Lead on, oh Kinky Turtle

mixedmuse:

love4watermelon:

dumbthingswhitepplsay:

So the movie that came out after The Princess and the Frog was Rapunzel. I’m calling it Rapunzel because fuck that “Tangled” bullshit to attract little boys. No one cares.

Anyway.

Within the first ten minutes of the movie, watchers are blessed with the sight of a…

i have a problem with posts like this.

1. this is a DISNEY movie for girls and boys UNDER 13…. this piece is probably written by someone who is over 18. you watch a disney movie for kids and you are criticising it? let kids do that, they are the ones who are watching them.

2. when you were a kid, and you were watching Cinderella, the little mermaid, Sleeping beauty etc. did you REALLY compare your skin color with them? like did you think “why is she white and why am i brown/asian/black?” “why are they all white people?” because i did not, i was too busy paying attention to the story line and the concept of the movie rather than the skin color of the characters.

3. stop complaining that all the characters from disney are white. coz that is a bullshit. just look at Aladdin, Pocahontas, Mulan, Lilo & Stitch etc.

4. the reason there is no non-white people in the movie that is made in 2010 is because the movie’s storyline is based in somewhere in europe, before 19th century. of course there is not gonna be non-white character. use common sense. were there white people in Aladdin???

i am not saying that disney movies are perfect. they are sometimes misleading in life, and give you wrong expectations. but they also give you dreams and hopes, and they were entertaining when i was a kid. but i think that there should be more non-white characters in the disney movies that are based on modern times, like ‘Toy Stories’ or ‘Cloudy with chance of meatballs’ etc, because not 100% of americans are white you know.

I’m gonna preface with this: I’m not angry, and this is not an attack on you. But it is a call out on a lot of the things that you said.

1. Why shouldn’t adults criticize Disney movies? What does the author being over the age of 18 have anything to do with anything? Children didn’t make the movies, adults did. And I’m sure that they can put on their big kid pants and handle it just fine, seeing as they probably will never see this conversation, anyway. And side note: children aren’t the only ones watching Disney films. Children may not watch Disney films for the deeper meanings, but that doesn’t meant that the deeper meanings, and consequences of said film being produced a certain way, can’t be discussed.

2. Yes. Yes, I did. As a little poc-girl growing up, I did wonder why none of the princesses looked like me. I did get the idea that you could only be a princess if you were white. I did get the idea that if you were a brown skinned princess, you had to be “tribal” or “exotic” or “foreign” in some way. Yes, yes, yes, YES I mother fucking did. Even as a young girl, I was aware of the fact that I was nothing like those princesses. If you’re white, then good for you for not having to think about it as a white person being constantly showered in princesses and other characters who looked like you. If you’re a poc, good for you for not noticing. But believe it or not, kids pick up on these things. Just because they don’t say it—just because they don’t ask about it—doesn’t mean that they’re not noticing it. Kids aren’t stupid, nor are they oblivious. In fact, when a child sticks out, or is different from everyone surrounding them, or from their favorite people, one of the first things they’ll notice is how. And in my own experiences, they ask.

3. If you think that that statement is bullshit, then I’m afraid you might not know what bullshit is, in terms of race, so let me explain this. What’s bullshit is white people telling people of color to “stop complaining.” What’s bullshit is people of color being so unaware of the ways in which they’re erased, that they try to stop other poc from speaking out. What’s bullshit is that countless characters in the media—magazines, movies, television shows, and yes, Disney films— are white, and that the poc characters can be tallied on half of a 3x5, and yet, when pocs as for more representation, most white people will go, “No, no, there are enough non-whites already, there needn’t be anymore.” What’s bullshit is that when people of color try to engage in discourse on problems that run a lot deeper than you understand, someone like you comes in with something like this, and has to inappropriately start up this shit. And by “this shit,” I mean 80% of the things that you said.

