Facebook stalking people tonight has led me to reflect on how I view myself. Who am I , really? I know the important and "given" things, like God loves me, I'm black, also a 21 year-old college student (SENIOR!).
Those facts though, with the exception of the first one, are pretty boring. Unfortunately, I can't think of who I am besides those banal things I listed above. Those things make up my actual self. Boo Hoo :(
My ideal self, however, is awesome. She's trendy, a fashion-forward diva who's down to earth (oxymoronic, I know, but somehow my ideal self makes it work). Her hair, make-up, nails--flawless. She's got a sweet job, an "oldie, but goodie" car that runs, a steady boyfriend and about 100 pairs of super cool shoes. She's a great cook, a certified whiz in the kitchen, and her favorite drink is apple juice. [Other kind? Cosmopolitan :)] She's beautiful, sexy and sophisticated, sassy and shy. She's an un-intimidated, speak-her-mind, kinda gal. To sum it up in one word, she's awesome.
Now can she exist? Can ideal self become actual self? I'm in no way harping on myself to become someone I'm not or don't want to be. I'm pretty happy with myself and I don't think that being my ideal self will take away all my problems.But I can't help but wonder what it would be like to be her, just for one day. Would life be better? I don't think so. But it would be more interesting, which is all I am hoping for in my boring life.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Frogs and Apes: Representations of Blackness, Part One
I will admit that sometimes this blog seems to me a bit inconsequential. I doubt that many people read it and those who do, know me and all about my life anyway. However, sometimes I blog about things wholly outside of myself (well as much as can be done) and hope that people will be informed and/or inspired to reflect on what I've written. So here goes.
This week I have seen at least two movies that deal with representations of blackness: The Princess (2009) and the Frog and Planet of the Apes (2001). Both of these movies, whether subtly or deliberately, engaged in conversation about race and race relations, however it took me by surprise that the movie about which I held the most hope for commenting positively about blackness ended up being the most disappointing. Here's why.
"The film, which began production under the working title The Frog Princess, is an American fairy tale, Broadway-style musical set in the French Quater of New Orleans at the height of the Roaring Twenties. A prince named Naveen (Bruno Campos) from the land of Maldonia is transformed into a frog by the evil scheming voodoo magician Dr. Facilier (Keith David). The frog prince mistakes a girl named Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) for a princess and has her kiss him to break the spell. The kiss does not break the spell, but instead turns Tiana into a frog as well. Together, the two of them must reach the good voodoo queen of the deepest, darkest part of the Bayou, Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis), while befriending a trumpet-playing alligator Louis (Michael-Leon Wooley) and a hopelessly romantic Cajun firefly named Ray (Jim Cummings) along the way." (Wikipedia)
The Princess and the Frog seems an innocent enough movie. The main character, Tiana, is a hard working waitress who dreams of owning her own restaurant, a dream passed down by her father who died before it could be realized. However, the beginning of the movie, literally the first two minutes showed that this was not a movie by which long held beliefs about racial stereotypes would be challenged.
The opening scene reveals two little girls, one white and one black, listening intently as a black women reads them a story. She's accomplishing two tasks at once; she turns the pages even as she sews the little pink princess dress. This women is Eudora, the main character's mother who works as a seamstress for "Big Daddy" La Beouff, the wealthiest man in New Orleans. As she and Tiana board the bus for home after a long days work, the houses switch from styles grand and glorious to crumbling shacks. Years pass and we learn that as a young women Tiana works two waitress jobs and saves money so that she can open "Tiana's Place." (The viewer can already see that invisible "a" between the "P" and "l" when she, as all Princesses do, gets the happily ever after.) Lottie, who has heard that Prince Naveen from Maldonia is coming, hires Tiana to make her famous dessert and serve it at her impromptu ball, to help her win the prince's heart. Prince Naveen has come to win a rich lady's heart so that he may continue to play his music and "loaf,"but gets caught up in the Shadow Man's tricks and is turned into a frog while his valet masquerades as him so that they can split the money. It is at
I explain this in depth because all these scenes happen within the first half-hour of the movie and are the most problematic. First, the storyline is in no way based on the book, The Frog Princess or even the folktale "The Princess and the Frog. Tiana (whose name was supposed to be Maddy, but Disney quickly changed the name to something less "slave-like" to avoid controversy) is a waitress, not a princess. In the other two works, the Princess is a princess at the beginning of the story. I would have rather they left the title, the Frog Princess; it would have been less misleading. However, this can be overlooked since in other Disney stories, the girl starts out as little more than a nobody too.
