Disney’s Colorism Problem…

[00:00:00]Discussions surrounding Disney and colorism have been ongoing for years.

[00:00:06]And when you take a glance at the company's past, particularly in liveaction teen media, it reveals certain patterns that are hard to overlook. I've observed that dark-kinned black girls are seldom highlighted, marketed, and or given the same level of visibility as their lighterkinned peers on Disney. And if they are provided the platform, they either are the side character and or given one leading role, but you don't tend to see them further on within the Disney legacy. And this is not a coincidence. It appears to be systematic. Colorism establishes hierarchies within blackness itself, frequently favoring lighter skin, looser curls, and more racially ambiguous traits as quote unquote safer, more marketable, more feminine, or more universally appealing in the eyes of mainstream media industries. Hollywood has a long-standing history of the issue, and Disney has not been free from these discussions. When examining Disney's history, many people observed that black girls who received the most promotion and were positioned as crossover stars often conform more closely to euroentric beauty ideals or had lighter skin tones. Actresses like Raven Simone and Zenaia, along with other lighterkinned or racially ambiguous black performers, were given the opportunity to represent significant Disney eras in ways that dark-kinned girls did not experience. This observation does not take away from their talent or achievements. This discussion centers on industry trends rather than assigning blame to individuals. The core issue is the imbalance present in representation. For many years, dark-kinned black girls were frequently sidelineed, cast as secondary characters, used for comic relief, depicted less romanticized roles, afforded less protection, or completely absent.

[00:02:18]>> Christ love isn't like everybody else's love. It's not like the world's love.

[00:02:21]The world's love loves you when you do things right or when you do things with them, but as soon as you make a mistake, they take that love away. But what I've experienced with the love of Christ is that it loves first. It loves through wrongdoing. It loves It loves when you shouldn't be loved anymore. It's unconditional. And that's the love that I believe is going to change the world and has changed me.

[00:02:39]>> Hey, what's up y'all? It's Micaia. I'm back. And I'm black. And I'm back. And I'm black. And I'm back. And I'm black.

[00:02:45]And I'm back. And I'm back.

[00:02:54]I will be right here.

[00:02:58]>> Yo, Sasha here. Excuse me. Uh, superm models do not fly business class. Now, I'm not going to demand a private jet, but I think Jag could at least spring for first class. And today, I am bringing you all another video diving into Disney and colorism. Now, I always want to reiterate this whenever I speak about this. This is not to diminish the craft of many of these people who are excelling now and who have done wonderful things on Disney. I'm a Disney kid. Okay, I'm going preface that. I'm a Disney kid. I love Disney down. But we can't ignore the issues that have taken place. And if we look across the board regarding the different women who have been propelled on Disney Channel, we tend to see that many of them tend to be lighter complexion. You have your Zenaia, you have your Raven Simones, and those are the two pivotal people, I would say, specifically Black Woman, that have been the face of Disney Channel, when the rest of them are pushed to side characters and or given lead roles for movies, per se, but not utilized further on, whereas the ones who are utilized and maxed out and tend to be utilized more have more of a lighter complexion. And what sparked this video is actually the video I did on Coco Jones where I really feel like Disney fumbled the bag with her because she's so talented within Let It Shine.

[00:04:20]She signed so bright and she didn't get her due diligence as her lighter skin counterparts. It's unfortunate and I hate that this really had to happen for her, but everything happened for a reason because she's doing amazing things. However, I think it's really important for us to address the issues at hand so that this does not keep happening further. Awareness is important. And I want to take the time to shine a light and literally focus in on the words that came out of Coco Jones mouth regarding her treatment and different things she faced at Disney.

[00:04:53]But before we do that, please make sure you like, comment, and subscribe to see more of me. And if you're new, hey, hey, hey. And if you're a returner, I really appreciate the love. I'm so grateful for the growth of this channel. So, if you do end up enjoying this video, please make sure you hype it up so it can be pushed to a larger audience. And if you get the chance, please make sure you check out my social media platforms down within the description box and on the screen where I display my passion for fashion along with other interests that I have. And for all who are new, you should know I do an array of topics. I am extremely diverse. I do more nerdy topics, I do nostalgic topics, and I do more conscious topics. Plus, I dibble and dabble within vlogs. So, we do a little bit of everything around here.

