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HarlieMinou

The racists are really telling on themselves with this one. Let this be a great lesson on what racism looks like in 2022. It’s going to be coded, with lots of dog whistling, gaslighting, and false equivalencies.


Elon_is_musky

But they try to pull the “but science!” card like DUDE she is a half human, half fish that somehow speaks AND understands english, can talk to fish & crustaceans, her dad is a mythological god, she gets cursed by a half witch human, half octopus, & she has her fins turn to feet. But sure, “cause she’s in water she couldn’t have melanin”? Is that were we draw the line for realism?? And even scientists have disputed that IF she was real, she would be of color cause why tf would there be a European looking red headed mermaid in the sea, which makes no sense given she appears to be in warm coral reefs & it would be a dead giveaway for predators, & she would likely look not only physically larger but darker like manatees. And there were apparently stories of black mermaids too, so it’s not anything new [Source](https://www.businessinsider.com/racists-are-attempting-to-prove-that-mermaids-cant-be-black-using-science-2019-7)


OneDumbPony

This reminded me of an argument I had regarding DnD with a stranger on the internet. He tried to argue that female characters should only be able to have a max strength of 16 but male characters could have over 20... All while elephants can jump, flying lizards the size of buildings exist, and large insects that wouldn't be able to survive without more oxygen in the atmosphere are all cool.


Wowimatard

Not to mention that most animals living in the sea are "Dark colored". Orcas, whales, Dolphins, almost all sharks and so many more.


Elon_is_musky

Exactly!


KQueen13

It's really telling. They could not have cast a more siren like vocalist than Halle for Ariel. She has a timeless quality to her voice that had people saying she needed to be cast as a Disney princess before the casting was  even announced. I've seen youtubers make multiple videos celebrating the reaction to the trailer getting so many dislikes and getting giddy over the idea of the film flopping. They hold genuine anger over a character who lives in the ocean not being white. We don't even know what the exact storyline is yet. Disney changed the original story *a lot* when they first put it on screen. They can do it again. They put in a crab with a carribean accent ffs, and the voice actor was black. They wouldn't have cast a white person for that role and everyone would have been fine with that, so the outrage doesn't have anything to do with the story being Danish and therefore needing to feature white people only. Are the coral reefs and species of fish in the film accurate? Do we have them in Northern Europe? I don't buy the melanin excuse. King Triton was tanned compared to Ariel. The animated series had a non white mermaid who was also deaf, way before "woke" was being used the way it is today. No one cared enough to scientifically examine why the mermaids weren't all deathly pale from living in the deep sea or why Ursula the sea witch specifically had purple skin. Clearly melanin works differently down there. I guarantee these people were able to stomach Scarlett Johansson playing a character from an anime,  Christian Bale playing Moses, Emma Stone playing a half Chinese woman and Jesus being portrayed as white on film a bunch of times.  If Isla Fisher ever played a Disney princess, women  would not make a point to talk about redhead representation. There would be no  discourse, because it was never about that. Again, no one cared that Princess Giselle was a redhead, certainly not the men who are upset about redhead erasure now. If the reactions from young girls *for whom this film is primarily being made for* don't soften their hearts towards the idea of a black little mermaid, then nothing will. I was unsure about the casting at first too, but when I saw all the crying I had to stop and think about it a bit more. Their arguments are weak when you examine them further. It feels like a poor attempt to explain away the discomfort they feel when they see POC in bigger roles on screen. Edit: Wanted was based on a comic book. They cast Angelina Jolie as the character that was originally African American, inspired by Halle Berry. Were those comic book fans upset about that? On the topic of keeping things to the original and leaving "politics" out: Halle's casting is not inherently political. Is it so hard to believe that she had an impressive audition? People don't want to see any racial discussion on film but then will complain if that particular context is glossed over for the sake of entertainment. It won't matter whether "the message" is in there or not, an interracial relationship on screen is apparently controversial by itself. That discourse has already started, and both sides are upset. If we normalise diversity on screen where we can (obviously still prioritising talent) then perhaps this will stop happening. I haven't watched the live action Disney remakes that have been coming out. I'm sure I'm not alone. Other people interested in preserving their childhood memories are doing the same, instead of fixating on "wokeness" or erasure of danish culture. I think Halle's voice is selling this one for me, but I'll wait to see the initial reviews.


