As of 2010, 44% of American children under the age of 19 are children of color (ChildrenNow). Unfortunately, the faces on television and the big screen don’t accurately portray the realities of the American population. Kids and teens 8-18 years spend nearly four hours a day in front of a TV screen (Kids Health). The media that children consume can form and transform their attitudes about race, class, and gender, thus making the media critical in their development. “Television not only fails to accurately reflect the world in which young people live, but it also sends a message that some groups of people are more valued by society and worthy of attention than others” (ChildrenNow).
In regards to diversity, animated features generally offer more diverse casts than their live action counterparts; however, ethnic diversity (or the lack thereof) still raises issue. Disney has faced various criticism in the past regarding their children’s daytime television programs. Many movies have stirred controversy as well. Surprisingly, Pixar (parented by Disney) hasn’t often been criticized by fans or writers for their lack of non-white characters, but that doesn’t mean they should ignore the issue (PixarTimes). Either way, they’ve yet to have a non-white character or voice talent at the center of a movie (Mic).
The world isn’t all about Disney and Pixar. A lesser known animation studio has been on what many call the “come up.” In recent months, DreamWorks Animation Studios has announced something big. Drum roll please…
In late 2014, DreamWorks announced the addition of a black female heroine! Yes, the main character is black AND female! No major Hollywood studio has ever released a 3D animated feature starring a black character. In fact, the closest was Disney with Princess and the Frog in 2009. The new film titled Home, tells the story of an alien race that invaded earth and made it their own home. Convinced they were doing humans a favor, the alien race relocated the humans of earth to a Desert Planet (imdb). The movie then follows “Tip” Tucci (voiced by Rihanna), a “though, smart, and seemingly fearless human girl” as she embarks on a quest to save the rest of the humans. As many children’s movies go, she has to overcome differences in order to restore normalcy to her people.
There are a myriad of praises that can be given to the plot alone. The description of Tip as “tough and smart” already shines a positive light on the African-American community, where many characters are portrayed as mean or less knowledgeable. Having Rihanna, a woman of color, portray the main character only furthers the accurate portrayal in terms of sound and appearance. Another star of color featured in the animated clip is Tip’s mother Lucy (portrayed by Jennifer Lopez). Two strong females of color with equally as strong roles further confirms the stereotype breaking, new-era of animation.
Simply put, this soon to be history making movie is important. As I was scrolling through twitter in previous weeks, I came across a picture of an African-American girl, no more than age 7. She closely resembled Tip, the main character as she stood in front of a life sized poster cut out. The smile that appeared on the little girl’s face was enough to realize that Representation matters- in adult media, but also (maybe even more importantly) in children’s media.
Understanding the impact of such negative or inaccurate messages, within current media, have on children becomes critical to developing supportive media. Home debuts in theaters soon and is expected to skyrocket. As of now, DreamWorks Studios should take pride in what they’ve done. There is no doubt that Home will provide numerous children of color, specifically African-Americans, with the ability to see someone who “looks like them” on the big screen. It is with high hopes that “Home is the beginning of a much broader trend.” (Zak Cheney-Rice, Mic).
Candice Crutchfield says
In response to cmr5832:
I see where you are coming from and agree for the most part. I made mention to Princess and the Frog in the blog post (and other posts in the past). I support the movie 100%; however, the goal of this post was to look at DreamWorks. Maybe I’ll write about Princess & the Frog sometime in the coming weeks! 🙂
Jordan Robert Lawson says
I’m a big fan of your approach in this post, Candice. You’re raising awareness of something that is so wide-ranging and effects nearly all of us. However, I think the fact that we’re so conditioned to conform to and accept the media and the figures that are portrayed in its current form leads us down a slippery slope. Too much exposure to one “type” of character personified in the entertainment industry lessens our sensitivity to minority groups and slows the effort we’ve been making to reverse false stereotypes that persist in society. The media is a fantastic that needs to be used to do otherwise and you highlighted that necessity. Great post!
cmr5832 says
I’ll admit, I enjoy watching children’s movies, even as a young adult. However, I was wondering why you didn’t give praise to Disney’s The Princess and the Frog. I’ve never seen the movie, but I don’t think it promotes negative stereotypes. It is also a children’s movie, and one that came before Dreamworks’ Home. It seems to me that both deserve praise.