Dismal
Disney Drama
For years, big
pink castles and beautiful princesses have characterized young children’s
dreams. Disney has explored unthinkable amounts of profit-inducing marketing
schemes, and the world has come to love anything and everything associated with
the fictional lives created by the multibillion-dollar company. Lately, though,
Disney has received heat about its approach to racial diversity. With the 2012
introduction of Princess Sofia, who arguably may or may not be Latina, Disney presented
the media and opinionated Internet users with a new, ever-expansive outlet for a
sudden explosion of discussion.
The majority of
information about Princess Sofia is presented in disgust, or at least a relatively
negative light. These articles were the ones that initially informed me Disney
was even creating a new princess in the first place, and memorable because they
were written in a way that made me want to do more research on Disney’s
subliminal messaging. According
to CNN, a fairly balanced but slightly liberal news source, “As recently as
seven days ago, Sofia was Hispanic. In fact, she was introduced -- informally,
haphazardly and clumsily -- as Disney's first Hispanic princess by someone who
ought to know: the executive producer of the TV movie, Jaime Mitchell.”[1]
About a week later, though, Disney made a statement arguing Sofia is just
Sofia, neither directly confirming nor negating her Hispanic culture. This is
not the first controversy, though, as Disney’s timeless Belle, “is
from southern France, where the people typically have olive skin, and even
though Belle was given brown hair and light brown eyes, her skin was porcelain”[2].
The controversy, though, is aimed towards Disney in general.
CNN.com countered
Disney’s Sofia announcement with the harshest language of any sites I stumbled
across. Ruben Navarrette, the editor, began his article with a news video from
a different source, sharing the opinion he would soon delve into. His initial
word choice delivers the force of his argument, exclaiming, “The breathtakingly incompetent way that
Disney handled the introduction of what was thought to be the Magic Kingdom's
first Hispanic princess has me wondering: What kind of Mickey Mouse operation
is this?”[3].
Within an instant, Disney’s innocent characters are charged with serious
identity issues beyond their animated control. The article focuses mostly on
how the Latino community has potential to be a humungous pool of consumers, but
that Disney screwed up their marketing schemes. After informing readers of the
situation, the CNN article then dives in detail into the controversy. Sofia’s
name is spelled with an “f” instead of a “ph”, which makes her name sound
Hispanic, and a Hispanic actress voices her mom. Not only is Sofia’s voice
different from her mother’s, but also her skin is pale, her hair light, and her
eyes a sweet shade of baby blue. CNN pays close attention to the way Disney has
presented princesses in the past, and categorizes them, saying “Sofia is the
latest addition to a very exclusive club that also happens to be one of the
most lucrative franchises in the Magic Kingdom. You have the Old Guard: Snow
White, Cinderella, Belle and Sleeping Beauty. Then you have the racial and
ethnic wing: Mulan (Asian), Jasmine (Middle Eastern), Pocahontas (Native
American) and Tiana (African-American).”[4]
Navarrette emphasizes that each of these princesses is proud of her heritage
and defines the three major arguments associated with Disney’s presentation of
Sofia: first, those who found it insulting that Disney would not embrace their
first Hispanic princess as coming from the background that she supposedly did;
second, those offended by her lack of dark skin like her mother’s; and third,
those, mostly in the blogosphere, who don’t agree that her skin must be dark to
identify as Hispanic. CNN’s approach, starting off with strong
opposition, is beneficial for drawing in Hispanic readers, as well as those
simply opposed to Disney’s actions.
Many who
understand Disney’s attempt to relate to all consumers are more focused on the
way Disney handled the situation, and less on Sofia’s background. As quoted on
NBCLatino, one week after the executive producer uncomfortably let Sofia’s
Spanish heritage slip, Disney announced, “What’s important to know is that Sofia is a fairytale
girl who lives in a fairytale world. All our characters come from fantasy lands
that may reflect elements of various cultures and ethnicities but none are
meant to specifically represent those real world cultures.”[5]
In response, a skeptical blogger responded, “What Disney executives meant was
that Sofia could be anything you wanted her to be because she’s a fictional
character. If they wanted her to be our first Latina princess, they would have
been shouting it out themselves.”[6]
When Huffington Post reported on the issue, it merely introduced both sides of
the argument, quoted Disney’s removal of Sofia’s “Hispanic status”, and
continued with details about the movie and TV shows’ airdates. This approach
focuses on appealing to all audiences and informing curious adults and children
about this new character. With Huffington Post’s approach to announcing Sofia,
readers who want their opinions confirmed will not be interested in its
article. It serves more as a general announcement and analysis than an argument
or petition of sorts.
While the
majority of articles and blog posts related to the introduction of Sofia are
focused on a side of the controversy, many instead highlight other aspects of
Sofia’s introduction. DisneyMoviesList.com blogs about how Sofia is catering to
a new audience, 2-7 year olds, which received literally no publicity on the
major news sites.[7] The New
York Daily News used a similar focus, writing an entire article on the consumer
products and toys already being produced and Sofia’s anticipated success.[8]
The only quote from Disney in the entire article is, “Sophia the First”, note the reference
to her more official title than the other news sources provided, “will feature
plenty of pretty dresses and sparkly shoes, but with an emphasis on ‘what makes
a real princess is what's inside, not what's outside.’"[9]
This focus is entirely different from the controversy altogether.
