No Good Deed Goes Unpunished - Disney Edition


Tiana, the newest Disney Princess, is running into some stormy weather, well before her launch in a new animated feature film:

“THE Princess and the Frog” does not open nationwide until December, but the buzz is already breathless: For the first time in Walt Disney animation history, the fairest of them all is black.

"Princess Tiana, a hand-drawn throwback to classic Disney characters like Cinderella and Snow White, has a dazzling green gown, a classy upsweep hairdo and a diamond tiara. Like her predecessors, she is a strong-willed songbird (courtesy of the Tony-winning actress Anika Noni Rose) who finds her muscle-bound boyfriend against all odds.

“Finally, here is something that all little girls, especially young black girls, can embrace,” Cori Murray, an entertainment director at Essence magazine, recently told CNN.

"To the dismay of Disney executives — along with the African-American bloggers and others who side with the company — the film is also attracting chatter of an uglier nature. Is “The Princess and the Frog,” set in New Orleans in the 1920s, about to vaporize stereotypes or promote them?"

Read the rest of the New York Times article.

Progressive Girl

As you know if you spend any time at all on this blog, I watch a lot of sports on television, and thus sacrifice myself to endless repetitions of beer and truck commercials.

Almost all of these commercials are stupid the first time, and become painful over the course of the game -- and unbearable over the course of the season.

So I have been astonished that I still enjoy Progressive Girl, who has been popping up as frequently as a Budweiser commercial during an NFL game, now that Massachusetts has deregulated the automobile insurance industry.



And I'm always happy to see her - even if I've seen that particular commercial a gazillion times.

She has such kooky charm, with just a little edge to it, that she manages to stay fresh.

I'm even starting to say her lines along with her.

And apparently, I am not alone.

There are in fact several online groups and sites, and even a Facebook page, that explore Progressive Girl's charm and magnetism.

The actress who portrays her is Stephanie Courtney, who also has a recurring role as the ditzy switchboard operator in "Mad Men."

And as a passionate fan of "Mad Men" I'm going to be interested to see how Stephanie has chosen to tilt her character in Season Three.

"Every Little Step" - For Fans Of "A Chorus Line"

As I've written here before, "A Chorus Line" is my favorite Broadway Musical and, in my opinion, the perfect synthesis of dramatic and performing arts.

"Every Little Step," in limited release right now, is a documentary look at how the 2005 revival of "A Chorus Line" came together.

The filmmakers had the complete cooperation of the creators of the original production, and of Michael Bennet's estate, and there is a lot of first-person insight into the way the original show was created.

As opposed to "American Idol," where every one wants to be a "Star," this move (and the play) is all about wanting to get a job.

And that should certainly resonate at this point in time.

On Pride

“I have a new client, a laid-off lawyer, who’s commuting in every day — to his Starbucks,” said Robert C. Chope, a professor of counseling at San Francisco State University and president of the employment division of the American Counseling Association. “He gets dressed up, meets with colleagues, networks; he calls it his Western White House. I have encouraged him to keep his routine.”

I'm sure that many in the crowded demographic of the recently unemployed can relate to this, and, if they're smart, have implemented some variation of this strategy.