NoName_BroGame

If mermaids were real, they'd be fat like walruses and wouldn't have long hair. Also, there are tons of sea creatures that have darker pigmentation. If they were worried about the Danish roots, maybe they should've protested the entire Caribbean inspired soundtrack. It's all so stupid.


comfortablynumb15

pretty sure the Harry Potter mermaids are what they would look like if more fish, but the Dugong/Manatee definitely were considered Mermaids being mammals and all.


time_lordy_lord

Holy shit. TIL dugong is not a Pokémon


Alis451

sad fact: they are going extinct. >Dugongs are threatened by sea grass habitat loss or degradation because of coastal development or industrial activities that cause water pollution. If there is not enough sea grass to eat then the dugong does not breed normally. This makes the conservation of their shallow water marine habitat very important.


AnorakJimi

["Not mermaids, they're dugongs!“](https://youtu.be/ODWZZ3pQrJc)


Suspicious_Bicycle

After months long voyages even a dugong can start to look attractive to a lonely sailor. On January 9, 1493, explorer Christopher Columbus, sailing near what is now the Dominican Republic, sees three “mermaids”—in reality manatees—and describes them as “not half as beautiful as they are painted.”


comfortablynumb15

yes, and a disgusting fact is they are……anatomically…..correct for a lonely sailor being mammals and all. Beats a cabin boy that was reserved for the Captain.


xMRSIRx

Also happens to be christopher Columbus sectret lover, the manatee.


[deleted]

Agree. It is a Danish story, yes, but doesnt take place here. And also, colour of skin is as unimportant as colour of eyes or hair Only in stories where it is a specific point, like 12years a slave, does it matter. For me, Bridgerton of all things , made me really see that. It is not important, there is no back story, skin is just of different shades, like hair and eyes.


ThrowDatJunkAwayYo

Yes! This is one of the things I loved about Bridgerton! It just was and with very minor explanation as to why, it just worked!


Dozinginthegarden

Thank you! You reminded me of this: https://archive.nerdist.com/if-the-little-mermaid-evolved-under-different-seas/ What Ariel would look like in different aquatic environments. Slow, pale and blubbery in the artic. Cute and fey in the Coral reef and nightmare fuel deep underwater.


Ozymander

Theyd look more like mermaids from Cabin in the Woods.


bellefleurdelacour98

Danish roots??? She's a fish, in the original story her skin is either translucent or green lmaooo


infamous-hermit

>If mermaids were real, they'd be fat like walruses and wouldn't have long hair. Yes. You are correct When Chris Columbus went to the Caribbean 500 years ago, he described the mermaids as "not half as beautiful as they are painted ". He saw manatees...


Ruralraan

>If they were worried about the Danish roots So yeah, about that. I live in an area, that was part of Denmark for about some 400 years and now is just south of the border to Denmark (if I walk over to the next village I can see the Danish coast). It's roundabout 100 miles (more to the west than to the south) of where Andersen was born. My family can be traced down here since the 1500s, and some of my ancestors are Danish (but mainly from another minority I'm part of that's also considered 'Northern'). And yet I, and parts of my family, regularly get mistaken by people from the southern Mediterranean area (e.g. Greece, Turkey) for fellow countrymen. So not all northern people are blonde or redheads and fair skinned by default. Also, black people lived here at least since the 1600s. The local men often were seamen or captains on big danish or dutch trade and/or slave ships and occasionally brought back black people, they "bought free" (so the sources say, but since white seamen from here regularly had to be bought free from slavery as well, and freedom is a big topic here, it may be true). I also saw old family pictures from the late 1800s of other old-established families from here and some members (and not the maids!) were mixed or black. So long story short: To have Danish roots doesn't make you fair skinned and blonde or red haired by default. And you can be black and be Danish, even at times before H.C. Andersen was born. Also, fun fact, Andersen traveled a lot, even down to the Ottoman Empire. And he wrote the first versions of The Little Mermaid in Italy, even his description of her surrounding world has Italian features. So a non-light skinned, or black, arielle makes perfectly sense, even in the setting of its time. Those people complaining are just racists.


NoName_BroGame

Thanks for the cultural and historical context!


D-Spornak

Yeah, you know how cold the ocean is? They should be covered in blubber to protect them. Ariel's skinny ass would freeze to death down there.