[00:05:39]I'm your girl. So, let's dive back into the video. Most of the time with the channel, oh lord.

[00:05:49]I'm nervous.

[00:05:51]Most of the time with the channel, they they like once they like you, they kind of uh keep you around. liked me on next big thing and then you start to see me around more and more and more. That's kind of how it goes with like people that they plan on like breaking out as like a star. They plant that person in like other projects. So that was kind of how it was going to go with me. We like you stay around. Stay around. Which means I don't know what that means. But for me personally, you know, this little girl from Tennessee, I was like, "All right, we going to stay. We going to stay around." And that's what I did.

[00:06:22]After Let It Shine, there was there was supposed to be a Let It Shine too. Point blank and period. Whoever didn't want to do it, it didn't go. Like, I don't know.

[00:06:31]I don't know if it was I don't know who it was that didn't want to be a part of it, but it was it was done. That falls through next. Y'all, I was supposed to have a TV show. I thought it was going to be I was going to be the next Raven in my mind. This is what I was thinking.

[00:06:45]Keep in mind, I'm a regular girl. Like, I just dropped out of freaking school for this. Like, I don't know nothing.

[00:06:54]You know what I'm saying? like my people, we don't know anything. I'm believing this. So like I can even recall like being in this room looking around at like the heads of all of this.

[00:07:04]Like I was I was like, "Oh, it's a wrap."

[00:07:09]Point blank period is a wrap. Um so yeah, we talk about this development, talk about all this stuff, falls through. I don't know. Like just as much as they tell me, that's all I know. You know what I'm saying? So um that doesn't happen. If I can just let them see like my talent, then they'll believe in me.

[00:07:28]But they would really hear me sing, hear me act, see me dance. I'm going hard in the paint. I want it. And then um because of somebody else looks a little bit more marketable. Doesn't matter, baby girl. So um that's traumatizing as a little kid and they're like, "Yeah, we um we don't know what to do with you."

[00:07:51]Please do the math in y'all's head because I'm not about to be over here.

[00:07:54]Y'all y'all know what it is. We don't know what to do with you. Okay. I just thought, okay, it's supposed to keep happening like this. That's how it happened for all the other girls who were right beside me. Y'all, some of the girls y'all stand. We was all in the same rooms, all trying out for the same things. I'm looking at them. We talking anyway. No. Okay. Yeah. So, I just I didn't know I didn't know that. All right. This is going to be different than how these other girls are. It don't matter how you can sing. It don't matter that you're nice. It don't matter that you're easy to work with. It don't matter that you're always on time. Don't matter that you always say yes ma'am and no ma'am. All extra and polite. I ain't have to do none of that. I only know a handful of dark-kinned black girls out here out here like that. What I mean like that is like this picture like all right, they have an audition. There's there's this is just like in this in this um section of LA. Let's just talk this section. They going to send this email out. There's about probably going to be a thousand girls that get that email from their casting directors.

[00:08:50]There's probably going to be like 200 who they going to really look at you.

[00:08:59]The chances of a The chances of a dark-kinned black girl being one of those 200 out of the 10,00 that they're going to see that day. That's that day.

[00:09:09]Your appointment is on that day. That means there's there's several other days where they're sitting there listening to girls every day.

[00:09:17]say these same lines. The colorisms out here is crazy. Point blank and period.

[00:09:21]Y'all already know it. Y'all already know it. Look at your favorite shows. Do you see anyone darkkinned? No. Do you see darkkinned women? Let me let me retract. Do you see darkkinned women?

[00:09:29]No. The colorism is crazy. So, I would cry because I would get these opportunities like a like I always feel like it's like a piece of cheese and like a thousand mice and we all are like wanting this one piece of cheese, but you can't control who gets it. You know what I'm saying? So, why why would I be mad at the next girl? Why would I be mad at myself? Where's the lane? Okay, there's the light-skinned pretty girl.

[00:09:52]I'll be the dark skin. Oh. Oh, they got one already. Okay. Like, I was just trying to figure out I didn't even care who I was. I wanted to be booked. Who cares, you know? So, I had to I had to get my priorities straight.

