Racism And Sexism In Tangled - Or, Okay WHAT Are These People Smoking?

[zelda_queen]

ZeldaQueen: Right. This is one bit of idiocy that threw me for a bit of a loop. Warnings folks, this will have spoilers for the movie Tangled. If you want to read the original article, it's available here

Comments

[anonymous]

YAY!!! A PRINCESS WITH GREEN EYES :D!!! ALL GREEN-EYED BEAUTIES REJOCE!!!! (Yes, I have green eyes. We have been horribly underrepresented. Its ALL about either the blue eyes or the brown eyes! *hmph*)

I have never seen the movie, because I don't have any young children to sneak in with. I thought it was suppose to be good because it has a strong(er) female lead? o.O...

Personally, I think Mother Gothel looks like Ezmerelda from The Hunchback of Notre Dame, who was a Romanian Gypsy, who are from Europe. They all make it out like she's black or something. Or at least latina. Again: o.O...

Mulan wasn't a 'princess' either! At best, she was a nobleman's daughter. Yet, she is part of the 'Princess Line'. Li wasn't a prince either, so she can't take that route either. She was blessed by the Emperor, if I rememeber correctly.

I know I'm lame, but who are Princess Eilonwy and Kida?

[carakasla]

Opps, ^^^^^ that was me ^.^

[zelda_queen]

I know, and her eyes are adorable! (I have blue eyes, but I always think green eyes are pretty! ^_

[carakasla]

Ahh, I remember Atlantis. I actually liked that movie, but I haven't seen it in so long. I never saw The Black Cauldron but I've heard of it.

I don't think Disney is going to stop the whole 'Disney Princesses of other ethnicities', which I think is what this author is whining about. The Rapunzel story is probably too restrictive for them to play with, while the Princess and the Frog isn't, which is why they played around with that one. Who knows, I don't doubt they won't do it again once they have the chance.

[miyuko_matsuda]

*applauds* WIN,and i Can`t wait to see that movie with friends,hopefully this weekend,I like reading spoilers anyways so yeah,Great job :D*thumbs up*

[zelda_queen]

Thanks! ^^

And the movie is utterly adorable and well worth seeing. XD My best friend hates Disney and she was squeeing when we exited the theater. Hope you enjoy it. :)

[miyuko_matsuda]

thank you I hope to enjoy it as well

[zelda_queen]

Oh, I did. ^^ Makes me really look forward to Disney's next movie.

[white_wolf03]

So how does being black mean you understand the complications of hair?

And Mother Gothel, using my sister as a comparision, actually looks half-Asian to me. Just something I noted. Had no one pointed out that she looked different though, I probably wouldn't have noticed.

[zelda_queen]

I'm not entirely certain. I think she meant it as characters have hair that isn't "black", like the style not the color or...I don't know. O_o

She looks a little darker, but that's because, for most of the movie, she goes slinking around at night or is inside the tower. Rapunzel, meanwhile, spends most of the movie running around in the sun. It's another example of how they're foils. It's like that argument that Jaffar has darker skin than Aladdin, and they use a pic where Aladdin's standing next to a glowing object.

[aikaterini]

/It's like that argument that Jaffar has darker skin than Aladdin, and they use a pic where Aladdin's standing next to a glowing object./

Ah, yes, I've heard that argument before. I think it's also because Jafar has a hooked nose, a feature that's usually used in insulting, racist depictions of Jews and Arabs, while Aladdin and Jasmine do not.

However, in the animated television series of "Aladdin," friends and foes come in all colors. For example, Sadira has darker skin than Aladdin and Jasmine, and originally, she is indeed a villain (albeit a misguided one), but by the end of the series, she gets over her attraction to Aladdin (which is what caused her to become a villain in the first place) and becomes Jasmine's friend. On the other hand, Mozenrath, who's one of the main villains of the series, is *very* pale. I'm serious, he's noticeably paler than Aladdin and Jasmine, and in some shots of him, his skin looks as white as cream.

[zelda_queen]

"Ah, yes, I've heard that argument before. I think it's also because Jafar has a hooked nose, a feature that's usually used in insulting, racist depictions of Jews and Arabs, while Aladdin and Jasmine do not."

Ah, I see. Aladdin had a pretty large, angular schnoze though. Jasmine, not so much, but then that's more of a female Disney character trait (Nostalgia Chick: "Why does Pocahontas have no nose? Was her father Lord Voldemort?" XD)

[stormswift]

Though to be fair, pointing out that Mother Gothel looks Romanian/gypsy still has Unfortunate Implications - a gypsy-looking woman kidnaps the pretty blonde baby for selfish personal gain? Um.

For what it's worth, I haven't seen the film at all. That just stuck out at me.

[zelda_queen]

That's true, but I seriously doubt that that was in mind. I mean, when Disney did "The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the gypsies had clearly darker skin. So yeah.

It could be unintentional though. She was voiced by Donna Murphy who, to quote Wikipedia, is of "Irish, French, German and Czech ancestry", and Disney tends to give their animated characters the facial features of the voice actors.

[anonymous]

Dark hair and eyes? To me those eyes look more grey or light blue.