There were some very good points that came up in the comments about my post. Yes, Disney has brought some ethnicity with heroines such as Pocahontas, Mulan, and Jasmine. But when we look into what Disney calls the actual “Disney princesses,” the only one that is not white is Jasmine (who is Arabian). It is easy to see that the 8 Disney princesses are the most popular among young girls and therefore they are often put on Disney merchandise more than any other Disney character.

I think the movie poster was what originally started the whole racism issue for this movie I have heard the comments that the villain looked like a pimp, but whether he acts like a pimp in the movie is a whole other story.  I have seen some video clips of him and as far as I can tell, there is no mention of him even being around girls (honestly, Disney would have to be pretty bad to put a pimp in a children’s movie). The voodoo witch doctor may seem like a negative stereotype, but I think Disney made her into such a colorful character that it doesn’t seem so negative at all. As for the issue of stereotyping, it has been used in movies and theater for a long time. It just seems like people are touchier about it now than they were in the past.

I decided to look at some reviews after the movie came out. From what I have seen, all is positive and there have been no more racism issues that came up.  In its first weekend, it hit the top charts, pushing The Blind Side to the number two spot. Over all, it looks like a very good movie with the classic animated Disney magic and some modern twists.

I’m sure most of you have noticed all the commotion about Disney’s newest movie “The Princess and the Frog.” Personally, I am glad that Disney decided to make another classic princess movie. It has been quite a long time since Disney made their last princess movie and it is about time they add a new one. And to make it even more special, they make this their first African-American princess. Perhaps they thought that this would give them more publicity, but it actually gave the media a chance to look at how Disney has portrayed African-Americans in past movies, and I can guarantee they did not like what they found.

The biggest comparison people make with this movie is the black crows from “Dumbo.” ok, I can see where they can come off on this, but keep in mind when Dumbo was released. Back in 1941, we were not quite as racially sensitive so there was nothing wrong with it. Yes, if it was released now, there would be a huge commotion about it. But that was just how the times were back then. We know better now. And keep in mind that the crows did help Dumbo, so in a way they were heroes.

Disney also seems to get a bad rap from the fact that Walt Disney himself was “racially insensitive.” There have been numerous occasions where Disney poses negative stereotypes on other cultures and ethnicities. I did look into this and I will agree that some of the earlier stereotyping were pretty bad. From what I know, The Princess and the Frog is not that bad. Keep in mind that Walt Disney did not write this movie, just other writers in the Disney business.

Now for the movie itself. It is kind of hard to judge a movie that is not even out yet (it will be released tomorrow), but I did some research to see what the arguments are all about. First, there is the fact that Princess Tiana is seen as a frog for a majority of the movie. They complain that she is not seen as a strong black woman, but just a frog. I say that it doesn’t matter if she is seen as a frog; she is still a strong black woman. From what I saw in the reviews, Tiana is seen as a strong, independent woman who has a dream of opening a restaurant in memory of her father. Changing into a frog shouldn’t change who she is. Then there is the witch doctors Shadow Man and Madam Odie. People are complaining that the voodoo magic is a negative stereotype on black people. But honestly, what Disney princess movie did not have some sort of magic in it? That’s just how Disney works.

Yes, this princess was long overdue, but the fact is that Tiana is here now and Disney is putting the New Orleans culture in a positive light for the first time. I think is a nice change on the princess movies. It gives them more of a modern twist. That and all the jazz music should be kind of cool. So yes, Disney should have added a black princess a long time ago, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are racist. After the movie is released, we will be able to make our own judgment as to if “The Princess and the Frog” is racist or not.

Hey everybody I’m back!

I noticed that lately I haven’t been as productive lately and I think I have found the reason why. I have been spending a lot of time on facebook as of late. Don’t get me wrong, I love the fact that I can keep in touch with my friends and there are a few fun games on facebook, but it can get really addicting. And this kind of addiction can have a lot of negative side effects. Because you are sitting at the computer for hours, you get no exercise and that means you start to gain weight. And with  all of the time spent on facebook, nothing gets done and your grades could start to slip. The only way to avoid these side effects is to only spend a little time on facebook and only if homework and errands get done.

You guessed it, I’m having a writer’s block! I guess if I thought harder I could think of something else, but since I’m on the subject I’m going to write about writer’s blocks. Bear with me on this one.

