By Ken Storey
Nothing to do with Orlando, but
Disney is claiming that their latest princess, Sofia, is the company's first Latina Princess. While princess diversity has been around for awhile (with Native American, East Asian, Arabian, and African Americans being represented within the princess fold) this new claim has people asking what really makes a princess from one ethnicity or another. The heritage of the princess is never revealed in the new made of TV movie and forthcoming television show.
The confusion over the Hispanic claims get even more muddled when the Sofia's heritage is explained as being half-Enchancian and half-Galdizian. The two fictional kingdoms that the movie focuses on are in a world where there are a few real countries such as France but even these are presented in a more fictionalized manner than even how Disney has presented them in before (Such as their representation of Paris in the Hunchback animated films).
Sofia will be voiced by Modern Family's Ariel Winter while her mother will be voiced by Sara Ramirez from Grey's Anatomy (Disney loves cross promotion). The concept behind the new character is a bit odd even without the Hispanic or not debate. The story line seems like a flip on the usual Disney story, here a single mom marries the king making her daughter, Sophia, a princess. Soon Sophia is in the wondrous Princess world but she still has normal duties, like school, only that her school she is taught by the tree good fairies from Sleeping Beauty. She also communicates with
Disney princesses past.
The problems go beyond just how Sophia may look as Alyssa Rosenberg points out in a piece over at ThinkProgress. Rosenberg says that the real issue here is how Disney is seemingly waxing over the issue of ethnicity altogether while in the past they have used the struggle and celebration of race and ethnicity as a way to bring depth and expand the definition of what it is to be a princess.
"And so it strikes me as less of a problem that Sofia looks the way she looks and more that Disney was dull enough to set another princess story in the European fairy tale tradition. When Disney’s put stories about women who aren’t white on the big screen, it’s often done so in ways that draw drama and detail from their racial and ethnic backgrounds, and that expand the definition of princess to cover all kinds of brave, enterprising young women."
She goes on to give numerous examples before concluding that the entire Sophia project "looks less like an original story and much more like an opportunity for marketing." This rejection of the new Latina Princess does seem widespread. Many are expressing their disbelief with this 'white looking' Latina Princess through Twitter. What do you think? Does this green eyed, living somewhere near France, light skinned princess represent Latinas to you?
If you're curious to see the confusing princess by marriage, half-Enchancian and half-Galdizian Latina Sophia for yourself make sure to turn into Disney Channel on November 18th for her debut in the made for TV animated film Sofia the First: Once Upon a Princess.
Disney is claiming that their latest princess, Sofia, is the company's first Latina Princess. While princess diversity has been around for awhile (with Native American, East Asian, Arabian, and African Americans being represented within the princess fold) this new claim has people asking what really makes a princess from one ethnicity or another. The heritage of the princess is never revealed in the new made of TV movie and forthcoming television show.
The confusion over the Hispanic claims get even more muddled when the Sofia's heritage is explained as being half-Enchancian and half-Galdizian. The two fictional kingdoms that the movie focuses on are in a world where there are a few real countries such as France but even these are presented in a more fictionalized manner than even how Disney has presented them in before (Such as their representation of Paris in the Hunchback animated films).
Sofia will be voiced by Modern Family's Ariel Winter while her mother will be voiced by Sara Ramirez from Grey's Anatomy (Disney loves cross promotion). The concept behind the new character is a bit odd even without the Hispanic or not debate. The story line seems like a flip on the usual Disney story, here a single mom marries the king making her daughter, Sophia, a princess. Soon Sophia is in the wondrous Princess world but she still has normal duties, like school, only that her school she is taught by the tree good fairies from Sleeping Beauty. She also communicates with
Disney princesses past.
The problems go beyond just how Sophia may look as Alyssa Rosenberg points out in a piece over at ThinkProgress. Rosenberg says that the real issue here is how Disney is seemingly waxing over the issue of ethnicity altogether while in the past they have used the struggle and celebration of race and ethnicity as a way to bring depth and expand the definition of what it is to be a princess.
"And so it strikes me as less of a problem that Sofia looks the way she looks and more that Disney was dull enough to set another princess story in the European fairy tale tradition. When Disney’s put stories about women who aren’t white on the big screen, it’s often done so in ways that draw drama and detail from their racial and ethnic backgrounds, and that expand the definition of princess to cover all kinds of brave, enterprising young women."
She goes on to give numerous examples before concluding that the entire Sophia project "looks less like an original story and much more like an opportunity for marketing." This rejection of the new Latina Princess does seem widespread. Many are expressing their disbelief with this 'white looking' Latina Princess through Twitter. What do you think? Does this green eyed, living somewhere near France, light skinned princess represent Latinas to you?
If you're curious to see the confusing princess by marriage, half-Enchancian and half-Galdizian Latina Sophia for yourself make sure to turn into Disney Channel on November 18th for her debut in the made for TV animated film Sofia the First: Once Upon a Princess.
