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Disney’s Sudanese Princess Movie Will Have White Main Characters, Be Egregiously Racist

What fresh hell.

Yesterday The Hollywood Reporter wrote that screenwriter Stephany Folsom had been tapped to write Disney’s latest princess movie, a “unique princess tale inspired by the true account of an American [white] man claiming a territory in Africa and proclaiming himself and his family its royal rulers,” which, uh…where to begin?

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THR went on to explain that The Princess of North Sudan will focus on

[…] an American dad whose daughter asked if she would ever be a real princess. That question set the man on a search for a region in the world that was disputed, eventually finding a territory named Bir Tawil, an area between Egypt and Sudan. In June of 2014, he flew to the area, planted a flag and, calling it the Kingdom of North Sudan, claimed it for himself and his family.

Twitter users understandably wasted no time calling Disney out for the indisputable idiocy of celebrating colonialism with a white “Sudanese princess” movie:

Writer Stephany Folsom has addressed concerns about the film over Twitter, and says THR’s description of The Princess of Sudan does it a disservice:

Folsom went on to say via Twitter that she

Agree[s] w/everything people are saying. Wouldn’t write that story. But if you want to focus your hate on me, go for it.

I’ve been to the Sudan. The people there are amazing. Colonialism is bullshit. Hope you all have a beautiful night.

Honestly, I feel like the trades slanted this to create controversy.

There is no planting a flag in Sudan or making a white girl the princess of an African country. That’s gross.

Given Disney’s overall lack of representation for girls of actual African descent and America’s systemic racism and long tradition of colonialism, there’s no way for this movie to not be “gross,” no matter how it’s written.

The Mary Sue reached out to Folsom via Twitter for comment but has yet to hear back.

(via Daily Dot)

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