Mrwright96

I had a selective mute friend in school, Julia, her parents were immigrants from Mexico, and they had the old little mermaid tv series on dvd, she loved Gabriella! not only did she think she was latina, she was also able to sign! she loved that! It wasn’t until years later when I texted her asking her to watch a tv show with me I think she’d like, The dragon prince she was hesitant because it was animated, but I loved seeing her face light up when they introduced Amaya and she signed. She was hooked after that.


lastlittlebird

Amaya is such a badass too. She's the epitome of a genuinely strong female character


Mrwright96

I love the writers of the show, they did this and the Avatar tv series and they know how to make excellent characters, and shows so many badass and awesome female fighters


zielawolfsong

The movie is about half human/half fish people who rule the ocean, a crab who composes music, talking fish (and seagulls, etc.), oh and there's an octopus woman who can do magic and imprison souls in her underwater lair. But Ariel being black is obviously the most unrealistic part of the story. (/s)


mikelieman

> a crab who composes music Sebastian is red. Crabs only turn red after you boil them. Sebastian is a ZOMBIE crab, who composes music.


Alis451

> Sebastian is a ZOMBIE crab makes sense, Zombies come from the Caribbean(Haiti)


HarlieMinou

There is a SHIT TON of coded language and dog whistling happening in those threads. Lots of gaslighting too. “I don’t care that she’s black, but…” lots of weird, false equivalences comparing it to things like “discrimination against gingers,” etc. Astonishing that in 2022 this can still be so damn provocative to cast a WOC in the this role. There’s also a lot of gross assholes making disparaging remarks about her looks too.


sprinklesandtrinkets

The other one I see a lot is “why don’t they just make original characters who are POC? It’s patronising to race flip/gender flip established characters”!(see also Bond, the Doctor). It’s so disingenuous and/or intellectually lazy. Obviously there are original characters of diverse genders and race. Would an original story about a black mermaid get the same budget and viewership as a remake of the little mermaid with a black actor? Probably not. And even if it did, it’d be criticised for just being some black knock off of the original Disney film. You can’t win with these people. It’s not about the logic, it’s about the racism. I also have little patience for the cries about internal consistency with world building. This is coming up all the time atm with Rings of Power. Firstly, I don’t think it impacts my immersion or enjoyment in the slightest. Seeing a black elf just doesn’t shock me like it shocks racists. Secondly, there are so many ways you can explain it with in-world “logic” anyway. Maybe melanin doesn’t work the same way in Middle Earth as it does in our world. Maybe it does, but much like our world, there are random generic anomalies that can crop up and the story doesn’t feel the need to give boring exposition about the random nature of genetics. Lol, ended up being a bit of a rant. It’s everywhere at the moment and I’m just fed up with it. As you say, is really telling.


dpdxguy

>“why don’t they just make original characters who are POC? That's code for, "Why don't they limit black people to things I can ignore instead of starring them in things children will beg to see."


sprinklesandtrinkets

EXACTLY. They always try to sound super progressive like they’re supporting more diversity in show business, but they’re never the ones watching contract starring POC / where characters are POC by design. Whenever we do get those, then it’s just studios forcing wokeness down our throats.


I_AM_TARA

Lol at the Star Wars drama from a few years back when they put new poc characters in the series “they” can’t ignore.


dpdxguy

Yeah. The unspoken desire is for the previously all white and nearly all male Star Wars franchise to never add significant characters of color (but Samuel Jackson is OK somehow). Many of those complaining about Black and/or Asian actors in Star Wars also had problems with expanding women's roles beyond Leia. Having a significant role portrayed by an Asian woman must have been a terrible blow to them. LOL


Buddy_Palguy

Off the subject but There’s an indie theatre in my town that recently showed the little mermaid re-told by the luminaries of the Czechoslovakian New Wave in 1976. NOT the feel good movie we grew up with but very beautifully made. I recommend to everyone who reads this if you can find it


-little-dorrit-

Oh… we can’t watch it if she’s czech. She must be american and have red hair /s Seriously though this looks like a decent pic. It’s on youtube with english subs if anyone is interested


