Color and a name aren’t everything

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Ever since it was announced that Disney was creating a movie centered around a black princess, there’s been both happiness and consternation. The anger and fear that Disney would pull some racist stunts allowed for outrageous tantrums; at first, Tiana’s name was “Maddy”, and was changed due to some folks calling racism. Then, her prince, who was originally a white Cary Grant-type character, was changed to the ethnically mysterious Naveen. Now some people are calling foul on Naveen’s presence in the movie, saying it was a missed opportunity to have a black prince. Well, this time I would like to ask for an end to the racism-calling. Or at least, a truce.

First, let me address the arguments against Tiana and Naveen’s characters. Somehow, Tiana’s original name Maddy was deemed too close to the word “Mammy.” As this blogger stated, I’ve never heard of being named “Maddy” as a slur before. If someone could leave a comment and explain where this idea came from, I’m welcome to read what you have to say.

Naveen’s case is a different, altogether more delicate matter entirely. Now, I do see the argument that it would be nice to see a black prince in a Disney movie, because historically, Hollywood has always been afraid of a strong black male character. For instance, in the 1960s show “Julia”, the title character, a black woman with a young son living in a suburban (i.e. white) apartment complex- mysteriously doesn’t have a husband. “The Nat King Cole Show” from the ‘50s was taken off of the air because many southern viewers didn’t like the idea of a black man hugging, kissing, or being in any way comfortable with a white woman (keep in mind these women entertainers willingly came on Cole’s show, and the only kissing and hugging going on in that show was the general “how do you do” type stuff. Even still, if he was actually French kissing a woman, that’d be no reason to take him off of the air).

But, there is another argument, one that is wholly in keeping with the changing times just as much as the “black prince” argument is, and that argument is that Naveen and Tiana represent interracial marriage and relationships. Now, everyone could harp on the fact that Naveen is not black. But he’s not white either. And neither is he Indian, Middle Eastern, Chinese, Japanese, Native American, or any other race. He’s “Maldonian”, which is code for “fill in the blank for yourself.” And if he was black, what then? Again, like the blogger (above) stated in his article, someone would holler that Disney is reinforcing the notion that black people can only marry other black people. Someone would be calling for Disney to be more open-minded. It’s a catch-22 either way, but I would prefer to look on the optimistic side of this catch-22 and see it as a learning tool for the younger generation, as well as for us older folks, that love sees no color, background, or race. Love brings whomever it wants together. And frankly, I see nothing wrong with that idea behind Naveen’s existence in the The Princess and the Frog.

And let’s not forget that there is a strong black man in the film-Tiana’s father, James. I’m not saying he’s a substitute for a black prince, but he is regal in his own way; he’s a hardworking father trying to do the best he can for his family. Instead of coming down on Naveen, people should be uplifting the inclusion of a character like James in PatF, because Disney could’ve not given us him.

And perhaps, if there’s anything we can learn from Naveen’s presence in the film, it’s that human beings in America focus entirely too much on a person’s skin color. People are angry at a cartoon character for being beige. Isn’t that a little crazy? I understand the reason behind the anger, but if we just take a step back for a minute and analyze the situation, it’s almost like we aren’t accepting Tiana because she’s with Naveen, a non-black character! And by extention, people are mad at Tiana for marrying this dude! It’s as if we’re the closed-minded parents not wanting to understand that our daughter has chosen someone not of her culture. We’re thinking, “How come you couldn’t find a nice black boy? Why did you go outside of the race like this?!” What some people are doing to Naveen-and, by extension, Tiana-is exactly what we try to teach the younger generation not to do. It’s the same thing we ourselves get mad about when we hear someone else doing it. That’s being hypocritical.

I suggest we just relax a bit, celebrate the fact that this is a movie about a black princess, and learn lessons of a different kind than we were expecting to get—that the color of your skin isn’t all that people should focus on.

Tags: animation, Blockbusters, controversy, Disney, Movies, The Princess and the Frog