Author: m.noel

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12/7/15

Frog Princess Vs. Frozen: Racial Innocence in Disney Princess Films

“Frozen” took America by storm. It is the highest grossing animated film of all time; Coming in at 1.6 billion dollars in revenue. Children all over the world ate the film up like candy. It was all the things we expect from a Disney princess animation: it was magical, well-written, fun, and it left out African Americans. When I saw “Frozen”, I couldn’t help but think “Where are all the black people.” African American characters only, barely, appeared in the background, hidden in crowds of people. But, it isn’t the lack of black faces in the film that tells us something about Disney’s racist agenda. It is the presence of black people in specific, racially driven roles that help us think about the role that Disney feels they play in real life.

A good place to look at this would be “The Princess and the Frog”, which is Disney’s first, and only, attempt of including an African American heroine in their princess franchise. The movie is set in 1912 Louisiana, a few decades after the Civil War. The story doesn’t start until our heroine, Tiana, gets a gig catering an event held by her mother’s former employer, Eli, who is white. In return for her services, he agrees to pay Tiana enough money to buy a sugar mill to open her dream restaurant. The idea that an African American woman in 1912 becomes able to open her own business through the donation of a white man is a fantasy itself. But, due to a course of events including voodoo, a risky gamble, and a kiss, Tiana becomes a frog and stays in her frog form for a majority of the film. What the most fantastical about the film is that Tiana’s best friend is Eli’s entitled daughter, Charlotte. Charlotte is the total opposite of Tiana in every way. She grew up knowing that Tiana was below her; and even through all their degrees of separation, Tiana and Charlotte remain close. In fact, she is Tiana’s only human friend. The only other friends Tiana has are the animals in the bayou. Disney chose only the things they liked about black culture to include in the film: their history of servitude, southern jargon, and jazz but glossed over real racial issues that existed  during that time. Then, they slapped on dark skin on a character with mainly European features, turned her into a frog, and called it a magical story. Ironically, the only real magic used in the story is dark magic, voodoo.

With all that in mind, it is still important to think about the main differences between “Frozen”and “The Princess and the Frog”. Why did the latter gross only a fraction of the revenue than the former? The answer could be that Tiana isn’t really a Disney princess. Yes, by law, because of her marriage to Prince Naveen, she is legally a princess. But, her happy ending, which every Disney princess is entitled to, included a new husband and her going back home to her restaurant that she outright purchased in the first place. Her curse was not broken by love, or magical trolls, but by a legal ceremony. Tiana had to work for her “happy ending”, she did not come across it by luck. In the end, there is no grand palace to call home, her royal title means almost nothing, and all she has secured for herself is a place she has to work at for the rest of her life. She did not end up in a magical land, an enchanted forest, or any of the places we usually see princess films take place, but back in segregated America. All I can see is Disney’s racially driven goal, to keep young black girls  feeling as though they should be content in their lives with a job and a husband. To them, there are no real magical possibilities for African Americans.  Although, many believe that The Princess and the Frog was a major stride for the Disney princess franchise, it is simply a frog dressed in gowns.

12/7/15

Binaries in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

A binary that plays an important role in “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” is friends vs. enemies. Harry Potter values his friends very much. They are held to the highest esteem and are typically very good (in terms of character). Hermione, for example, is exceptionally brilliant; she is also very trustworthy and a good student. At one point in the novel, she uses magic just so that she can take more classes. Ron, although he is from a lower class, he does not resent Hermione’s and Harry’s wealth. He is content with his family, and a loyal friend to Harry.

His enemies, on the other hand, are always seen as evil and hostile. Sirius Black, who is Harry’s enemy for the first part of the book, is immediately depicted as being a hostile criminal through the media. His disheveled appearance causes people to stereotype him further proves the fact that he should be locked up. Even the Dursley’s, who are not magical, are seen as horrendous. They constantly mistreat Harry for no good reason and thus are his enemies. Eventually Harry gets sick of the mistreatment and punishes Aunt Marge using his magic to turn her into a gigantic balloon. He resents her so much that he doesn’t even feel remorseful. After the incident “He sat quite still, anger still surging through him, listening to the frantic thumping of his heart. But after ten minutes alone in the dark street, a new emotion overtook him: panic” (Rowling, 31). He becomes panicked about going back to Hogwarts because he broke wizard law; he doesn’t think twice about what will happen to Aunt Marge. Immediately after he thinks about Hogwarts, his friends, Hermione and Ron, and how they would help him even though he is now, technically, a criminal.