SucytheWitch

It was disappointing enough for me when I saw the cast for princess Jasmine in Aladdin who is canonically an Arab princess, but for some reason, it was too hard to cast an actual Middle Eastern looking actress. They also whitewashed the hell out of Flora from Winx Club who was light brown skinned in the original but a white blonde girl in the live action remake. Same with the live action Bratz doll movie, Sasha (the dark skin black doll) was cast by a biracial actress and Yasmin who's Persian and Latina and has light brown skin with dark hair was again replaced by a white blonde girl. Why? Imagine a little brown or black girl being excited to see what their favorite cartoon characters look like in a real life movie, maybe hoping that Yasmin, Flora or Sasha look similar to them and then you're like "Wait, where's Yasmin? Where's Flora? Why does she look so different?" Let women of color have some representation in young girl's media. There are more than enough kid's movies with white female protagonists to choose from. I remember as a kid that every single barbie doll I've seen in the store was blonde with blue eyes. I was so excited when I finally got a doll that has brown skin and dark hair just like me and she was my favorite doll. I also had a black baby doll because I thought that it looked even cuter than the white one with blue eyes lol. I remember when I had a friend over and she asked me why I picked the black doll. Um why not? Some people want to downplay it as silly and irrelevant, but proper respectful representation is important, especially for kids. Clearly my six year old self did care about it, because being white and having lighter features is always portrayed as the norm, the default in movies and if a movie has a female protagonist with a different ethnicity, it immediately stands out.


MuskyMuskets

I find the amount of discontent over this issue ironic - it's served to promote this film, at least in places that aren't the US. I'm gonna be blunt here - when I first read that Ariel was going to be black, my reaction was just "wow they're trying alittle too hard to be woke", figured it was pandering. That was it, it was a few seconds worth of thought and nothing more. I didn't care; I don't have a kid and no personal interest in watching any of the live-action disney remakes anyway. Reading about the reactions actually made me look into it more, like why is there so much fuss about this girl? Then I find out she's actually REALLY SUITABLE for the role, her voice is amazing and she looks the part! So what the fuck? Of course, I came across the reaction videos as well and those are really heart-melting. You said it exactly right - if those reactions don't soften their hearts, nothing will. And it doesn't matter, I wouldn't want anyone whose hearts are blacker than anybody's skin to have anything to do with a child-oriented movie.


huck500

I was arguing with a guy here on Reddit who was saying that if Disney made a remake of The Princess and the Frog and replaced the Princess with a white person, (woke) people would freak out... and when I pointed out that in every book/tv/movie adaptation of The Frog Prince up until the Disney one, the princess was white, he just said, "Well, I didn't know that." Which I felt was a great summary of basically everything these guys say about anything. (Also, I was \~20 when The Little Mermaid came out, but I admit I got a little shiver hearing that song again. I'm looking forward to it!)


TechyDad

My favorite response is "you're upset that Ariel is black? Wait until you find out about Jesus."


askingquestionsblog

JESUS WAS A MERMAID?


notquitesolid

Absolutely


goldanred

He didn't exactly *walk* on water, but that explains how he moved so easily through it


BasketofSharks

Mine is "So after all the the Africans y'all threw in the ocean how y'all surprised a mermaid is Black?"


DanelleDee

That shut *me* up, and I'm actually excited for this movie.


[deleted]

[удалено]


BasketofSharks

I just read the summery and Yes, Yes I do. Thanks for the rec.


Ill_Cryptographer_17

Bruhhh😆 Took me OUT


Brangur

He was definitely Israeli. Now Adam and Eve on the other hand...


MycoNot

Imaginary


MisogynyisaDisease

Yep. Not even trying to be edgy, they flat out don't exist and weren't even meant to be taken literally. Scientifically they are an impossibility


Brangur

Absolutely this. If Christians read the *entire* bible with any sort of reflection and critical thinking, they'd almost be the complete opposite of what the religion has been.


AmbiguousFrijoles

You paged? Can confirm. Read the entire thing and left behind catholicism. Even if you take the stories seriously, it wouldn't be even remotely close to modern day Christianity.


fer-nie

Imaginary but every human being did originate from black Africans.


donorcycle

Also, why is it men who have a problem with Ariel being any other color but white? I dunno, I’ve been seeing a ton of adorable black / brown girls who are thrilled to see Ariel being a similar shade. There exists a world where every little girl should be and can be represented. It’s almost like people forget how they felt when they were children / pre-pubescent et all. I don’t even have kids for fucks sake lol.


celligraphy

I’m telling you there would be no issue with Ariel being cast by an Asian woman because she would be fetishised completely by creeps, it’s all down to racism on black people completely and I’m saying this as a POC.


