A Taste of Louisiana: Mainstreaming Blackness Through Food in The Princess and the Frog

Abstract

Food-related practices, behaviors, and values cannot be ignored as relevant markers of power, cultural capital, class status, ethnicity, race, and gender. In the Disney Pictures' film The Princess and the Frog, food is used to negotiate the on-screen presence of Princess Tiana, the first African-American female protagonist in a Disney movie. While Tiana is depicted as a strong and motivated character in her determination to achieve her professional goals, her dreams of success as a restaurateur are constantly framed in terms of actual cooking, an occupation that has been historically connected with black women. Furthermore, she is a practitioner of Louisiana cuisine, heavily influenced by black and Creole traditions but represented as vaguely exotic, non-intimidating, and less racially recognizable than soul food because shared by many non-Black characters. These gastronomical negotiations render her more acceptable and less threatening to mainstream audiences.