The types of people that Harry decides are friends and enemies help bring to light the importance that integrity plays in choosing friends. His enemies are always evil beings who care only for themselves. While, his friends are completely selfless. Sirius Black crosses over from enemy to friend only after Harry discovers that Black was innocent and willing to die to protect his friends, James and Lily (page 374). Thinking about what qualities are most desirable in friend can help readers (children) discover the “right” qualities to have within themselves.

 

 

Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. New York: Arthur A. Levine, 1999. Print.

 

*extra credit post*

11/2/15

Mess Post: Chore Vs. Privilege Vs. Showing Off

 

A fellow classmate of mine identified Chore vs. Privilege as a possible binary that exists in Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”. The whitewashing of the fence is a chore to Tom because he has to do it against his will, while all of his friends are preoccupied with play. However, Tom turns the whitewashing into a privilege by persuading Ben that it was not a chore but a privilege because a boy doesn’t get to whitewash a fence everyday.

This binary between Chore and Privilege however is shattered in Chapter 4 of the novel when Tom trades in tickets he bartered for in order to win a prize. To win the prize the student was supposed to recite 2,000 bible verses which Tom obviously did not do. However, Tom did not care for the prize. Twain says “It is possible that Tom’s mental stomach had never really hungered for one of those prizes, but unquestionably his entire being had for many a day longed for the glory and the eclat that came with it.” Tom wanted the privilege of praise that came from completing the chore of reciting the verses. He wanted to show off in front of his friends even though the praise was wrongfully earned

 

10/19/15

Early America Vs. Progressive America

“The Story of Alice Green” (1829) written by Samuel Goodrich starts in Norwich, Connecticut. It involves a little girl who lives with her aunt and must find a way to travel to her father in Boston. She must reach Boston as soon as possible so that her and her father may be able to sail to England. The little girl’s aunt enlists the help of a Native American, Uncas, to carry Alice from Connecticut to Boston during the long, cold winter.  On the five day journey to Boston, Alice and Uncas face terrible conditions. However, Uncas is able to protect Alice from the cold weather. At the end of the story, Alice remembers “the fidelity of the kind hearted Indian” and spends the rest of her days in England (Goodrich, Page 16). The story is narrated by a third party and his language implies that he is speaking to young children; almost  

It struck me as odd that the narrator who tells the story of Alice Green often refers to Uncas as “the Indian” (even though he is a Native American). For example, he calls Uncas “the strong Indian”, “the hardy Indian”, “the watchful Indian” and other things (Goodrich, Page 10,12,14). However, Alice is always called by her name. It also struck me as odd that the story is named after Alice Green when in fact, the real protagonist is Uncas. In a way, by not calling Uncas by his real name and focusing on Alice’s feelings, the narrator redirects me, the reader, away from Uncas difficult labor.

This contrast greatly to some children’s media that exist today. One specific example of this is the TV show “Dora the Explorer” (2000). The show “Dora the Explorer” revolves around a young girl of spanish descent who explores different places, some even fantastical that involve pirates and mermaids. This contrast to the “Story of Alice Green” which is rooted in a very real and historical town in Connecticut and involves a real Native American tribe.  Dora usually narrates the show herself and often asks her viewers to participate as she problem solves. This is very different from Alice who relies on the help of Uncas to get to her father. Dora is an example of a modern progressive American children’s “text”. The heroine is not of European descent, but instead speaks to the minority American group. The involvement of the children viewers in her problem solving can help them build their own methods of problem solving instead of being force fed a narrative.

 

Works Cited

Goodrich, Samuel G. The Story of Alice Green: One of Peter Parley’s Winter Evening Tales. Boston: S.G. Goodrich, 1829. Boston Literary History. Web. 15 Oct. 2015. <http://www.bostonliteraryhistory.com/chapter-4/samuel-griswold-goodrich-story-alice-green-one-peter-parley%E2%80%99s-winter-evening-tales-boston>

10/5/15

Binaries in the Rollo Series

I think that Rollo at Play (and possibly other stories in the Rollo series) center around the binary of right versus wrong. This is very different from the binary of good versus bad in the sense that the right/wrong concept stems from duty, whereas good/bad can be more metaphysical or spiritual; or otherwise less connected to direct action and penitence for action. Examples of the right versus wrong binary are seen when Jonas talks to Rollo and James about their conflict with the wigwam (page 24). Jonas tells each child why they are wrong and why they are right. At first, when Jonas seems to agree with Rollo, he looked “pleased and triumphant”. This is because being right/ behaving correctly is usually associated with winning and rewards.

