The cartoon show has been facing backlash. (Source: PinguTV/YouTube)A 13-minute cartoon ‘Dina And The Prince Story’ from an English fairytale show for children has sparked off accusations of racism after it showed an angel turning black and ‘losing her beauty’.
The angel named Dina falls in love with a prince who becomes her husband. However, Dina can’t speak to the prince or she will lose her beauty. On one occasion, she realises that the prince is sad and decides to give up her beauty in return for the ability to converse with the prince. As soon as she chooses the prince, she transforms from a white, brown-haired cartoon into a black one with curly mane. “I could not bear your pain any longer…” she tells the prince. “And now I am ugly…”
The voiceover of the show narrates that “and she is not as beautiful. Her glow is gone and her face is scarred”.
The video which was uploaded on July 17 on MyPingu TV has been viewed more than four lakh times. The channel has more than 7,20,000 subscribers.
The cartoon faced a backlash for stereotyping black as “ugly” and fair as “beautiful”, pointed out many viewers.
“This is actually so disturbing. imagine being in 2019 and still trying to perpetuate the stereotype that black women/darker skin tones are ugly and undesirable,” one user commented on YouTube.
Another user, Kasamba Nguni, commented that such videos influence children easily. “I complimented a girl’s hair and she said she didn’t like her natural hair because it wasn’t straight. Videos like this are putting a bad idea in black children’s heads,” Nguni said.
It is yet to be seen whether the channel will take down the video.
