"John is right. We should put ‘entertainment and compelling story and engaging characters’ first – and that is what we’re achieving, with or without political messaging."
"When Disney director John Musker said he understood ‘woke criticism’ and political ‘messaging’ should take a back seat, I couldn’t help but cry – there is no woke agenda!
"Over the past year accusations of Disney’s political pandering have skyrocketed following Halle Bailey’s turn as Ariel in the live-action Little Mermaid (a role which inspired young Black girls everywhere) and American-Latina actor Rachel Zegler’s casting as Snow White.
"What should have been a non-issue blew up into a fiery social media storm with the right-wing’s favourite buzzword ‘woke’ being tossed around like candy.
"Now acclaimed director Musker – known for helming Disney classics such as Hercules, Aladdin and The Little Mermaid – has put his misguided two cents into the exhausting conversation.
"First, he addressed the backlash to his 2009 Disney film Princess and the Frog, saying: ‘We weren’t trying to be woke, although I understand the criticism.’
"John didn’t expand on why he understood the criticism, making this statement even more disappointing. At the time Tiana (voiced by Anika Noni Rose) made history as the first African-American princess since the company was founded in 1923.
"Although the film touched on social class discourse, with Tiana working multiple jobs to support herself and achieve her dream of opening a restaurant, it could hardly constitute as ‘woke’." . . .
No comments:
Post a Comment