[00:10:06]And I feel like now I'm I'm more who I'm supposed to be. And we see based off of what she was stating is the disparity between the treatment of what you get when you're darker complexion and when you're a lighter complexion. And when they say they didn't know how to market her, that was just saying that they did not want to push someone of her stature out to the masses. But they had no problem pushing Zenaia, China. Mlan, Sky Jackson. These aren't coincidences as to why this is in place and why this happens. And when darker complexion women are included, they didn't always receive the same degree of softness, femininity, desiraability, marketing support, or narrative importance. And I believe Ivy's a great example of this. I did love her character, and she was very sweet, and she really was that real friend. I have on the docket hopefully to do a video on her. However, we can't ignore that she fed into a lot of stereotypes as well. And if you're no stranger to this channel, then you know I love the Cheetah Girls. However, the discussion around the Cheetah Girls serves as a prominent example that many reference regarding colorism. In the original book series, the group showcased a broader spectrum of black representation featuring girls with darker skin tones.

[00:11:32]But when Disney transformed the franchise into a film, the cast reflected a more commercially acceptable image according to Hollywood standards.

[00:11:43]Although the group remained diverse and culturally significant, numerous observers pointed out the lack of visibly dark-kinned black girls in a franchise that is fundamentally rooted in multicultural sisterhood and the influence of black music. This absence is significant because representation transcends merely having a black character. It also concerns which black girls are consistently recognized as deserving of visibility. As Aqua and Angie are described as being darker skinned, Notori would have been a perfect Aqua. And then we'd cast Ashley Murray as her Angie. The Proud family introduced Penny Proud as a truly revolutionary character, serving as a significant figure for black representation and animation. However, discussions about colorism surfaced due to the contrast between Penny's softer portrayal, her desiraability, and her prominence compared to how darker skin girls were sometimes depicted on the show. Viewers frequently cite characters like Dane or the Gross sisters when talking about stereotypical portrayals, noting how dark skin was often linked to roughness, aggression, or exaggerated comedic traits. These discussions are complex as representation itself held substantial value. Many black viewers, such as myself, cherish these shows immensely. They're deep within our hearts. Yet, it is possible to love something while also offering critique. Another important thing to mention is that Kiki Palmer was actually supposed to have a show on Disney Channel which was called Kiki and Jamal.

[00:13:36]And if you know, Kiki Palmer was a part of the Jumpin movie which was a very impactful movie on Disney Channel. It's one of my favorite decoms. So you can tell that she was going down that pathway of being that Disney star, but you could tell another reason. Hence, Disney did not know how to utilize her with her being a darker complexion woman. And I think they had difficulty in seeing something like this go further. And as we know, she was in better hands with Nickelodeon being on True Jackson VP. However, I would have loved to see how this show could have came out as well. But hey, we'll never know.

[00:14:24]>> I love them so much. That's why we got to stay together like nobody got my back like my family do. Oh no, it don't.

[00:14:42]That was such a cute song. By the way, I had to play the theme song cuz I'm like, that is just too cute. But we can't ignore the colorism that takes place or that has taken place on Disney Channel.

[00:14:54]It's very evident. It's clear. It's in our face. Even with Taylor from High School Musical. I would have liked to see more of her in other realms within Disney Channel because she played a pivotal role in the High School Musical franchise. I have a lot of commentary on her character and specifically her physical representation and how I feel like that could have been handled a lot better. So stay tuned for that. But I felt like she had such a prominent presence on screen and I would have liked to see that more on other Disney sitcoms and different things like that.

[00:15:31]Now, I will say the one person that didn't fit Disney's conventional archetype was most definitely China Mlan. I did a whole video on her. I love her work. I love her onscreen presence.

[00:15:44]She was so talented and she was more on the darker side compared to, of course, Zenaia and Raven Simone. But I do believe she came up around the same time as Koko Jones. So, it's not a coincidence as to why she was propelled compared to Coco Jones. So many of these shows and characters are very close and near and dear to my heart. I love the Disney franchise. However, just because we have love and appreciation doesn't mean we can't point out certain things that were wrong with the programming as well. So, I thank you all for watching.

[00:16:20]Please make sure you like, comment, and subscribe if you enjoyed. Please leave your thoughts and perspectives on the matter. I am open to all perspectives.

[00:16:29]However, we must be respectful down within the comment section. And I want you all to remember that you are loved by the God who created the universe. He made you for such a special purpose.

[00:16:41]There's no mistake as to why you've been placed here on this earth. So allow your light to shine bright. And I can't wait to check you all out in the next video.

[00:16:50]Stay blessed, everyone.