Reflection

I really never thought about the races of Disney princesses until Tiana came along. It never occurred to me that people thought that Disney was insulting. When we did this project, I've been watching all those movies for about 10 years (save the Princess and the Frog), but I've never tried to analyze the races and insulting words. Honestly, it took some of the fun away from watching them. I want to watch a movie and when it's done say, "Wow! that was a really good movie!" not, "Wow! there was only one single race in that movie." I think that anyone can enjoy Disney to it's fullest. I mean, you have to remember, it was really created for little children who don't hear insulting words and don't care about the skin color. This project was really interesting and I learned a lot. :)

Conclusion

We can now conclude that until the Princess and the Frog, most of Disney's movies had one single race. It doesn't change how good or bad the movie is, just about every Disney movie is good. Our Primary Research showed that most people aren't bothered by the races in the movie, they just watch it for fun. Some people think that some of the songs Disney characters sing can be insulting. But the thing people like most in a princess is determination, not color, race or even beauty.
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Secondary research stuff

So, our secondary research has been completed. (or at least one part of it.) Yesterday, Eliza and I watched
-Aladdin
-The Princess and the Frog
-The Little Mermaid
We counted the different races in each movie, the number of things said that could be offensive, and lastly any mention of religion.
Aladdin had the most religion mentioned in it, four times in the movie. There was only one race of people, Arabian. We only caught one thing said that someone might take offense to.
In the Princess and the Frog, there were four different races/ nationalities, African- American, white, Mediterranean, and European. There were three things that someone might take offense too, and there were two bits of religion. (because of marriage.)
In the Little Mermaid, there was only one race, white. There wasn't any religion mentioned or offensive comments. In this movie, you were either a fish or not.
Altogether, these movies gave us good secondary research, and, it was fun to spend the entire afternoon watching Disney! I mean, who wouldn't want to do that? :)

Primary Research results

This first chart is the favorite Disney Princesses. Most people either liked Mulan or Tiana because they're newer, fresher faces in Disney. They have new stories to hear. Next was Ariel and then Pocahontas. No one liked Cinderella. One reason for that is they've either seen it too much, or heard about it too much.
No one cared much about the color or race of a Disney Princess. a small percent said it sort of mattered to them, but the over all majority said they really could care less. It doesn't really matter what color the princesses are, they still enjoy and relate to the characters.

The largest amount of people said that, Yes! Disney should make more Princesses of different Nationalities. It's good to see more princesses with different story lines, different songs and different races. Some people said that they really could care less, some said sort of..., and the smallest amounts of people said no, not really and nope! not at all!

Primary Research results (continued)

Everyone we interviewed wanted to see a princesses from a different country. People want to RELATE to these characters. It's easier to do that if you know where they come from. It's fun to see a princess living in a place where you've visited. Most people either wanted a princess from Russia or another country we didn't mention. Next was Africa, any Spanish speaking country, and India.
Wow. Most people like determination in a princess. They like to see strong- minded women. Next is beauty. That's understandable. Everyone likes to hear a good voice, see a strong women, but it doesn't hurt to see a pretty face as well. A few people liked the princesses clothes. The pretty dresses and shoes and such. A few others liked something completely different. No one really liked the singing voice.
There were only a few people who took offense to the things Disney character's sing. Not many people said sort of..., some said nope! not at all!, and the largest chunk said no, not really.

The next type of research we're doing is Secondary Research. This research is information we've collected (and are collecting) from articles and the Disney movies themselves. This Saturday, Eliza and I are going to get together and watch:

- Aladdin
- The Little Mermaid
- The Princess and the Frog

This is the main part of our Secondary Research. The other part is the great article we found on GALILEO.

While this article is old (from 2007!), it tells us about the newest Disney. Tiana (though they called her Maddy at the time) is the very first black princess to ever be released by Disney. Disney started its Princesses in 1938 with "Snow White" and now Tiana has made her debut in Disney history with all the other princesses.

This article was written by Susan E. McGregor
and published in the New York Amsterdam News

the start of Primary Research

The first bit of information we are going to collect is our Primary Research. We are going to conduct a survey and get first- hand information. Our Survey Questions are:
1. Who is your favorite Disney Princess?
a. Ariel
b. Cinderella
c. Tiana (Princess and the Frog)
d.Mulan
e. Pocahontas
f. other
2. Does it matter, to you, what nationality/ race or color Disney's princesses are?
a. Yes! absolutely!
b. sort of...
c. I really could care less
d. no, not really
e. Nope! not at all!
3. Do you think Disney should make more Princesses of different nationalities?
a. Yes! absolutely!
b. sort of...
c. I really could care less
d. no, not really
e. Nope! not at all!
4. What other places of the World would you like to see princesses from?
a. India
b. Russia
c. Africa
d. any Spanish speaking country
e. other
5. What qualities do you like best in a Disney Princess?
a. determination
b. beauty
c. race
d. clothes
e. singing voice
f. other
6. Is it insulting, to you, when Disney characters sing things like
"...it's barbaric but hey! it's home..."? (Aladdin)
a. Yes! absolutely!
b. sort of...
c. I really could care less
d. no, not really
e. Nope! not at all!

Research Questions:
1. Why has it taken Disney over 100 years to make a movie with an African American Princess?
2. What affect does races in Disney movies have on society?
3. Disney movies are seen all over the world, so, why are there only 4 main princesses of different races?

Research Topic

From December 1937 - December 2009, Disney has been teaching the world to whistle while they work, reach for their dreams, and wish upon a star. But if Disney's audience is the people of the world, why are their only 4 princesses of different races? And (finally) in 2009, the first African American princess appeared on the screen. But why? Disney has been around for more than 100 years. What makes 2009 different from 1999? or 1989? These are the things I'm trying to find out.