Re: "Princessist" by Belle - Tiana

Dear Belle,

I am Tiana, glad to have a chance to talk to you finally cuz I didn't really got much time to talk to you before. I am reading the post you wrote about Alice Walker's Womanist and your own term "Princessist". I am very very impressed with such a blogpost! It is very fantastic!

As you know - I turned into a frog for 2 days... /: ew...well it wasn't any cool but I really understand what is it mean by considering living things as a human being form and how is animals like to live in this world.

That night I was talking to Ray, I was telling him how I think animals are not having the race problem as human does, yes I am black - and I am actually the first black princess and the first princess who loves gumbo and jazz. It is not that I am from New Orleans so that I knows everything. No but until that I turned into a frog, I know how it is like to be animals.

There are rumors going 'round me about being the first black princess in Disney and yet this is controversial, but what we love to do is just putting things together and try to understand how r different people being set on earth. In people, there is race but in animals, there's none! Well all frogs are green...haha! I read lots of articles yes and these are and I have something to say about them:

Sweetheart I know I don't like challenging your points and - I'm not actually. But this is what I think - NO ONE IS BEING RACIST HERE! Personally I don't like the term "racist", what does that mean? Well I cares more on why does people think someone is "racist" more than really the idea of "racist" really! Why do I think that? Well a story does have a reason and it has a significance on the setting of a story (I do literature too but not as professional as you) well but - the part I underlined - if you say so then why don't you consider that the core of the story but not how is the story set. Something a bit more complicated here: when you say something is being racist you are also the racist one because you think the message conveyed related to the certain kind of race does possess the conveyed message - which consist discrimination. For example, you say the story set in the New Orleans and it is one of the most devastating tragedies to beset a black community, well what is mean by tragedies? I just don't get why they are saying this - they got nothing to justify to that anyways. This whole thing, well who said this created that image. We people in New Orleans has their own way of thinking and our own ways of living, everyone is here different but one thing we know - we made gumbo and everyone gather around our house and taste that. The message about race is very simply the understanding by themselves, there is no specifically criticisms and depiction of the black society but actually what is focused the most is the dream, family, animal world and love. It we are spending more time watching frogs we will spent less time watching the blacks! Well but something I'm very sure - no one else really do knows everything about the jazz music in New Orleans! Well Louis perhaps (btw some said Louis is created, sharing the first name of the famous musician Louis Armstrong and that reflects more of the idea related to racism but I don't think so!) but I do believe music is another way of understanding of humanity and the understanding of life. And it belongs to my circle.

When I see this paragraph, my first reaction was "WHY?" ok I have no idea what does it mean that I was originally called something something thus much like something something thus racist. Like I mentioned before about Louis, I don't care very much what is originally created before a final creation is produced. Hey come on, this is just one of the making process and I don't care what "Tiana" is the original name in the story "The  

Frog Princess" and even though what Disney was originally done to me it doesn't matters anymore, everything must gone through a process before it is created. But reading these criticisms what makes me feel like is the real "racist" one are them but not how disney made me! And back to that everything has it's own creating process and every thoughts counts and even in making something else the stereotypes made is processing in between, there is no way judging back I think! Umm pointless. 

Personally I am kinda confused when people are simply concerning on race and gender role, well no...they just can't see it deeper. If you say someone creates some ideas or image for you which causes your emotions and your thoughts to something else or creating an image to children - as said before but I never understand how does a particular image is going to form in everyone's mind. Let's say you get this picture, but I do not get the same message/ picture as everyone does.

In some points you may be criticising me and disney creation but I am criticising your critique as the person involved, because it just sounds...SHALLOW! The whole thing is already not focusing on racial difference or what already, it has nothing to say about this already. If that almost everyone are saying how pointlessly you are paying to see a...FROG...then you don't you just try to change your focus, it is not that there are subconscious but is the audience who is watching it subconsciously shaping themselves... or that try to look at my gumbo, why can't this be the focus though, I believe no one else has a better one...haha just kidding. But really you should try it *wink*!

Well I can't write a really good critique and I'm not a good writer like you, but I do make good gumbo soup and I have good taste of jazz! But thanks for reading this!

Bests,
Tiana