However, the story is set in "real life"New Orleans. While I appreciate Disney's attempt to draw in history and place the story within a black context, why can't the black princess live in a land "far, far away"? The critics quoted by Wikipedia (who speak nothing of the controversy surrounding the movie) hail the movie as a Disney movie much like the old classics, but I disagree. I was expecting something more like a black Cinderella, but there were too many changes in the stock storyline for me to see it as anything but platitude.
Another problematic aspect is the voodoo aspect of the movie. This religion is most terribly represented. Too the movie makes it seem as if all black people in New Orleans believe and participate in this religion. One could argue that the focus of the movie blends in well with the settings history and culture--that New Orleans is a place where voodoo is practiced-- but even that argument fails because Princess movies aren't supposed to be specific (makes it harder for others to relate) but broad-cultured.
Lastly, there are three most devastating aspects which placed this movie forever into the "reject" pile. The first is that, for the most part, all the black people in this movie are the same color. HIGHLY problematic. Even allowing for the "sun" in New Orleans, there are ranges in color. Tied to this complaint is that the main character's skin tone changes. She is made to appear darker in her visions of the restaurant (perhaps to provide more contrast with her white dress). Apart from one mixed girl I knew in high school, people generally stay the same color from day to day (barring tanning of course). Secondly, the other black characters in this movie were portrayed negatively-- the cook who did not want Tiana to succeed and her "friends" who seemed unfazed that she was turning them down for dancing yet again. The other "black" characters, in contrast, were either animals or insects. Thirdly, the prince was not black. Ugh, while I appreciate the interracial aspect of the story, it would have been nice to see a black princess and a black prince live happily ever after, just like their white counterparts.
All in all, this movie was disappointing. It did nothing to further any helpful conversations about race and instead pandered to stereotypes which only further promote the view of "white as normal." Why else would the Prince not be black? (And if the Princess was the only thing Disney wanted to change, why is the Prince not white, but ambiguously raced?)
Somehow, this film seemed more about the "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" mentality, than the prince will rescue me storyline. Model minority propaganda, that's it. Plus, for over half of the movie, they're frogs. End of story.
* This post was too long, so I'll talk about the Planet of the Apes another day. Look for Part Two!
This week I have seen at least two movies that deal with representations of blackness: The Princess (2009) and the Frog and Planet of the Apes (2001). Both of these movies, whether subtly or deliberately, engaged in conversation about race and race relations, however it took me by surprise that the movie about which I held the most hope for commenting positively about blackness ended up being the most disappointing. Here's why.
"The film, which began production under the working title The Frog Princess, is an American fairy tale, Broadway-style musical set in the French Quater of New Orleans at the height of the Roaring Twenties. A prince named Naveen (Bruno Campos) from the land of Maldonia is transformed into a frog by the evil scheming voodoo magician Dr. Facilier (Keith David). The frog prince mistakes a girl named Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) for a princess and has her kiss him to break the spell. The kiss does not break the spell, but instead turns Tiana into a frog as well. Together, the two of them must reach the good voodoo queen of the deepest, darkest part of the Bayou, Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis), while befriending a trumpet-playing alligator Louis (Michael-Leon Wooley) and a hopelessly romantic Cajun firefly named Ray (Jim Cummings) along the way." (Wikipedia)
The Princess and the Frog seems an innocent enough movie. The main character, Tiana, is a hard working waitress who dreams of owning her own restaurant, a dream passed down by her father who died before it could be realized. However, the beginning of the movie, literally the first two minutes showed that this was not a movie by which long held beliefs about racial stereotypes would be challenged.
The opening scene reveals two little girls, one white and one black, listening intently as a black women reads them a story. She's accomplishing two tasks at once; she turns the pages even as she sews the little pink princess dress. This women is Eudora, the main character's mother who works as a seamstress for "Big Daddy" La Beouff, the wealthiest man in New Orleans. As she and Tiana board the bus for home after a long days work, the houses switch from styles grand and glorious to crumbling shacks. Years pass and we learn that as a young women Tiana works two waitress jobs and saves money so that she can open "Tiana's Place." (The viewer can already see that invisible "a" between the "P" and "l" when she, as all Princesses do, gets the happily ever after.) Lottie, who has heard that Prince Naveen from Maldonia is coming, hires Tiana to make her famous dessert and serve it at her impromptu ball, to help her win the prince's heart. Prince Naveen has come to win a rich lady's heart so that he may continue to play his music and "loaf,"but gets caught up in the Shadow Man's tricks and is turned into a frog while his valet masquerades as him so that they can split the money. It is at
I explain this in depth because all these scenes happen within the first half-hour of the movie and are the most problematic. First, the storyline is in no way based on the book, The Frog Princess or even the folktale "The Princess and the Frog. Tiana (whose name was supposed to be Maddy, but Disney quickly changed the name to something less "slave-like" to avoid controversy) is a waitress, not a princess. In the other two works, the Princess is a princess at the beginning of the story. I would have rather they left the title, the Frog Princess; it would have been less misleading. However, this can be overlooked since in other Disney stories, the girl starts out as little more than a nobody too.
