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like it’s not automatically a sinister thing to be an adult content creator with a younger fanbase, but you have to maintain clear boundaries if you’re in that situation and so many people don’t. you have to make it clear that you’re an adult and you’re in a different place in your life than a 15 year old, and you can’t be interacting with nsfw stuff kids create—yes, even if they send it to you! there’s no epidemic of underage fans “harassing” grown ass adults, there’s an epidemic of creepy fucking adults who position themselves as “one of the kids” and cross all kinds of boundaries of appropriateness when interacting with kids and often even seek out more interaction from those kids.
this is a one-sided issue. kids and adults are not on equal playing fields, they’re just not. you don’t get to shift blame or responsibility to a demographic that’s highly susceptible to abuse and manipulation, even without the added factor of celebrity thrown into the mix.
while i’m on the topic: yes this post was prompted by the tommy sandals incident but he’s far from the only adult to act like he #totally relates to the kids and teens who follow him around. remember all the youtubers who have been found to have manipulated or abused their very young fans? remember halsey kissing underage fans onstage? remember every skinny indie band dude who definitely enjoys attention from young girls way too much?
just because you’re an icon or whatever among young people doesn’t mean you’re actually a young person. it’s disgusting how many adults will willfully conceal that fact just because kids look up to them and want their approval.
when i was a little kid, i didn’t care for movies. my parents always admonished me for sitting too close to the screen or fidgeting too much, so i turned to books instead. when i was four, i tried to watch the first harry potter movie. i absolutely loved it, but it wasn’t enough for me. i had to get my hands on that book. the teachers at pre-school said it was a horrible idea, but i read the first two books anyway.
then came kindergarten. the teachers scolded my parents for letting me bring novels to school. “she can’t possibly understand them,” they said. so they gave me tests on the books. i made perfect scores on all of them. i preferred books to movies and television; movies didn’t do justice to the stories i loved.
so, they marked me down as a “gifted child.” they tested my IQ and everything. i was the perfect student, in their eyes. i sat in the front and listened to the teachers as intently as i could.
one day after school, i ran up to my mother and hugged her. then, i turned my head and saw my mother walking towards me. i looked up at the woman i had hugged. “you’re not my mother,” i said, astutely.
my mother, a clever woman, thought to have my eyesight tested. turns out, i had horrible vision. somewhere around 20/450. functionally blind without glasses. not ideal for anyone, especially a six year old.
all my life until that point, people thought i must be some sort of brilliant prodigy, eschewing television and movies for more intellectual pursuits, but actually i just couldn’t fucking see lol
This took a different direction than I was expecting.
Please remember that this is when the amazon strike was scheduled. It is very likely that it was precisely the direct action of Amazon workers that made this impact on Amazon. Do not make their work invisible.
Warning: Long post, Anti-Ta*ngled, anti-Frozen, and also I’m not very nice <333
What does the title mean?
Wherein a Disney Princess movie is more likely to have an idealized kingdom and monarchy if the princess is white, while a Princess of Color in a Disney movie is more likely to criticize the social norms or monarchy of their kingdom.
Aka the white kingdom is portrayed as perfect, and the non white kingdom is shown to be imperfect.
White Disney princesses tend to be very passive and reactive to their plots. Princesses of Color tend to be more proactive and move the plot along.
I’m going to exclude the early white Disney princesses because they are very easy to pick apart and have been done to death. I’m going for more recent Disney princesses from the 1990s and 2000s.
Kingdoms Ruled by People of Color are shown as Flawed and Rife with Inequality
EXAMPLE:Agraba from Aladdin and Maldonia fro the Princess and the Frog
Agraba is shown to have social inequalities, with the gap between the rich and poor being the central conflict and a motivation for Aladdin. Breaking the social norms almost gets Princess Jasmine’s hand cut off. People in these kingdoms can be portrayed as rude, mean, and in Aladdin’s case, full of racist stereotypes of people of Middle Eastern and South Asian descent.
[sorry for the bad quality clip, it’s difficult finding good images.]
Children are shown starving because of these inqualities, and Jasmine is frustrated by her extravagant lifestyle.
She consistently criticizes the sexism she faces and criticizes Aladdin for indulging in his princely persona.
In the Princess and the Frog, there is similar criticism of monarchy and opulence. Tiana has to work for everything, and calls out Prince Naveen for his behavior and lifestyle. He has to learn to work hard, and overcome his personality flaws.
