Princess Weekes
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[Early Access] The Failure of Black Disney (& Discourse)
🕑 Added 2022-04-01 23:50:29 +0000 UTCNote: I am really nervous about this video and if it will be received well, but lemme know if I sound ridiculous.
xx P
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The Princess and The Frog and Soul, are the two Black firsts—the first Black Disney Princess and the first Pixar movie with a Black lead.
Each attempting to gain representation clout from young and old people who have been socialized for generations to view the company as synonymous with universality. Now, this criticism of Soul and Princess and the Frog, or really any polarizing BIPOC animated creation does not dismiss the feelings of those who may feel represented by it—or dismiss the one BIPOC creator works like this bring on for "authenticity."
It is calling out the failures of crafting diversity around a theme or topic, not build to actual deal with Blackness, or otherness, that lead to the film ultimately failing to really say anything—at least to this lady.
Sources:
https://gizmodo.com/soul-feels-like-pixars-first-black-movie-made-with-whit-1845956107
https://gizmodo.com/jazz-music-and-the-afterlife-heres-how-pixars-soul-cam-1845281613
https://twitter.com/emilyvdw/status/1410278815205453827?s=20&t=vpx-od_YIwaTaxgnuovN1Q
![[Early Access] The Failure of Black Disney (& Discourse)](https://img10.leakoo.com/storage/9/ie/wr/93d9f0-019e8f71-2613-7bb7-8682-335e94870c37.jpg)
Comments
Malachi
Great video, you always have something insightful to say with a great deal of depth. One question that you sparked for me came from your commentary. Given the similarities you gave, that two movies both have black lead characters, and in both movies those characters get turned into animals for most of the movie, and there is very little emphasis on the backstory of the leads, as its sort of glossed over......it creates a question. I can't help but wonder if Disney found that their audience couldn't connect to black lead characters, and consequently use this animal trope because the audience more readily connects to animals (think of Disney classics, Beauty and the Beast, Lion King, Bambi, etc.). Just a thought, because I would think the actuaries, market analysts, and other number crunchers would do the necessary research on this sort of thing to protect their profit margins. In any case...it is quite unfortunate these movies weren't better. Perhaps one day there will be a black lead in a movie as iconic as Aladdin and they won't get turned into an animal.
Chelsea Sarah Merriman
Awesome video! Thank you!
Laura K. Watson
Awesome video! Such a good nuanced discussion about criticism.
Nora Hammen
Love this video! Also, you lament it being rant-y toward the end, but honestly, your ranting is not only justified but also very engaging and you bring up so many good points. It does feel strange looking to disney for representation when they've historically been awful at it and the good stuff is rare, and knowing they don't give a shit beyond the money it will make them. Yet there's that disonance there cus so many of us grew up with their movies and since they do hold so much power and influence in the media, it does matter that they produce good representation, even though it would be even better if they went away altogether and media wasn't so corporate.
Juli No Fooly
Absolutely thrilled to see your are changing to Princess Weekes. Thats how i heard of you, and honestly as a newer viewer who hasn't seen your older old stuff, i think it warrants the change
harriyanna hook
i been waiting for this one!
Jack
This was a great video!!. Puts my black friend's words in video with how she has been pissed about Disney's mishandling of black leads. Except Proud Family. She got gobsmacked when we watch Turning Red ,I was so relieved and how authentic it was to the Chinese American experience to me as a Chinese American. She was like "why can't they do that for black people?!
