Originally Posted By mawnck This probably belongs in World Events, but it IS Disney merchandise ... <a href="http://gawker.com/5890481/disneys-only-black-princess-hawks-watermelon-candy" target="_blank">http://gawker.com/5890481/disn...on-candy</a>
Originally Posted By DlandDug I wish we were beyond this. At first I thought this was probably the case of a foreign (ie: Asian) licensee who was unaware of the negative stereotype. But no, the candies are made by Frankford, headquartered right here in the good old USA (Philadelphia, to be precise). <a href="http://www.frankfordcandy.com/our-brands/disney" target="_blank">http://www.frankfordcandy.com/...s/disney</a> There's really no valid excuse for this. I do note that the Princess Dig 'n Dips are not listed on their website, although Disney Fairies, Phineas and Ferb, and Cars branded Dig 'n Dips are. (There's even the P&F Valentine DnDs still listed.) These are a low end licensee, for what it's worth. I see these candies all the time in our local 99 cent store.
Originally Posted By Autopia Deb Part of me is thinking "wow, this is incredibly insensitive" and part of me wonders why we let this stupid stuff get to us. Then again I would rather eat the watermelon flavor than the vanilla no matter which princess were on the package.
Originally Posted By EmmaJayne Given I'm not from the US when I looked at the picture, I thought the problem was just the white Princess on the vanilla flavor.. The watermelon issue didn't even occur to me until I started reason the comments and asked my fiancé who vaguely filled me in.. I still don't see what's that wrong with it? As in I don't understand why this watermelon stereotype exist or why its a negative thing? Perhaps I'm hugely ignorant but it just doesn't seem like a big deal?
Originally Posted By utahjosh Are we supposed to be upset that the white princess is "Vanilla," meaning bland and typical, or that the black princess is "Watermlon," perpetuating the stereotype that black people enjoy watermelon? Neither one really bother me. Aurora IS bland, and I love watermelon - and Tiana probably would, too.
Originally Posted By danyoung The vanilla reference is not so bad by itself, but when you add in the watermelon thing it really goes over the top. It's as bad as Sambo's restaurants, if anyone remembers those.
Originally Posted By DlandDug There is a very old negative stereotype connecting African Americans to watermelons, going back over a century in the United States. In recent years it has fallen off the pop culture radar, but for anyone in middle age or beyond, there's no question that it is, at the very least, insensitive. Just a flavor (so to speak): <a href="http://abagond.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/pickaninny.jpg" target="_blank">http://abagond.files.wordpress...inny.jpg</a> <a href="http://www.chgs.umn.edu/histories/otherness/images/watermelonA.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.chgs.umn.edu/histor...lonA.jpg</a> <a href="http://binkis.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/1911_postcard-watermelon_01.jpg?w=510" target="_blank">http://binkis.files.wordpress....pg?w=510</a> <a href="http://abagond.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/scrub_me_mama_watermelon.jpg?w=500" target="_blank">http://abagond.files.wordpress...pg?w=500</a> With Barack Obama in the White House, some of the old, offensive associations have been brought back-- making it especially troubling that no one was aware of the effect this candy packaging could cause. (The following two images show that the negative stereotype is still potent to some): <a href="http://abagond.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/watermelon_white_house.jpg" target="_blank">http://abagond.files.wordpress...ouse.jpg</a> <a href="http://neveryetmelted.com/wp-images/ObamaWatermelon.jpg" target="_blank">http://neveryetmelted.com/wp-i...elon.jpg</a>
Originally Posted By elene Wow, I must have my head in the sand because I've never heard of this before and I'm 47!
Originally Posted By skinnerbox What I'd like to know, is who the heck at Disney is responsible for monitoring the licensees? And why did they not see the obvious negative stereotype associated with Tiana and the watermelon flavor? Plus, this might have been a deliberate act on the part of the candy manufacturer. We have no way of knowing, but given the divisive attitude towards African-Americans in certain segments of our nation, it wouldn't surprise me. But Disney? They should have known better. The studio that still refuses to release 'Song of the South' because of negative stereotypes. They should have known better.
Originally Posted By DlandDug I posed the same questions to a friend who handles entertainment licensing, and who has dealt with Disney's stringent requirements from time to time. He said it was likely clueless youngsters who will rubber stamp whatever crosses their desk who let something like this slide by. I'm baffled. This is just bad.
