Tangled: A Celebration of White Femininity

[102bb]

Tangled is Disney's version of Rapunzel . To be honest, I have very little idea of how this move deviates from the the fairytale we are all familiar with. If you are interested in the preview, you can check it out here. What struck me about the story of Rapunzel, is the celebration of her flowing long blond hair. I think it is no accident that

Comments

[addienfaemne]

I really hadn't thought about how the juxtaposition of Rapunzel right after Tiana was particularly problematic, but the author made a very good case for how much it increases POC invisibility. I think every POC deserves to have a childhood where they see themselves represented in the popular media.

[sixseventytwo]

Agreed, although I really enjoyed Tangled when I saw it in theaters.

[addienfaemne]

Oh, sure. I really hope this isn't whitesplaining and anyone is welcome to call me out if it is? But one of the things that comes up in Disney conversations a lot of the time is the implication that critiquing something means you can't enjoy it. I like Disney movies, but damn if they don't have some problems...

[sixseventytwo]

Yeah I mean I don't think being critical of something media-related and enjoying it are mutually exclusive. I've read books where sometimes I get a twinge of rage/annoyance/sideeye at something that most people wouldn't blink an eye at. And sometimes its hard to remember that, because as feminists we've trained ourselves to see everything differently (not to say that it's a bad thing). Its hard not to rage at everything and try to explain to people why you're mad.

Sorry, I'm rambling :)

[fruhlings]

Thanks for this post--I definitely learned from it.

[maynardsong]

But when Rapunzel's hair turned brown and short, that's when she was finally *free*. And I don't disagree that Disney should have more than just Tiana, Mulan, Jasmine, Esmeralda, and Pocahontas, but damn, Tiana was fucking FANTASTIC. Renee of Womanist Musings doesn't agree, but I thought Tiana's a great role model and Princess and the Frog is by far one of the most progressive stories I've ever seen Disney do.

[resounding_echo]

I agree. I would have been uncomfortable if Tiana was whisked off to a castle. For that brief moment near the end when I thought she was going to trade her dream of a restaurant for a new dream with Naveen, I literally lost my breathe. But Tiana gets it all. :)

[hip_hop_korner]

What makes The Princess and the Frog progressive?

[maynardsong]

Evil is sexy though. I mean, I'd have had a much bigger problem if Mother Gothel had been unattractive.

[popehippo]

But it's still using the trope of 'woman using her sexuality because she's evil/insecure/jealous of another woman'. :\

[maynardsong]

IIRC, Mother Gothel was never really jealous of anyone, she was just clinging to her own youth. If you're saying that itself is its own problem trope, fair enough. I happen to think she was a magnificent villain though.

[hip_hop_korner]

I'm not surprised that Disney went back to celebrating white beauty after Princess and the Frog. Also, I hadn't thought of this until Renee mentioned it, but Princess and the Frog does play off of the "strong black woman" trope and she is not treated as a princess like most of the Disney women are. Many people compliment Disney for making a "strong princess" but this isn't a progressive move on Disney's part because black women are always portrayed this way.