As poc, we’ve heard it all before. Seriously, we’ve heard ALL the shit. You’re saying nothing new in your comment; it’s the same old songs in a different order: “POC need to get over it.” “Why are you even criticizing it? Its for kids! Therefore, you shouldn’t have anything to say about it.” “Well, I never felt this way. So why do you?” “Well, __ people weren’t around in THIS time period” a.k.a. “I know little about the history of pocs and their existence, and will say something completely untrue to justify my own argument, and prove that theirs is just silly/sensitive/something they shouldn’t be concerned about.” And of course, an age old favorite: “Stop complaining that Disney keeps making more white films for everyone to enjoy when they already have 200 white characters, but only 5 people of color. 5 is enough! Look at these 5 films you’re in! OBVIOUSLY, you’re being included! ALSO, LOOK AT THIS ONE FILM THAT HAD NO WHITE PEOPLE!” Also known as “Quit being uppity, and be grateful that you got something.” Seriously, I’m not even joking. I’ve heard every single one of those several times before in several discussions about various fairy tale movies. When I say I’ve heard your argument before? I’m not joking. You said nothing new. But regardless; frankly? FUCK THAT. Let’s switch this up. How about you stop opposing that a poc is complaining about an OBVIOUS gap between the white count and the poc count? How about instead, you realize that,”hey, they probably have a point, here”? How about you realize that poc have every fucking right to complain about something that does affect them, in the grand scheme of things?

As an aside, there were no white people in Aladdin because they weren’t aiming for historical accuracy. If they had been, there would’ve been white people galore. If they’d been aiming for accurate, the producers wouldn’t have copped out by using Indian iconography (the names, the clothes, the symbols) to represent an Arab setting for characters who were originally Chinese.

4. Blacks were in Europe in the early 19th century. Blacks were in Europe before then, hell! From as early as the 1500’s, and quite possibly earlier, in fact, so let’s get our facts straight and not erase poc from history like we do in our films. There were even a few extremely privileged pocs who were fortunate enough to be placed into positions of power in Europe—though that was not the norm, and they were not as respected as they should’ve been, nor were they viewed as equal—way before the 19th century. I could stop there, really. But there’s more to address, because, really now. You’re using historical accuracy as the excuse for the lack of POC in this film? It’s a movie. They changed enough about the story; they made Rapunzel—or whatever the fuck her name is in that movie—cut and dye her hair. They made her save her prince. They had her beat up a guy who was trained to fight. Does that happen in the original story? LOL NOPE. But oh, we can’t put poc in because THEN, the film won’t be accurate? We can’t add in a POC because it would be historically inaccurate? Even though people of color were already fucking everywhere, including Europe? Does that logic make sense to you, truly? A LOT of stories weren’t written with POC in mind. Hell, Cinderella wasn’t meant to be a poc, but there certainly is a version multicultural cast—and a black Cinderella—that ended up being a staggering success, did it not?

And no, poc shouldn’t only be included in modern films that take place in modern times. Why can’t poc be included in films that take place in the past? Creative license exists for a reason.

And yes, we are aware that not 100% of Americans are white, thank you. That “not 100% of americans are white you know.”? I agree. And honestly, tell it to the people who make the films. Because we already know. We are those non white Americans. You know, the ones who get a single movie representing their particular culture as a false stereotype; the ones who get excluded from nearly every film, yet can’t ever ask why; the ones who will never not be portrayed in the media—children’s or otherwise—without their character/style of dress/way of speaking/way of acting/subtle nuances being heavily and extensively stereotyped.

We. Know.

I told you I’m not angry. And I’m not. But if my comment carries a heavy tone of “sick and tired,” it’s because I am sick and tired of this. Every time a poc brings up a lack of representation, someone comes in and says exactly what you said, in sweeter or sourer words. Every. Fucking. Time. And really, what’s the point? If you feel like poc need more representation, then why are you so bothered by a discussion that poc are having about their own exclusion? WHAT about this is bothering you so much, really?

(via deliciouskaek)