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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wonder why every ethnicity on the Disney Channel looks decidedly...

51 replies

lastnerve · 07/08/2012 10:25

White.

I've noticed this a lot Handy Manny doesn't look remotely and only sounds slightly Hispanic.
and now on OSO an eastern Chinese/Japanese family the only indication of their race was the names and indoor decor, no accents and looked very 'white'.

AIBU to wonder if anyone else has noticed this??

OP posts:
PenisVanLesbian · 07/08/2012 11:17

Why would they have accents, aren't they all american? I don;t think they all look very white at all.
Handy Manny is voiced by a hispanic actor with a fairly strong actor, and looks like what he is.
I think you're looking for things to be bothered about.

PenisVanLesbian · 07/08/2012 11:19

fairly strong accent, that should be. He's the fella from the 70's show.

squeakytoy · 07/08/2012 11:21

How exactly should Handy Manny look? Confused

greenbananas · 07/08/2012 12:24

I've noticed this too. When my (mixed-race) niece was going through a princessy phase, I tried to buy her a princessy birthday card. ALL the princesses pictured were either white or had white features with only vaguely tinted skin. Well annoying.

danteV · 07/08/2012 13:01

What about princess Tiana? Or jasmine?
Handy Manny does sound Hispanic, or similar to my Hispanic friends that live in the US.
Oso has a few episodes based around thinks like Chinese new year for example. The characters do look Chinese, but of course they will all have American accents.
How many non Disney films/ programmes are there with people with American accents when they are playing non American?
For example the film troy, no one had a greek accent in it. Brad Pitt had an American accent and Sean bean retained his own accent.
So even if you were right, which I don't think you are, disney aren't the only ones to not stick to the correct accent.
Also in Oso there is an Italian and a French characters.

Original poster
lastnerve · 07/08/2012 16:09

Maybe its just me but I don't think a lot of ethnic characters even look remotely

handy manny sounds more hispanic than he looks if you compare that to dora the explorer you'll see what I mean.

OP posts:
FutTheShuckUp · 07/08/2012 16:10

I love Handy Manny.
Well not actually Handy Manny but his 'voice' Will Valderama- mmmm

greenbananas · 07/08/2012 16:11

Princess Tiana is noticeably black, but she did not exist untl 2009. Princess Jasmine is much more pink than brown. I don't think I would have noticed she is supposed to be Arabic unless I was told.

OneLittleToddlingTerror · 07/08/2012 16:15

I think it's very racist to think Chinese can't have American accents. Do we all have to come from china? I'm Chinese and moved to NZ when I was young. I don't sound chinese. Should I be ashamed of that? I feel US shows have more far eastern actors in them than UK ones.

Can't comment on what this OSO look like as I haven't seen it.

OneLittleToddlingTerror · 07/08/2012 16:17

Mulan looks very Chinese to me. She is not a princess though.

ShatnersBassoon · 07/08/2012 16:21

Little Einsteins all look different ie they don't all look white.

Which Hispanic features do you think Handy Manny is lacking?

rainydaysarebad · 07/08/2012 16:23

If they made Manny brown with a thick black moustache, it would be stereotypical and racist.

Chinese people have fair skin...don't see what your point is. Were their eyes not small enough?

Dora is tanned and looks alot like Manny. Her accent is more American than Manny's. She's on Nickelodeon.

On another note, Has anyone noticed how Mr Lovejoy is a bit racist? He never accepts help and is always trying to do things himself, and then when he fucks up, Manny ends up going to help him.

PenisVanLesbian · 07/08/2012 16:29

Mr Lopart? I've never thought he was racist (he's always very thankful to Manny for the help and nice to him), but he couldn't be any gayer.

booksandchoc · 07/08/2012 16:32

Well u learn something new everyday. DD watches handy manny all the time I never once clicked it was will valderama who voiced him!!

Petsinmyolympicpudenda · 07/08/2012 16:35

I always assumed Mr Lopart fancied Manny but as he was in the closet he hid his desire by being a bit abrupt and didn't want his help because he didn't want to be to close to Manny

I need to stop watching telly really

ToysRNotUs · 07/08/2012 16:36

I was really pleasd that they added Princess Tiana to the princess line up, a black princess was sadly lacking for a long time. When we were in Florida she had a massive queue, mostly young afro-american girls in mini Tiana dresses. They all looked so cute.

We lined up for her too and my DDs said her dress was the prettiest princess dress!

GhostShip · 07/08/2012 16:39

I really like that they introduced Princess Tiana, I think that was a long time coming.

And OP I'm not sure really what you expect them to do. If they make it overly obvious who nationality they are they get slated for being stereotypical!

CaseyShraeger · 07/08/2012 16:49

It is quite tricky to find birthday cards that feature non-white children. Lots like this or this or this or this but hardly any non-white equivalents.

Assuming that an American blue-collar worker of Hispanic descent must have an obviously Hispanic accent seems a bit racist to me -- like people who complained that the Katie Leung, playing the British Asian character Cho Chang in the Harry Potter films, spoke with her own mild Scottish accent.

CaseyShraeger · 07/08/2012 16:52

(that was about birthday cards in general -- i.e. that the problem isn't confined to Disney by any means)

PenisVanLesbian · 07/08/2012 17:01

Well Manny is not american born, so his accent is just perfect, imo.

As for things like cards etc, around 90% of the UK is white, so I suppose its reasonable to expect that 9 out of 10 cards (or princesses, or whatever) would reflect the demographic. No idea if it actually does though.

CaseyShraeger · 07/08/2012 17:04

It's more than 9 out of 10, certainly in shops around here (and I live in London so there's a pretty mixed demographic).

WandaDoff · 07/08/2012 17:09

Has anyone seen the new episode of Handy Manny, where Abuelito & Mrs Portillo get married?

Did not see that one coming at all..

greenbananas · 07/08/2012 17:17

Casey yes I agree about the greetings cards. I have tried time and time again to find a child's birthday card that does not have only porcelain pink faces on it. I have complained in two card shops so far, and was told there is no market for anything else, but I find that hard to believe.

CaseyShraeger · 07/08/2012 17:37

You can get some on Moonpig (e.g. the Sweet Potatoes range (including age cards)), but I have to be organised to do that... Grin

greenbananas · 07/08/2012 17:40

Thank you Casey Smile Smile

It just feels so wrong to be sending cards with only pink children on to children who are not pink.