Disney has an accurate reputation for "white-washing" their films and stories for decades, and in recent years has finally begun to operate with slim shots of inclusivity. I appreciate their effort, however minimal, and I desperately hope that the coming years produce more inclusive films that represent not only different races, but also genders, sexual identities, disabilities, and more. Now that we have entered 2020, we truly have no valid excuses for our inability to include and represent the full plane of different parts of humanity. This is why the 2009 animated movie The Princess and the Frog was such an immense hit amongst audiences all over.
The film follows the story of a waitress named Tiana who adventures around the world with her frog friend Prince Naveen. Tiana is not your typical princess. She is hardworking and present to her own reality as well as others'. She concerns herself with matters of her community, not just matters of herself or, more specifically, her love life. In the song, "Almost There," she presents herself as a hardworking, disciplined lover of life, and she proves herself to be just that throughout the entirety of the film. While the movie is revolutionary for exploring the life of a frog Princess, it also passes the representation test with a low A--scoring eleven points in total. Surprisingly enough, many Disney, specifically princess, movies do not pass the representation test so well. They often even have a difficult time passing the Bechdel test (which is absurd)! Luckily, this movie does pass the test as it presents many conversations between a young Tiana and her mother as they dream of a different and better life together. Then again as young Tiana encounters her friend Charlotte La Bouff and they speak of their longings for adolescence.
The representation test is much more than a look at feminist theory in film. It also speaks of the representation of color, masculine stereotypes, disabilities, and sexual identities. An important part of the representation test is its call for equal representation for men who are not toxically so. A wonderful exemplar of this model is Tiana's father, James. James is celebrated for being kind and gentle, the kind of dad who reads his daughter bedtime stories and cries when he hears her talk about the future... who encourages his daughter to never stop chasing after her dreams even though he knows that making them a reality will be one of the hardest things she will ever have to face. He is the kind of husband who cooks dinner for the family and supports and advocates for his wife no matter what. His character throws away the harsh and normalized expectations of a masculine authority figure.
The creators also take liberty with the young girls. While racial stereotypes are portrayed in the film, they are not praised for being stereotypes. The two are dear friends despite their differences in race, class... personality. La Bouff is painted to be the worst kind of young girl, and Tiana is portrayed as her helper. It is celebrated that these two love each other despite their differences. Tiana understands the plight of her dear friend, and Charlotte, while hardly successful, tries to understand her friend as well.
The film portrays the working woman positively without trashing the name of romance and femininity. It praises humanity. It praises existence above one specific trait of the main character. The film is immensely important to the Disney repertoire because of its inclinations toward positive representation. I would absolutely recommend it, as well as looking at other films through the lens of this representation test. When we all decide upon the kind of story that we want to be told, the stories we tell will surely become much more inclusive. And that's all we can really hope for--equal representation across the board.
No comments:
Post a Comment