I assume everyone knows what a writer’s block is, but for those who don’t, it just means that you can’t think of a subject to write about. Everyone has had one at some point. I have had them many times, and for someone who doesn’t mind writing, this really frusterates me. I guess my mind just isn’t working today.

I figure its close enough to winter and the temperature is right (or wrong however you look at it), so why not talk about the weather?

We all have things that we like and dislike about the winter, especially in places that snow a lot. It is a pretty big change, going from nice warm weather to extremely cold temperatures. We need to bundle up instead of wearing those cute cloths that show your sexy body. And we can’t stay outside for very long before getting frostbite (or worse). But I think worst has to be the icy roads. Everyone who drives (which I assume is everyone around here) knows what I am talking about. I have been driving for only 2 years and I have been in my fair share of skids and fish tailings. I have even ended up in the ditch once because of black ice. And apparently around here it gets really windy during the winter. I wouldn’t know because I’m not from around here. It just got very cold back where I’m from.

But with the winter weather comes some very fun winter games. Many people around here enjoy skiing and snowboarding. And who doesn’t love to go sledding and getting into snowball fights? Even the ice has its perks. Ice fishing, ice skating, and hockey are a few of the big sports on the ice. I’m almost sure that all of you reading this like at least one of these sports. But my personal favorite winter sport is snowmobiling. I love the speed, even in the extremely cold temperatures.

So this is an easy article to comment on. Talk about your favorite winter sport (maybe I didn’t mention it!). Or perhaps you absolutely hate winter. Whatever, talk about it. I do like winter, I just don’t think it should be happening in the middle of October.

I know, I’m a freshman, so why am I writing about how freshmen are dumb? Well, first of all, I want the upper classmen to remember what it was like for them to be a freshman and I want the freshmen to understand why people think they are “dumb.”

There is one obvious yet easily forgotten reason why freshmen may appear “dumb” to upperclassmen, this is the first time that many freshmen are on their own.  For their whole life, they had their parents to take care of them their whole life, and now suddenly they have to take care of themselves. So it would make some sense of why they don’t quite know how to take care of themselves. They might not get homework done or even go to class because there is no one to force them to. And they always leave stuff all over the place because they think it will “magically” go where it’s suppose to go.  But don’t worry, they will eventually find out that this is not the case and hopefully start taking care of themselves.

I will admit this: I am able to talk about this so easily because I don’t see myself as a “dumb” freshman. Of course, this is all a matter of opinion so I would understand if someone else thinks differently.  But I have been away from home many times before now and I have been taught how to take care of myself. And I do believe that not every freshman is as irresponsible as most are.

Every Sunday afternoon I look forward to watching a new episode of “The Simpsons” on Fox. This Sunday was no exception. But in this episode, I noticed something that really hit close to home. On this episode, the town of Springfield is growing in population with very nice, hard-working people with a thick Norwegian accent and a love for the Minnesota Vikings. Sound familiar? It should, because that’s what every Minnesotan is stereotyped as.

Now there is nothing wrong with being stereotyped as nice or hard-working. Even having a funny accent is just fine (although like any other movie, the Norwegian accent is overdone). But I also found hints of another stereotype in these new characters that is not at all Minnesotan. Everywhere was very overpopulated and all of the new characters were taking the jobs that nobody else wanted. At the end of the show, Springfield even builds a wall to keep the new people out. Obviously, these are all stereotypes of an illegal immigrant and what Americans do to keep them out. Now I may be just taking this too seriously, but I found it a little offensive that The Simpsons were comparing Minnesotans with illegal immigrants. It’s almost like they are saying that Minnesotans were not meant to be here. And I understand that most Minnesotans are thought to be a lot different from other states, but there is no reason why someone from Wisconsin or California wouldn’t be a nice person or have a good work ethic. And I wouldn’t be surprised if not every Minnesotan is Norwegian. As a matter of fact, my whole family is mostly German. We just happened to pick up on the accent just like every other Minnesotan. So there is no reason why we should be treated differently, as we have already established here in America.

Now I am not saying that everyone should stop watching “The Simpsons.” I find it to be a very funny show and I will continue to watch it. I have just seen the Minnesotan stereotype so many times in movies and television that it is starting to get a little annoying for me. And don’t get me started on “New in Town” because I can find so many wrong stereotypes in that movie (crow hunting anyone?).

Never done this before…so excited!