I’ve done pretty much everything I can as a parent to avoid the color pink, princess movies and all other stereotypical female-roles that portray the image of girls needing to depend on men as their source of survival and happiness. This follows, of course, my personal beliefs and desires to instill values of independence and strength in both of my children (one boy, one girl). I also expect, at some point, my efforts will probably backfire (!!!) and my little Avery will want to dress up like a princess and play with Barbies like thousands of other little American girls.
We’ve had Dora in the house, cuz you know, she’s a leader, an adventurer and bi-lingual! And recently I introduced Tinkerbell and the Lost Treasure. I like that Tink is an independent chick with great tinkering (!) skills and the fact that the movie is NOT about falling in love… although a little more material on her dress couldn’t hurt.
When Disney introduced its latest princess movie last Friday, The Princess and the Frog, I was hesitant. I first groaned, and thought, “oh gee, another princess movie.” But then I started seeing some previews and hearing more about the story line and I was interested! It was like Disney joined the 21st century with the princess story. I decided that not only would I share the movie with my children, but that I would do it on opening day, in the theatre, to voice my support ($$$).
There were two things that stood out to me. The first is that the main character, Tiana, is not all about getting a prince to rescue her so they can run off to live happily ever after, like Snow White, Cinderella, Ariel or Belle. Tiana is an entrepreneur, the girl wants to own and run her own restaurant! She works two jobs and saves up her money so she could achieve her goal. What a fabulous message to send to children! Working hard to achieve your dreams rather than waiting around to be rescued or have someone else hand you your wishes on a silver platter. This totally jives with my personal work ethic and what I want to instill in my children.
Secondly, Tiana is the first African American princess in American pop culture. And they didn’t just give her a brown face and stick her into a stereo-typical white storyline, either. They built the story around New Orleans, with ties to the music, the city, and the food of her locale. It was great! The one piece I wasn’t fond of the voo doo magic angle, which is how Tiana turns into a frog. It seemed a bit too dark and scary for my tastes for a G-rated movie, plus it’s hard to make sense of it as a Christian family.
You may be thinking that Tiana isn’t the first non-white princess from Disney. Sure, there was Mulan (from China) and Jasmine (from the Middle East) and Pocohontas (Native American), which is great for rounding out the diversity, absolutely! But having the first black princess is a big deal, like having a black President is a big deal. And I’ll tell you why – because I believe children need to see people who look like them up on the screen, and in business, and in the White House, to develop role models and have a sense of place and belonging in this world.
The day after President Obama was sworn into office, I was still kind of like “eh, what’s the big deal? He’s a smart man, his race doesn’t matter and it won’t make a big difference on how he performs his duties.” I was thinking of this as I was driving to work. And at that moment, I stopped behind a school bus waiting for a stop light. When I looked up in the windows, I saw a lot of young faces and not one of them was white. They were all different races and they were sitting calmly and quietly on their way to school. And in that moment, in that moment I got it. I understood how having a black President is a big deal. Because it’s a big deal to those children who now know without a doubt that they can be President, that they can be anything, because they see evidence of that. I realized how much brighter and hopeful the future is to this busload of children with a black president. I felt proud to be in that moment in America, giving that gift to our country and our future leaders.
And that’s how I feel about Princess Tiana. Little black girls all around the world will watch that movie and it will mean something very different to them than all the other princess movies. Of course, I want my children to be exposed to many different cultures and people, too. I want to support Disney in their departure from whiny, subservient princesses. And hey, Tiana didn’t wear a pink dress, so that’s cool, too.
Local radio and TV personality Sheletta Brundidge wrote a moving article about her experience watching The Princess and the Frog, At Last, Our Princess Has Come that was published in the Star Tribune last Sunday. I read Sheletta’s blog all the time, she’s a great writer and I encourage you to check it out to hear her thoughts on the movie as a black woman.
What are your thoughts on princess movies? Do you plan to see The Princess and the Frog?
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I saw the movie this weekend too and besides the voodoo witch doctor story line liked it too.
Wonderful post! YES YES!
Great post, Missy! I must confess an undying love for all things Disney, but it it is sometimes (often) difficult to reconcile that with my feminist beliefs. I love the movies and the theme parks, but I am going to do my darndest to counteract some of those messages. And I really don't like the message of calling one's child a princess – Anna has received onesies that say “Princess” and they’ve promptly gone in the giveaway pile. I don’t want to instill that sense of entitlement and dependence in her. I fully expect, too, that she will grow up loving to play dress-up (as I did) and that she’ll have her fair share of princesses in her life (as I did). I figure it can’t hurt her TOO much since I don’t think it hurt me, either – my parents did a good job of showing me examples of female strength and strong female role models to counteract all the princess-ness!
I’m excited to see that movie! I was really excited to have voted for the first black president, but I don’t think I truly GOT the impact until I saw this picture with the caption, “Mr. President, does your hair feel like mine?” Wow.
http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2009/05/15/beat-360%C2%B0-70/
Interesting post. Good to have the heads up re: the somewhat scary parts in P&F. Not sure why every Disney movie seems to have a part destined to scare the jeebers out of the little ones. Maybe it's supposed to be the signal to parents that it's a good time to scuttle them out to the lobby for a bathroom break?