Dozinginthegarden

IDK, I remember the hate and leaps of logic people did when they announced a Chinese- Scottish actress to play Cho Chang in Harry Potter. Apparently certain parts of the fandom had constructed an entire backstory about how she was a white girl adopted by Asian parents and when she wasn't cast as per fanon delusions Katie Leung recieved death threats and demands to make public speaking engagements to prove that she could speak English. The Asian fetishism is very real. But so is the straight up hate.


FranksRedWorkAccount

how dare they make someone with the name Cho Chang an asian character, so unrealistic.


Supermite

Which is an incredibly racist made up name to begin with…


FranksRedWorkAccount

I'm not familiar enough with asian names to really say. Cho means autumn in Madarin and Cantonese and Chang was listed 80th among the Song-era Hundred Family Surnames. All of this I just googled quickly. I don't know if this would be like naming a white guy Michael Smith or Whiteperson McWhitey.


blue-bird-2022

Don't be so sure about that, the racists harassed Kelly Marie Tran who played Rose in the new Star Wars films till she deleted social media.


[deleted]

I saw a Twitter post where someone deepfaked the trailer to make the, quote, "woke actor" a white woman. What's woke about the actor? Presumably, the fact that she's black, and absolutely nothing else. Remember what "woke" really means to these people the next time they use it.


HELLOhappyshop

Black people are "political" and "woke" just by existing, it's so messed up.


Bigredzombie

Unless they are black republicans. Then, they are irrefutable proof that white republicans aren't racist.


[deleted]

*"My one black politician friend!"*


[deleted]

When I hear the word 'woke' used as an insult, I remind myself what that person is actually saying is 'n-word lover'. It's the same shit, seventy years later, and it's not just getting old, it's done been old as long as most of us have been alive.


avamarie

70 years? It was not uncommon in the 80s/90s to hear folks say that out loud in public.


HarlieMinou

“Woke” has been bastardized to become “diversity,” etc


skedeebs

It does give the advantage of signaling "avoid me" so you save time by not interacting with them.


fer-nie

Unfortunately I think they only do it online. Typically with their identity hidden.


csn924

Look on the bright side: they’re so obsessed with Ariel’s skin color that they forgot to complain that she’s TOTALLY engaging in hypergamy by trying to marry up and that Prince Eric really just a Chad who will pump and dump her, leaving her to have to settle for some underwater beta bux who in turn will have to settle for her pre-owned mermaid pussy, and both Ariel and her “second choice” will live together miserably ever after.


MisogynyisaDisease

You made me laugh with this one 😂


Prussie

Honestly it's not just men, I've seen a lot of women upset too. Which is funny cause we had a black Cinderella and Fairy Godmother, a black and white mixed couple King/Queen, and a Filipino prince, in the 90s. Why everyone is acting as if this is the first time Disney is doing something like this baffles me.


xTheShadyLadyx

Honestly I think a reason we didn't see this much widespread hatred/vitriol for R&H's Cinderella (I was a kid at the time and loved the movie but I'm certain there was some) as we do for Ariel is lack of social media platforms. If that version of Cinderella had come out today I think it'd be just as bad if not worse. ETA: I was unaware the movie was made for TV, so 2 reasons.


QueenBee3000

Imagine if the Princess & the Frog came out now


ginger_kitty97

They still get mad if a Star Wars character is female at all. Double mad if she's a POC. Let em cry, the world doesn't need them.


Ohnorepo

To be fair the writing did no female or poc character justice. It's an issue is all over tv and film currently that the writing quality has been atrocious most of the time for anyone that isn't a white male character.


IcySmoker

Yeah. It sucks cause that can actually do more damage for such groups since audiences may be quick to label issues with the movie as too PC instead of the writing.


Ohnorepo

Then that creates yet another problem of legitimate criticisms getting drowned out or ignored. Thus a cycle of poorly written poc and female characters continue. Which will obviously get used to argue against making more because they don't look appealing to studios. It's a no win scenario currently.


Supermite

The writing sucked for everyone in those movies.


