The Slate Culture Gabfest’s Julia Turner posted a gracious response to my last post over on the Culturefest Facebook Page. In case you are not yet a Culture Gabfest Facebook Fan, here’s her response in full:

Hey Josh, thanks for taking me to task on this one. I absolutely think the subterranean political messages in children’s entertainment deserve close scrutiny, which is why I’ve been surprised to find myself so annoyed at the Disney/Princess Tiana flap. I think what bothers me is all the people ardently decrying a film they have yet to see; I don’t think great movies often result when the producers’ primary intent is to placate an angry crowd (even a justifiably angry crowd). This is why I have higher hopes for whatever movie Pixar makes when it gets around to producing a film with a black girl as its protagonist; I still have faith (perhaps misplaced) that creative geniuses rather than focus groups are at the heart of their production process. Anyhow, thanks for listening and calling me out on my inarticulate dismissal of the Tiana brouhaha; we’ll certainly discuss the film when it comes out.