However, the story is set in "real life"New Orleans. While I appreciate Disney's attempt to draw in history and place the story within a black context, why can't the black princess live in a land "far, far away"? The critics quoted by Wikipedia (who speak nothing of the controversy surrounding the movie) hail the movie as a Disney movie much like the old classics, but I disagree. I was expecting something more like a black Cinderella, but there were too many changes in the stock storyline for me to see it as anything but platitude.
Another problematic aspect is the voodoo aspect of the movie. This religion is most terribly represented. Too the movie makes it seem as if all black people in New Orleans believe and participate in this religion. One could argue that the focus of the movie blends in well with the settings history and culture--that New Orleans is a place where voodoo is practiced-- but even that argument fails because Princess movies aren't supposed to be specific (makes it harder for others to relate) but broad-cultured.
Lastly, there are three most devastating aspects which placed this movie forever into the "reject" pile. The first is that, for the most part, all the black people in this movie are the same color. HIGHLY problematic. Even allowing for the "sun" in New Orleans, there are ranges in color. Tied to this complaint is that the main character's skin tone changes. She is made to appear darker in her visions of the restaurant (perhaps to provide more contrast with her white dress). Apart from one mixed girl I knew in high school, people generally stay the same color from day to day (barring tanning of course). Secondly, the other black characters in this movie were portrayed negatively-- the cook who did not want Tiana to succeed and her "friends" who seemed unfazed that she was turning them down for dancing yet again. The other "black" characters, in contrast, were either animals or insects. Thirdly, the prince was not black. Ugh, while I appreciate the interracial aspect of the story, it would have been nice to see a black princess and a black prince live happily ever after, just like their white counterparts.
All in all, this movie was disappointing. It did nothing to further any helpful conversations about race and instead pandered to stereotypes which only further promote the view of "white as normal." Why else would the Prince not be black? (And if the Princess was the only thing Disney wanted to change, why is the Prince not white, but ambiguously raced?)
Somehow, this film seemed more about the "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" mentality, than the prince will rescue me storyline. Model minority propaganda, that's it. Plus, for over half of the movie, they're frogs. End of story.
* This post was too long, so I'll talk about the Planet of the Apes another day. Look for Part Two!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Um, With the Exception of This Post
Brittny is not allowed to blog after 10PM when school is in session. I just read over that last entry-- what was I thinking?! Anyway, I told myself anything I write here was semi-permanent, so up it will stay.
I know it seems like all I do is write about guys, but I swear other entries do have other topics (see label list). Anywho, here's what I've discovered tonight.
I like him. I do. There's no going back. I like him and I doubt he likes me, but so be it. Whatever will be, will be. Whew, it was good to get that off of my chest.
I think it hit me when I saw his name. My heart got all fluttery-- that could have been the result of the apple lemonade drink I made, but I'm 98% positive it was him-- and I couldn't stop smiling. Ah, I miss him too. What is that about?!
I think my life got a little more complicated once I put the dating option back into it. Do you think I should take it back? I honestly don't know.
I'm sleepy; let me stop while I'm ahead so I don't write anything else I'll regret.
I think I'll call it a night now.
I know it seems like all I do is write about guys, but I swear other entries do have other topics (see label list). Anywho, here's what I've discovered tonight.
I like him. I do. There's no going back. I like him and I doubt he likes me, but so be it. Whatever will be, will be. Whew, it was good to get that off of my chest.
I think it hit me when I saw his name. My heart got all fluttery-- that could have been the result of the apple lemonade drink I made, but I'm 98% positive it was him-- and I couldn't stop smiling. Ah, I miss him too. What is that about?!
I think my life got a little more complicated once I put the dating option back into it. Do you think I should take it back? I honestly don't know.
I'm sleepy; let me stop while I'm ahead so I don't write anything else I'll regret.
I think I'll call it a night now.
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