Originally Posted By mawnck >>There's really no valid excuse for this.<< I collect old phonograph records, and there are any number of popular songs from early in the last century about happy-go-lucky black folks eating watermelon. One from the early 1920's (to the tune of Turkey in the Straw) bears the unfortunate title of "N_____ Love a Watermelon, Ha Ha Ha". The stereotype is VERY real. I WISH I lived somewhere where I wouldn't come across it (except in piles of old 78s - I wish there were more of those). But in this case, it seems like an honest mistake to me. They were probably thinking layouts and color schemes and fonts and such when they assembled this package, and it didn't occur to them that they had matched princess to flavoring in a, shall we say, unfortunate manner. It's obviously Valentine's Day candy, BTW, complete with "to/from" panels and hearts everywhere. Everybody seems to be missing that little detail. I posted this here because I thought it was amusing, not to condemn Disney. Probably should have been clearer about that.
Originally Posted By mawnck >>I wish there were more of those<< Clarification: More piles of 78s to dig through, not necessarily ones with racist lyrics. (Most had no ill intent anyway.)
Originally Posted By Autopia Deb I suspect you are correct about the color scheme. Watermelon is often packaged in pink or red with green and Tiana IS the princess in the green dress.
Originally Posted By basil fan Oh, no! The other day, a customer ordered a watermelon Icee...and he was black! Maybe I shouldn't have sold it to him... If Tiana had been on the vanilla package, there would be the same shocked disbelief and "how-dare-you" attitude. The only way Disney can avoid censure is to remove Tia altogether. Otherwise, every move they make concerning her will be percieved as racist by somebody. It's Tough to Be a Bird <a href="http://www.whatsitsgalore.com/disney/tough.html" target="_blank">http://www.whatsitsgalore.com/...ugh.html</a>
Originally Posted By danyoung Sorry, but that's ridiculous. Of course some of the people who like watermelon are going to be black. But to state that the advertising face of a watermelon candy is a black person is definitely racist.
Originally Posted By EmmaJayne Ok I'm still missing something.. How is it negative?? When I travel abroad I am almost always asked if I like Vegemite just because I'm Australian or told to 'throw another shrimp on the barbie' which are both huge stereotypes and I don't find them in any way offensive.. Then again a few years ago Aussie KFC launched and add about opening a bucket of fried chicken to bond with the West Indies cricket team ( or Sri Lanka?? I really can't remember) and it got canned for promoting a racist stereotype that doesnt even exist in this country! And the add was part of a series or ads that all featured someone feeling out of place, then opening a bucket of chicken and fitting in.. It was all baffling and I realize this has gone a bit off topic but ok the watermelon is a stereotype, but how is it a negative one?
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Originally Posted By tashajilek Im with you EmmaJayne, i really dont get the big deal either. I like watermelon just like anyone else and i think most people who see the packaging wont think anything of it.
Originally Posted By mawnck >>the watermelon is a stereotype, but how is it a negative one?<< It's an America thing. You wouldn't understand. ;-) But seriously ... there's a specific, offensively stereotypical image of African Americans in our culture. Aside from the physically exaggerated facial characteristics (lips and such), blacks were portrayed as lazy, stupid servant half-people who like to whistle and dance a lot. Watermelon (and to a lesser extent, fried chicken) are part of this stereotype. The links in post 8 go to some examples. This very specific demeaning image was pervasive throughout American culture pretty much up until the civil rights movement, at which time it started being used with specific malicious intent by racists digging in on their positions. So you have to see the watermelon thing in that context. It's not the watermelon itself, it's the negative image (coupled with the racist movement it came to be associated with) that the watermelon is a part of. Here's a VERY good article on the topic: <a href="http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/question/may08/" target="_blank">http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/...n/may08/</a> >>It seems almost silly to say that watermelons have been racialized, but that is exactly what happened in this culture. For much of this country's history, postcards showing Black people comically eating watermelons were popular among White Americans. Many of these so-called "Coon cards" show Black people stealing watermelons, fighting over watermelons, even being transformed into watermelons. ... The museum has dozens of three dimensional objects showing African Americans eating watermelons, including banks, ashtrays, toys, firecrackers, cookie jars, match holders, dolls, souvenirs, doorstops, lawn jockeys, and novelty objects. These objects not only show Blacks lustily eating watermelons but often portray African Americans in physically caricatured ways: hideous faces, over-sized bright red lips, darting eyes, and ragged clothing. The problem is not that African Americans are shown eating watermelons. Rather, the problem is that Blacks are portrayed as contented Coons, Toms, Mammies, and Picaninnies, with all their hopes, dreams, and fears sated by eating watermelons under the shade of great trees.<<
