There is no unclaimed land.Every piece of Africa belongs to its ppl & that land belong to Sudan #PrincessOfNorthSudan pic.twitter.com/njzBzipmrd
— Nad!a A. (@Nadiaalie) May 14, 2015
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?
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:
What the everloving fcak is this devilry. http://t.co/OyuPSUbsND
— G. Willow Wilson (@GWillowWilson) May 14, 2015
“The Princess of North Sudan”–upcoming Disney film about an American dad & his daughter. observe this nightmare http://t.co/YpgfzvZBQU
— Sofia Samatar (@SofiaSamatar) May 14, 2015
#PrincessOfNorthSudan represents the incredibly calculated way colonialism has been rebranded by the western cannon in the last century
— bag of skin (@airhrs) May 14, 2015
Disney is making The Princess of North Sudan a feature film because they specialize in princesses, pure colonialism, and deadly erasure.
— Pia Glenn (@PiaGlenn) May 14, 2015
Search Google “Princess of Sudan” first pic that pop up is this little white girl who her dad wants to make her one pic.twitter.com/E2TG9vBb2h
— Nad!a A. (@Nadiaalie) May 14, 2015
If you’re going to make a film about a #PrincessOfNorthSudan, why not uncover and tell the story of Princess Kouka? http://t.co/QXxRuzF44p
— Alison Atkin (@alisonatkin) May 14, 2015
Please check out the HT #PrincessOfNorthSudan to boycott this upcoming @Disney‘s film based on romanticized colonialism plot.
— Nad!a A. (@Nadiaalie) May 14, 2015
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:
As laid out by @THR article I can understand why you’d be upset. Rest assured that is NOT the story we are telling. #PrincessOfNorthSudan
— Stephany Folsom (@StephanyFolsom) May 14, 2015
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 plot of #PrincessOfNorthSudan pic.twitter.com/TXHdDfXDD9
— og art hoe (@foxymoronn) May 14, 2015
The Mary Sue reached out to Folsom via Twitter for comment but has yet to hear back.
(via Daily Dot)
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