Still, others put
the attention on how Sofia’s introduction is no different from the way Disney
has handled any other princesses. In fact, many others have been altered
between TV and commercial items in order to appeal to a certain audience. “Cinderella
had strawberry-blonde hair and silver dress in her film, but is blonde with a
blue dress in the franchise”[10]
Changing the princess’ appearance is one way to draw different fan crowds, but
so is following cultural norms. When Tiana, the first African-American Disney
princess was introduced, people wondered how sales would do. Yet, with the
Obama girls being seen as popular icons today, youngsters do not even know the
difference. “Girls of all races have already caught
princess fever, and young black girls embrace the white stars of ‘Hannah
Montana,’ the Jonas Brothers and "High School Musical" without worrying
about race. But some of their moms are making sure their daughters understand
the significance of the princess with her brown doe eyes, fuller lips and
elegant tiara.”[11] In
cases like these, it is apparent that sometimes parents emphasize things that
kids have grown up with different feelings towards. Perhaps once Sofia takes
off, the controversy over her heritage will disappear. After all, the point
Disney is trying to make has everything to do with morals and personal
characteristics and should not be based off of appearance. That said, many
Disney characters pride themselves on looking prim and proper for their perfect
princes.
From articles about Sofia
being Hispanic or not, to those discussing how Disney approached the issue, to
even commercial items-based articles and opinionated pieces, all are doing one
thing similarly: each of these articles is bringing attention to Disney. Whether
or not people are in favor of what the princess represents, the controversial
introduction of Sofia the First is giving Disney an opportunity to prove itself
and an expansive audience to be the judges of this new, young, figurehead. Civilian
responses to many of these articles include personal comments such as, “why not write about the ~40% High School dropout rate of
latinos, or latino gangs, or high latino teen pregnancies. etc.,” and “OMG Really.....
Maybe she should of been half black and latino
in a wheel chair and born of lesbian parents.
She could of also been
handicapped with a misformed hand or wore a back brace or a artificial limb
too,” and even
“hmm. I'm hispanic and she does look like me... i have
brown hair and light skin”.[12] Even if online arguments
stray from the context of the original articles, the most consistent and
effective theme of interpretation aims to hold Disney to a high enough standard
that it should be able to embrace its characters in whatever world they supposedly
come from.
[1] Navarrette
Jr., Ruben. "Why isn't Disney’s Princess Sofia Latino?." CNN,
October 26, 2012. http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/25/opinion/navarrette-disney-hispanics
(accessed March 11, 2013).
[2] Vultaggio
, Maria. "Princess Sofia & Other Disney Princesses Who Ignited
Controversy." International Business Times, , sec. Media &
Culture, October 23, 2012. http://www.ibtimes.com/princess-sofia-other-disney-princesses-who-ignited-controversy-852729
(accessed March 11, 2013).
[3] Navarrette
Jr., Ruben. "Why isn't Disney’s Princess Sofia Latino?." CNN,
October 26, 2012. http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/25/opinion/navarrette-disney-hispanics
(accessed March 11, 2013).
[4] Navarrette
Jr., Ruben. "Why isn't Disney’s Princess Sofia Latino?." CNN,
October 26, 2012. http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/25/opinion/navarrette-disney-hispanics
(accessed March 11, 2013).
[5] Carrasquillo,
Adrian. "Disney: Our first Latina princess isn’t actually Latina." NBCLatino,
October 22, 2012.
http://nbclatino.com/2012/10/22/disney-our-first-latina-princess-isnt-actually-latina/
(accessed March 11, 2013).
[6] IBID.
[7] Hayes,
Matt. "A New Disney Princess!." Disney Movies List (blog),
December 12, 2011. http://www.disneymovieslist.com/blog/1658/a-new-disney-princess
(accessed March 11, 2013).
[8] Maitland,
Sashana. "Disney unveils newest princess, Sophia the First, for toddlers
Read more:
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/disney-unveils-newest-princess-sophia-toddlers-article-1.991655
[9] Maitland,
Sashana. "Disney unveils newest princess, Sophia the First, for toddlers
Read more:
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/disney-unveils-newest-princess-sophia-toddlers-article-1.991655
[10]TVRopes,
"Franchise: Disney Princess." Accessed March 11, 2013.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Franchise/DisneyPrincess?from=Main.DisneyPrincess.
[11] Scott,
Megan. "Black parents teach young girls significance of Disne'ys first
black princess." MSN, sec. Entertainment, November 11, 2009.
http://entertainment.ca.msn.com/movies/canadian-press/article.aspx?cp-documentid=22575138
(accessed March 11, 2013).
[12] Navarrette
Jr., Ruben. "Why isn't Disney’s Princess Sofia Latino?." CNN,
October 26, 2012. http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/25/opinion/navarrette-disney-hispanics
(accessed March 11, 2013).
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