Subtle Racism, Disney Style
As I watched it the first time, and many others, scenes would appear which would make me say "that would never happen." Yes, that's the jaded real-world liberal in me. I thought the film was a little too indifferent to the boundaries that existed between the "colored people" at the time and the whites. It seemed to show an existence where everything was peachy-keen, an ordinary girl could become a princess, and live happily ever after.
However, on watching it over and over again, Disney got it right. The subtle indicators of racism at the time are there.
Initially, I saw the friendship of Lottie and Tiana as being unrealistic. Maybe as children, okay but into adulthood? Still, after what seems like thousands of viewings, Lottie is a more complex character than given credit for. She's rich, self-centered, and spoiled, but she has a heart of gold. Raised by a father who likely was the same way, she doesn't always grasp the social graces of the world for as much as she's a part of high society. Even though we see other friends Tiana has briefly, we see no others for Lottie. Tiana is probably the only person that can stand her, but that's okay because there's much more to Lottie than meets the eye. She's retained that child-like innocence in her relationship with Tiana and the way that she looks at the world. Would she defend her friend to a mob of angry racists? I don't know. But she would expect her father too.
He also doesn't see the social lines, as witnessed when he dines at the restaurant where Tiana works as a waitress. Her friends and the cook there are African-American and usually there was a distinction in those times that wasn't crossed (think about those "Coloreds Only" signs seen in photographs). Yet he crosses the line and doesn't seem to think much about it. Part of it might be his wealth and white privilege, but a part of it is likely, like his daughter, he doesn't see the color of a person's skin as a social definition.
There is racism in the film, although you have to think about it to see it. It comes when Tiana is ready to buy her restaurant. The building she has dreamed about has been vacant for years, as evidenced by its condition and the fact that her mother says that Tiana's father would "go on about this old place." She tells the white real estate agents, the Fenner Brothers, that she will sign the papers that night.
Yet when they encounter her at the party, they tell her someone else has come up with an offer of the full price, all cash, and unless she can match it by the next morning, oh well. They help themselves to her beignets and go off smiling.
Think about it. On the surface, it's a good drama point for Tiana (and a huge plot point of the story) where she must figure out a way to beat out this other buyer.
I'll tell you a secret. There is no other buyer.
The Fenner Brothers likely have done this for years, possibly to her father as well. More than likely, they've done this to other poor African-Americans in the city. It's the carrot to the donkey, always dangling it out there but they'll never let people reach it. Why else, when threatened by Louis at the end of the film (most definitely some time after "the next morning") and given the tins of money she's saved, do they hand over the key?
It's done well. Disney doesn't have a neon sign hanging over them, saying "these guys are racists." Children will accept the story at face value. As we watch it as we get older, or think about the story more, certain truths like this one dawn on us. Certain parts may give us that happy, warm & fuzzy feeling of Americans not seeing color and singing kumbaya in the 1920s (which never happened, of course), but I have to say the storymakers wove this in nice and subtle. Well done.
If you haven't seen the film yet, I suggest you do. Maybe a few hundred times.
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