Much as I dislike the corporation's historical mishandling of race and gender issues, I am still enough of an optimist to interpret giving a dignified black female character a sunflower theme as a baby step forward for Disney. I could just be seeing a link that isn't there, but I hope it is.
Also I really dig Iridessa. She friggin' makes rainbows, plus she's hotter than all two of the other Disney animated heroines of color put together!
(Well no, I exaggerate. Nothing is hotter than two women put together, if you get my drift. AND I THINK YOU DO.)
Posts
I think you're just seeing it because you want to. I feel like giving the black girl a sunflower theme is proof of Disney's continued (but lessened) racism, if anything.
ReplyDeleteWhy can't the black girl be represented with roses or lilies or chrysanthemums or any other type of flower? I find it very typical that the black girl be stuck with sunflowers.
Is this a stereotype I'm not aware of? I haven't heard of this before.
ReplyDeleteI don't know that it's a stereotype per se, but sunflowers are definitely a very southern thing and you see black people and sunflowers together a lot in media. Old paintings, photos and promotional images that include racist stereotypes often have sunflowers in them or use sunflower colors for the backgrounds.
ReplyDeleteIt's not an out-and-out racist thing by any means but I do just feel like it's very typical that they'd choose sunflowers for the black girl instead of some other type of flower.
On the other hand, yellow and orange do look pretty fantastic against dark skin. And with her being in charge of light, I might have picked sunflowers just for the name alone.
ReplyDeleteIt's true that the colors are complimentary and so is the name. I don't really have a problem with either. :) I just wouldn't be commending Disney when it is a very (forgive me for saying this again - it's annoying me too - but I can't seem find the right words for emphasis that stop short of "stereotype") typical thing to do for a black character.
ReplyDeleteI live in the south, and when I think 'black people flowers', wedding flowers come to mind. No idea why. Maybe because fuschia and pink look really good on black girls...
ReplyDeleteAnd another thing comes to mind because I read about the whole 'white kids playing the cast of Avatar' post. ...If kagerou were made into a movie, who would play who? Obviously a white guy would play Kano, and black girls would play Starless and Tcoalin, but what about cho? I always thought of her as a muslim/arab myself.??
If you'd have asked that a couple of years ago I would have said Li'l Kim for Cho, but she's gotten some CRAZY plastic surgery and now she looks like one of the Jackson siblings :(
ReplyDeleteI've also got an order for 80s-era Gloria Estefan for Princess Tonbo, that femmy guy from Tokio Hotel as Kano (seriously scary resemblance) and Legend forest boy Tom Cruise as the nick. I spotted a dead-on Starless once but I can't seem to find her name.