I guess I have a different stance on the whole princess thing. My 2 y/o and 3 y/o girls loooove them some princesses – the bedtime ritual with the younger one right now is for me to list off as many as I can remember, and she decides who's going to be in her dreams that night. (One variation lately has her as Aladdin and she's picking which princess(es) she will marry. Anyway…) I feel like we keep a reasonable rein on it and haven't bought into the huge Disney Princess marketing juggernaut. (Seriously, what products AREN'T princess-branded these days?)
But at the end of the day, I'm comfortable that their enjoyment comes from imagining the princesses as their friends rather than as models for how to land a prince. Funny thing is, my girls seem to view the world right now as how theirs has always looked — mom works at an office and dad stays home. Maybe my comfort-level with the princesses is a strange way of counterbalancing that?
Sorry for the long post but it's a topic that definitely got me thinking!
We hope to see the movie this weekend and I can't wait!
As for avoiding the princesses and pink and the rest, I'm just careful we don't go overboard, and keep in mind this is just a stage in A's life, not how she's always going to be. Plus, IMO being independent and strong doesn't mean you can't like dressing up and being a girl, that you can't also be feminine at the same time.
We are still the strongest role models in our childrens' lives, we still have the most power over them. Princess movies are not going to change that.
Theresa V.
A thoughtful post, Missy.
I've heard rave reviews — Time rated this movie the #1 movie of 2009!
But I'm a bit bugged about two things (having not seen it yet):
1. Is it bad that the first African American princess is animated in decades-old technology?
2. Is it bad that the first Af. Am. princess spends half the film as a frog?
Don't know what to make of those two points.
@Christiania for #1, I don't think so. I mean, it's the traditional disney movie format, so to me it makes sense that this movie would be done that way too.
#2…that's a good question.
I guess, I wouldn't say it bothers me. I mean, I don't think she was turned into a frog BECAUSE she's black, you know? And in the Swan Princess movie (is that disney? Not sure) Oddette, a white girl, spends most of that movie as a swan. So it's not like they are signaling out a specific race to be magically turned into animals, lol
I'm a little excited to see a disney movie with a strong princess. So far, the only one that comes close to conveying that "I can accomplish something on my own, I can be a leader." attitude is Mulan, imho.
Possibly Pocahontas, too. But it's been so long since I watched that one, I can't remember for sure.
We will for sure be seeing this. Grace already knows all about Tiana from the commercials and the Disney Web site she plays games on and she can't wait to see it.
But this is a girl obsessed with all things princess-y. I didn't set out to make her a girly girl or to keep pink and Barbies and princesses away from her. She just gravitated toward them. I figure I liked them as a kid (though not as much as Grace) and I came out ok
I tried to avoid the princess thing, VALIANTLY. But my 4-year-old girl goes to daycare and lives in the world, and is as in love with pink and princesses as most children her age. It grates, but I try to remember I felt the same way and grew up to be an engineer, so it's probably not the end of the world. It makes me feel better.
As for this movie, if I let my kid watch Cinderella you can bet I will let her watch this one. And it will be a welcome relief, let me tell you!
Okay. I just read your blog post and I totally agree with everything you said. I, too, had kind of stereotypical Disney princess expectations, but I LOVED this movie. It is my favorite of all of them. Loved the music, the culture, the food. Evangeline! Thanks for sharing.
You know how I feel about princesses. Despite that, Bel is a total princess-freak. She loves all the ones I don't want her to love. I try to use the experience as educational. Recently we talked about real princesses, like Princess Diana and Pricess Grace. She wasn't impressed with them.
Did you see my post today about how Bel won't wear her glasses because princesses don't? I like the non-white princesses, and I love that the newest princesses aren't saved by the princes. I am looking forward to the four-eyed princess someday, too.
@ Christina I wouldn't call it decades old technology. Hand drawn animation is art, plain and simple, and despite the rise and success of Pixar and computer generated illustration, Disney has committed to continuing to produce hand drawn animated movies because they don't want to see the art form die. And as a marketing plan, it is nostalgic for those who grew up on hand drawn Disney and are now chosing to spend money on movies for their own children.
I am so excited about this movie, to have a princess that is about herself, not the prince. It will be wonderful to see.
My SIL is very excited too, we are seeing it the week after Christmas. She is excited for the very reasons you stated, she has waited a long time for this to come.
Great post Missy!
I am taking my girls over the Christmas break. The whole "princess" thing doesn't really get to me. I don't purposely buy anything that says "princess" just because I think it's obnoxious. My favorite color is pink so I am sure our wardrobes contain an inordinate amount of pink. I do agree about the sense of entitlement and not wanting my kids to think they should get everything they want. But, watching Disney Princess movies or going to DisneyWorld or playing with Barbies or Disney Princesses isn't the problem–it's the way they are raised and what they learn as values that determine their character, in my opinion. Great post–very thought provoking (as always!)
suzi
That sounds like a great movie! I have to admit, I have been awful about the pink, which is odd considering I don't even like pink. I think it's because we had two boys first, and I'm sick of blue. But the Disney stories do bother me a lot, so I'm excited to see there is one out with a positive message.
Yeah it's all well and good that she's an African American Princess and all but just because Disney deems there to finally be time for that sort of thing, African Princesses are not that rare. Some African princesses are wealthier that some Wal Street bankers. They are not hurting that they weren't being marketed to mainstream America so no fireworks went off for me that this was a monumental thing for Disney. Our family won't be seeing this movie due to the voodoo and magical message behind it, but my daughter can have the doll if we are in the store and she begs and pleads and then I will let her give the princess her own name. She doesn't have to know where she came from or her back story. My daughter was a Princess the day she was born.
My best, Lynn