Welcome to Ralph Li, Roxanne Roxas, Jennifer Snow, and Joline Chen’s COGN 150 Final Project Blog. So what is R2J2? To clarify, it's nothing immensely cryptic.
Essentially, Ralph + Roxanne = R2 and Jennifer + Joline = J2. We know, we know. It's not very original, but it gave us a good laugh.
If you like our not-so-subtle play on words/reference to Star Wars, then perhaps you'll find the rest of this blog interesting as well.
We are here to analyze films, cartoons, and animations in relation to disabilities in media. We hope you find the content of this blog entertaining, intriguing, and perhaps even enlightening.
Sources:
Sally Chivers, “The Horror of Becoming ‘One of Us’: Tod Browning’s Freaks and Disability,”Screening Disability, Ed, Christopher Smit and Anthony Enns," (57-64).
Paul Longmore. “Screening Stereotypes, Images of Disabled People in Television and Motion Pictures”. Why I Burned my Book, and Other Essays on Disability. Temple University Press: Philadelphia, 2003.
Nicole Markotic, “Disabling the Viewer: Perceptions of Disability in Tod Browning’s Freaks,”Screening Disability, Ed, Christopher Smit and Anthony Enns," (65-72).
Jack A. Nelson, "Broken Images: Portrayals of Those with Disabilities in American Media," The Disabiled, the Media, and the Information Age, (1-24).
Martin F. Norden, The Cinema of Isolation, A History of Physical Disability in the Movies. Rutgers University Press: New Brunswick, NJ, 1994.
etc.
This blog is a project done for UCSD's COGN150 class. We do not claim to own or hold any authority over the content discussed. Please don't sue us.
Analysis of Mama Odie
Disney’s most recent animated film The Princess and the Frog (2009) depicts disability in a stereotypical manner. Similar to Dumbo, the film features a blind voodoo priestess Mama Odie. The film itself follows the adventure of Tiana and Prince Naveen’s struggle to re-transform into humans again. The two have been morphed into frogs by a evil voodoo magician. Mama Odie’s character is pivotal in the couple finding their way back to human form. I would like to suggest, Disney has again reprised the idea of the supercrip.
Mama Odie is a seer, which in mythology suggests is a blind person who can see into the future. This is a superpower. As Jack Nelson suggests the supercrip “deal[s] with a heartwarming struggle of someone likeable facing the trauma of a disability, who through great courage, stamina, and determination either succeeds in triumphing or succumbs heroically.” Mama Odie has embraced his disability person and with magical help can in fact see more than anyone could imagine. She not only has her disability on her side, but because of her 200 plus years life experience and high stature in the Louisiana community, is known to be full of wisdom. This magical old woman reminds me of Pocahontas’s character Grandmother Willow.Time and time again, Disney depicts the old woman as majestic. With wisdom and underlying super powers, these woman are who the protagonists of each film must gather advice from. Its interesting that Grandmother Willow is a tree— reminding me of the man in Indonesia who has epidermodysplasia verruciformis, commonly identified as the tree disease.
Mama Odie also serves the role of a fairy god mother. She does not give Tiana and Naveen their desired information easily, but rather can see into their hearts (with her powers as a seer). She keeps in mind the motives behind Tiana and Prince Naveen’s desire to be re-transformed into human form. Mama Odie is very knowledgeable and magical. She knows where demons come from, and was must be done for the two to be successful. I very much enjoy Disney’s depiction of Mama Odie. She reminds me of a wise grandmother. I can’t help to wonder would she have the same personality and creditability as a non-blind person. Nelson talks about how a lot of “ordinary” disabled people are made to feel like failure if not have accomplished something extraordinary. I question whether or not Mama Odie reinforces this idea and has effect viewers similarly. What do you think readers? Do you relate to Mama Odie?
Questions for Your Children:
Would you listen to Mama Odie’s advice? Why or why not?
How would you ask for Mama Odie’s help?
Does Mama Odie seem trustworthy?
How do you think Mama Odie sees the future?
I suggest using Disney films as a platform for introducing your children to more and more different types of disabilities whether it is physical, mental or social.
