where blacks were by and large the financial lower class, and whites predominated the middle class and were pretty much the entire upper class, but that still doesn't get around the appearance that the only reason they elected to make the main character black is because the main character also happened to be poor. It's an odd form of racism, given how much flak Hollywood has taken for simply not casting minority characters in general, but isn't it a form of racism nonetheless?
All that said, I still plan to go watch this, and hope that the movie itself will far surpass any apparent racism. #theprincessandthefrog
10/07/09
But what do I know? My favorite Disney animated was 101 Dalmatians. There were puppies in it! And they watched TV!
10/07/09
I mean, compare this to the openings for Aladdin, The Lion King, or even Beauty & The Beast.
It just screams, "Also ran."
10/07/09
"When this movie fails, and it will fail"
Oh Mr. All Knowing man from the future! Please tell me what the lottery numbers are for the rest of forever!
10/07/09
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10/07/09
Or possibly kidnapped / turned to frogs / otherwise misplaced, since Disney parents always die before the movie starts. The exceptions (Mufasa, Bambi's mom) are non-human.
10/07/09
In the past they might have been masters, but now they really are nothing special.
10/07/09
Yup, this'll go over big.
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10/07/09
And I agrre with Cash907Censored. The white girl has a big dress, but I don't think she's obese.
10/07/09
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10/07/09
I wouldn't be surprised there are those who will try to pull the 'I'm offended' card, but I saw very little in those 5 mins (w/o sound) that would actually merit any outrage, IMO.
The girls are adorable. Tiana's mum is gorgeous- and I thought it was a positive portrayal that she was shown as an independent businesswoman rather than a live-in cook or cleaning lady (which I think could have proven a lot more iffy). Sure, they live in a different economic situation and location- but that is realistic for the time period in that area. What's not as realistic is the ostentation of Charlotte's home- very few places, even in the South would have been like that during the depression, even the old planter families. I wonder if it is not meant to be tongue in cheek poking at those stereotypes.
It's obvious to all that Charlotte is one spoilt 'princess'... When I saw them, I immediately identified more with Tiana, and I feel like most little girls would as well... Charlotte is an overdressed, baby doll-like character. Tiana is closer to a 'normal' girl, yet prettier. I can already see girls wanting to dress up as Tiana for Halloween- Charlotte- being a portrayal of a generic princess- not so much. Plus, you know what? They did not show Charlotte's mother in those minutes, whereas Tiana is shown with her father and mother in a loving family relationship, absent of substitutes like dresses and puppies and kitties. If there's something 'racist' about that bit, I am at a loss to see it.
10/07/09
Personally, I thought the details really captured it. The two vastly different architectures both looked like what you can see today, and the streetcar was picture-perfect.
10/07/09
Is The Color Purple racist because it shows racism? Is a movie about the Klu Klux Klan racist because it talks about a racist group? Is Downfall a Nazi movie because it talks about Hitler?
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10/07/09
Sounds like a Disney story. And to the people who have suggested that Disney doesn't make good stories, i believe you are entirely wrong. (The latest 2-D movie I seen from them Lilo and Stitch was great and their classics are just as good)
imho
10/07/09
(and even then they milked it to death)
Try watching some of the others.
Empiours New Groove, for example, is awfull I couldn't watch more then 15 minutes before my brain melted.
Uttery, utterly predictable. Sterotyped ugly witch villian, arrogant protagonist slowly learning to be better etc.
Like 90% of disney things.
Lilo was an exception, but Disney storytelling still hasnt evolved overall.
Ghibli, Pixar and..well..most other studios these days make vastely better films.
10/07/09
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10/07/09
For more obviously bad examples, you have all the sequels released since Lilo and Stitch. Direct-to-video junk like "Little Mermaid 2," "Mulan 2," "Lion King 2" are far better proof of the franchise-milking mentality that replaced their earlier dominance in innovative animation.
10/07/09
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10/07/09
But either this isn't really the first five minutes, or someone forgot the cardinal rule of the 90s golden age - start with a glorious ensemble number / set piece. I think it's very likely that this is the second five minutes.
10/07/09
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10/07/09
I hope you're right. Nothing better than the new Circle of Life to begin a movie.
10/07/09
10/07/09
It would be one thing if this played like Song Of The South Redux, full of "happy darkie" stereotypes with utterances like "oowee!" and "sho'nuff!" But the black characters, apart from economic status, were no different from the whites. Tiana didn't have a "black" accent, she had a New Orleans accent.
When it comes to the Disney company, there are positives and negatives that merit serious discussion. But, like George Lucas or any Democrat president, any attempt at a rational discussion get drowned out by reflexive, intellectually lazy bashing. *Yes*, Disney makes movies about princesses. *Yes*, Disney has merchandising down to an art. These aren't even subjects for debate anymore. You either accept them, and discuss within that framework, or you don't. And if you don't, why the hell are you in this thread to begin with?
10/07/09
People who scream about racism in everything will always scream about racism in everything, even once we've all intermixed and become a shade of gray.
"You didn't put enough light grays in the movie! You're racist in favor of dark grays!" etc etc on for eternity until the merciful universe snuffs out our annoying little rock.
10/07/09
@Alchemistmerlin: Gurr? Durk? Durk?
10/07/09
Those people also can't make the difference between a racist character and a racist author. I can write a racist character without being racist myself, you know.
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10/07/09
People aren't going to be paying any attention to the story, the animation, or message, they are just going to pick it apart and say that Disney is racist for their depiction of the black southerners and the southern culture in general.
We can all expect many racial debates to follow this one.
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10/12/09
The latter scene involving blatant stereotypical depiction of African people was pretty dumb of Capcom to include and not at the very least research, but most people who were slandering the game weren't doing so in trying to keep the game Politically correct. I know plenty of people who thought the game was racist and had no knowledge on the subject matter other than what was in trailer. Most people on the outside looking in weren't aware of the geographical location of the game other than, "It's in Africa"
The general public had more to say about this game than the industry heads and because of that, the game got more publicity than it needed. There were talks about the games racism from the likes of CNBC and CNN (among others), and all failed to realize that the game itself wasn't about killing black people, it was about killing zombies. South Africa might be predominately white but there is still a huge population of black people that still reside there.
10/07/09
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