We also see this binary being used when Rollo’s mother tells him that he cannot go outside to play with Jonas because he has not done his reading (page 10). This is wrong. Because of this, he is punished. Rollo’s penitence for his actions is seen when he reads more than he was told in order to apologize for his actions and be rewarded.

I think that emphasizing the idea of right and wrong is important for a text like the Rollo series. This is because the series serves as a teaching guide for parents and also children. Abbot thought good parenting involved rewarding right behavior and punishing wrong behavior. Also, a child can learn from the text by understanding what behavior is acceptable and what is not.

09/29/15

Wonderland Project- Reality Vs. Fantasy

  • Topic: Our Wonderland will explore the human perception of reality and fantasy.
  • Betraying the “Real World”: Our Wonderland relies heavily on how we believe the physical world is real and anything that can’t be explained using a scientific method is unreal. So, our Wonderland will betray the real world by being completely metaphysical and fantastical.
  • Entering Wonderland: Playing on a scene from the Harry Potter movie franchise, our Wonderland becomes accessible after “running into a wall”. Of course this idea will become more clear as our Wonderland develops.

 

Group Members: Jeffery Acosta, Arshan Ashraf, Mariolina Noel, Tsanya Turner, Fatih Ucan

09/15/15

Child as a Site: James and the Giant Peach

 

Roald Dahl expertly crafted his stories to capture the minds of children and adults alike. James and the Giant Peach, published in 1961, is a prime example of this. “James and the Giant Peach” tells the story of James, a child who runs away from his evil aunts along with various insects in a giant peach.

Besides the aspect of the giant peach, insects, and various exaggerated details, this story depicts an ordinary story of a boy living a hard and lonely life and how he overcomes difficult situations. As adults, we too have to overcome situations and try to find hope that things will get better. Dahl projects this need for hope onto his character James multiple times. The first instance of this is when James is given the magical “little green things” and promised that “magical things would start happening to [him]”(Dahl, page 11). Although, he spills the beans, literally, there is hope yet for James when the first peach appears and grows to an enormous size. This spark of hope expands within James as the novel progresses and he finds ways to overcome more and more trials and tribulations. Dahl places hope in the magic beans because which is what adults desire to obtain but sometimes feel that it is something fantastical, or mystical, like the child.

Often as adults we grow out of creativity, or at least we think we do as we become more and more integrated in modern adult life. Creativity is something cherished and some sort of memorabilia from our past lives. Creativity runs in abundance through the characters in Dahl’s novel. We see in the personality of the characters; the Centipede is a jokester who admires his legs and says he has “like a hundred of them” when he really only has 42 (Dahl, 31). We see it Dahl’s creation theory; the “Cloud- Men” reside in the sky with Cloud families and create hailstones and other forms of precipitation to shower down on the world. We also see in the child himself, James; James constantly finds unique ways out of situations. An example of this is seen in chapter 22 when James fashions a balloon out of the giant peach by attaching it to 502 seagulls (Dahl, page 69).

As adults we love to hear fantastical stories that illustrate how much we covet things such as hope, creativity, and even fear. “James and the Giant Peach” tells an ordinary story in an extraordinary way, which is why it is a children’s story; because, clearly only children can benefit from reading a delusion like this.

 

Dahl, Roald, and Nancy Ekholm Burkert. James and the Giant Peach: A Children’s Story. New York: A.A. Knopf, 1961. Print

09/8/15

How to Read: The Tortoise and the Hare

  • What a Reader is asked to know:
    • About life
      • The reader is asked to know what a Tortoise and a Hare is.
      • The reader should also understand the concept of a competition and race. This includes understanding the significance of winning/ losing.
    • About language:
      • The reader should know that the tortoises speech implies that he is arrogant.
      • The reader should understand the level of vocabulary in the text. (e.g.  “lolling”, “rival”, etc.)
    • About literature:
      • The reader should know that this story is meant to teach a lesson

 

  •  What a reader is asked to do:
    • The reader is asked to understand the language of the story in order to figure out the moral that lied within the text. The moral that they discover can also be used to figure out who is a better character and why.

 

  • Implied reader:
    • The implied reader is a person/ child with at least a first grade vocabulary. The implied reader should be able to gain some moral insight after reading this story that can be applied to their lives.
09/3/15

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Itsy-Bitsy Spider

 

The itsy-bitsy spider
Climbed up the water spout
Down came the rain
And washed the spider out
Out came the sun
And dried up all the rain
And the itsy-bitsy spider
Climbed up the spout again

 

“Itsy-Bitsy Spider.” BabyCenter. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Sept. 2015. <http://www.babycenter.com/0_lullaby-lyrics-itsy-bitsy-spider_6729.bc>.