But with Charlotte, she basically gets the white Disney princess treatment. Despite taking advantage of the systems her whiteness gives her, the movie makes no comment on how her privilege puts her socially above Tiana. She’s constantly focused on and the movie indulges in her personality, not realizing the hypocrisy of showering her with positive attention while reprimanding Naveen for his privileges.
Even other Disney princesses such as Mulan have to overcome social problems and work through them. They are pointed out, they are discussed. But when it comes to white Disney princesses, the direction is completely different in how their kingdoms are portrayed.
Suddenly poverty and social problems are seldom discussed or actively shown.
White Disney Kingdoms are Shown as Ideal with no Problems, Royalty are Portrayed as Moral and Always Good
You see, white Disney Princesses are more likely to live in idealized kingdoms and make no comments on the social inequalities or problems that could potentially exist.
EXAMPLE: Corona from T*angled and Arendelle from Frozen
White Disney Princess films reinforce what is called Absolute Monarchy, T*angled especially.
Absolute Monarchy is the idea that a king or queen is given the throne through divine intervention. They have power over others because god wills it to be so.
The fact that the king and queen of Corona took an all healing power for themselves despite the narrative looking down on Mother Gothel for doing the same is because they are royalty. They deserve it because they are rich and if something from the heavens comes down to earth, they deserve it more than someone whose poor.
Frozen deems Anna and Elsa special because they are royalty as well. Despite Elsa being a recluse unfit for ruling a kingdom and Anna being immature, the narrative places their safety above all others in the kingdom because they are rich and have royal blood. They are deemed the most moral,the most pretty, the most deserving of second chances because Elsa practically divinity.
These kingdoms are both unrealistically happy, cheery, with no social problems. The citizens are all nice, never pose any physical threat to the princesses, and their laws are considered fair and equal. This is a direct contrast to Disney princesses films such as The princess and the frog and Aladdin.
Rapunzel lives in an ideal fairytale kingdom with apparently no poverty. The men from the tavern are seen as outliers because they don’t live in the city. There doesn’t seem to be any social issues at all. And yet there seems to be a dungeon where prisoners get regularly executed. But that’s not really seen as a problem or discussed at all. Everyone seems to be ok with that and just eat cupcakes and dance.
Arendelle is full of citizens that just seem to be window dressing. The kingdom apparently has no real issues despite their queen having magic that could potentially kill off their crops, their industries, and their lives. Social inequalities are non existent. And anyone who is against the monarchy is totally evil or out for power themselves.
White Princesses Tend to be Passive/Reactive, Princesses of Color are Active and Move the Plot Forward
White Disney princesses also tend to be very passive too. Rapunzel wants to see the lanterns, but she only gets the guts to go out of the tower because Flynn Rider came along. She reacts to him being there and this kicks off their journey to Corona. Result:She is reduced to being a plot device most of the time and her goal feels very vague because of the genericness of “follow your dream!!1″ theme.
Anna is constantly at the mercy of the elements because she’s been sheltered all her life and constantly needs Kristoff to hold her hand. Elsa’s hands are wiped clean of her damning her kingdom to an eternal winter by making it a result of her emotions and “not knowing.” Result:Anna and Elsa’s “triumph’s” feel unearned and lackluster.
Tiana kisses Naveen as a frog because she wants to have the money for her restaurant and it’s her dream. This takes a lot of thought and she makes an active choice. She endures grueling work and constant disrespect. It’s her motivation and she’s actively trying to get to this goal.
Result:
It’s satisfying when she achieves her goal.
Jasmine wants to leave the castle so she does it and goes out in disguise. She wants to be her own person and isn’t afraid to call out people to let them know to treat her with respect. She criticizes Aladdin because she knows that even though she has feelings for him, she knows they won’t work if he’s not honest with her.
Result:
Their relationship is satisfying to watch and they feel like real people.
being half native, i am beyond tired of this reoccurring theme. for all of you cryptid fans, the wendigo, thunderbirds, skinwalkers, etc. are NOT cryptids. they are a part of indigenous culture and are spirits/entities, and not anything like mothman. they are religious and cultural folklore, despite the fact that cryptozoologists try to classify them as cryptids.
also, do not associate any non-indigenous oc’s with ANY spirits from native culture and folklore, as it is very insensitive (i.e. kylo ren wendigo, named “rendigo”) to the culture and considered white-washing. our culture, practices, and religion has already been stretched far and thin over the years. be respectful please.
GhostKitten's shitpost pile 