caspian-is-my-homeboy:

feministdisney:

caspian-is-my-homeboy:

Are you serious? How exactly do you know it’s white-washed? If we’re so terribly mis-informed about history, by that logic how do you that your information is accurate? Especially when using Wikipedia as your one and only source. By what your saying, we shouldn’t trust anything about history, because everything must be white-washed. Just because you say it is so doesn’t make it so. I watch a film for the story and any messages that can be perceived from the film. I don’t sit there and count how many PoC are in the film.

do you seriously think Wikipedia invented the fact that he was a POC king in Scotland?  I get that wikipedia is questionable but if you actually doubted the validity of the claim, there are dozens upon dozens of entries on Google that I checked, just didn’t bother to link to since it’s equally accessible to you if you wanted to read more.  

The fact that he existed- and that you have not done anything to question this, just had a “OMG WIKIPEDIA IS INVALID” remark, but the fact that you did anyway feel entitled to question it just because you were, idk, so sure that the history of Scotland must be all white- is, again, all anyone really needs to put down as proof of history white-wash.   There is no incentive for history recorders to have made up that he was POC, so it’s entirely different- and supported by facts- than the issue of POC never being in Europe, which subconscious racism perpetuates, and is not supported by any actual recorded history, just an erroneous pop-culture impression of history.

I don’t sit there and count how many PoC are in the film.

It would be super easy to do though for the last two Disney princess films cause there wasn’t a single one in Brave or Tangled.  

I watch a film for the story and any messages that can be perceived from the film.

Idk if you’re white or not but you do realize this is like… easy to do if you’re white?  It’s easy to say you watch a film for the “story” (as if POC watch films JUST for representation?) when white people are everwhere, in every tv show and movie.   So it’s not exactly hard to “ignore” race or be too cool to care about it when it’s never been an issue to see people that look like you being something other than gangsters or whatever.

POC have to like actually try hard to get their kids to watch movies that show people like them doing ordinary things and being represented.   But whatever, this topic has been up on my blog in discussion for like the past week and tons of people gave their perspective on what it’s like to be POC/representation so it’s there if anyone wants to read about it.

I actually did google him and found a few more articles about him. It didn’t actually say anything about his skin colour. The only indication that he was black was his surname, which can mean ‘the black’ ‘the black man’ or ‘brown-haired. This still does not necessarily mean he was a PoC. The Black Prince (Edward, son of KIng Edward the 3rd) wasn’t actually black.

“so sure that the history of Scotland must be all white- is, again, all anyone really needs to put down as proof of history white-wash.”

Using a circular argument I see. I’m not saying history is completely accurate but your proof that history is white-washed is the fact that you found one guy who was supposedly the king of the Scots around the year 1000. This may be true but where is your evidence? If history has been so white-washed how do people even know of his existence? You can’t just pick out the bits of History you like and anything you don’t is ‘wrong’ or ‘white-washed’

I am white. And now you probably rolling your eyes thinking I can’t argue because I have no idea or whatever. But actually, my closest friends are PoC. And they were completely okay with the movie Brave. My friend explained this to me. They watched the movie, for enjoyment. They didn’t give a shit whether there were PoC in the movie or not. If I watch a movie, with all PoC, with not a single white person present, I’m not going to give a crap (I have actually watched a few movies, I could be wrong but I don’t think there were any white people whatsoever or if their were I missed them.)

Why is skin colour so important? We’re all equal so why does it matter? 

re-read them then.  He was a Moor.  Look up what Moors are/were.

To be clear: history is complicated.   What I’m really talking about in history being white-washed is what everyone understands to be history- which is still “history” in the way we use that term, but is different from what is on record.   Our understanding of history is white-washed, which is why, even though he existed, so few people are aware of him to the point that they actually feel comfortable saying no POC existed in Scotland during that time when the direct opposite is true- a POC existed so prominently that they were king. 

White-washing is when POC have always been a part of history, occupying many positions in many places, but the way we come to understand this same history- our “history”- only features them, if they are featured at all, as slaves, maids, etc.

If your friends liked it that’s great, that is even more proof that POC do not all think with one gigantic brain but are capable of having a diversity of opinions and thoughts on subjects, just as I always suspected.   But their opinions do not negate or somehow make worthless the countless and plenty opinions of POC who very actively disagree that there is “no problem” with a lack of POC representation.   I don’t really feel like continually blogging about this again and I have to start work soon, but if people have more thoughts on this I invite them to (respectfully) message you with their thoughts on the subject.

Again, it’s super easy to watch a film and not give a crap about representation when your skin color has always been well represented?   That’s not really any sort of point

Why is skin colour so important? We’re all equal so why does it matter?

We’re equal in theory but not in economical, social, or political practice, and until we are equal in these ways, bad or a lack of representation in media will continue to perpetuate and prop up those oppressions.