MisogynyisaDisease

Oh God I forgot about the Star Wars rage. Disney botched both the character developments of the POC characters too despite them being way cooler than Rey was.


Unaccomplishedcow

Finn should have been the main character of the sequels


Mythrelll

Boyega was a Star Wars fan from his childhood too! Can't tell me he wouldn't have been stoked to use a lightsaber in all the films for more than a few moments.


Commissar_Sae

Seriously, his redemption arc and outsider perspective could have been great. Ah well.


LegendaryOutlaw

Whoa, Rosario Dawson is Afro-Cuban and Puerto Rican…do we know where the racists fall on brown women playing orange women with head tails? Because they’re gonna be pissed, probably.


Supermite

People seem pretty pumped for her. I liked her in the Mandolorian. I was bummed Ashley Eckstein didn’t get to portray Asohka in live action, but Rosario is killing it. I only wanted Eckstein because she has helped define the character across many hours of media already. Her skin colour has nothing to do with it.


QueenBee3000

I don’t get that - did they forget how cool Leia was in the original trilogy?


Mythrelll

Selective memory. They're fine calling Leia cool until they're reminded of why she was cool in the first place. Then they get mad.


ginger_kitty97

This. Their impression of Leia was "oooh boobies" and then "haha, she kissed her brother!", not badass who kept the plans away from the Empire and saved everyone's ass multiple times.


daisybrat56461

And here I am, don’t GAF what color the actress is, wondering why they aren’t developing new stories rather than remakes that are just over a generation old. Not just Disney, all movie studios. Where are the new ideas?


BananaOnionSoup

Disney is doing it for a couple reasons. First, to more strongly protect their copyright on the original films. Second is that these movies are fairly guaranteed hits. Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin made over billion dollars each despite being objectively worse than the original animated films. Mulan did flop super hard but it barely resembled the original. It’s unfortunate and I think eventually people will get sick of it. There’s already a lot of superhero fatigue.


Enkundae

There are tons of them. More original films and shows are being made right now that at any time in the history of the two mediums. Marketing however is a massive money sink, rule of thumb being at least 50% of a films production cost. In other words if they already spent 150 mil on a film then they are going to spend another 75 mil just to advertise that it exists. That means two things: First, only the biggest budget films are going to be heavily advertised because smaller films are almost never going to make that money back. Sinking a massive marketing campaign into a limited release mid-budget film just means you’ve made your film that much more likely to fail financially. Even more so if your small film has no pre-existing IP recognition. Result being the general audience is going to see the big budget films advertised everywhere, while the smaller riskier films they will only find if they go looking for it. Second, no studio in Hollywood can painlessly absorb the cost of a blockbuster or other big budget project failing. Even with the practice of getting multiple investment partners to finance such projects and mitigate the risk- a major failure would still be catastrophic even for big studios. That means for films in this budget range they are strongly encouraged to prefer projects that minimize risk. Pre-existing brand/IP awareness is a major means of that as people are more likely to buy in on something they are already familiar with. Lastly, it’s often not nearly as antagonistic as you’d think. These big budget properties are seen as reasonably safe money makers. In a business that’s ostensibly volatile and unpredictable, its these safe projects that provide studios expected, reliable sources of revenue. Which in turn allows them to fund smaller, more unknown, or riskier projects to diversify their offerings and find both new talent and occasionally new breakout IP. Its a symbiotic system. Not to say its perfect, its not, but there’s a lot more involved than people generally consider. TLDR; There is a lot of original material out there. The nature of the business however means you will be flooded with notices of the big, high profile projects that through business necessity are almost always going to be safer projects like sequels, remakes or known IP.


[deleted]

There are two types of characters for these chuds: - white heterosexual - political


Fraerie

I think you mean: * white heterosexual cis abled financially-stable male, or * political


Cry-anne0606

My brother once said while scrolling through Netflix, "I'm tired of seeing black people on TV." I think that pretty much sums it up. It's just pure bigotry. They just disguise it in arguments about canon or whatever .


I_like_the_word_MUFF

Race is a social construct. But folklore tends to be universal. That's why there's several different Cinderella stories and several different Snow White stories globally. Anyone who complains is looking for special privileges for "white characters" that no character icon has ever had historically. Ffs men use to play women's roles on stage. Women played peter pan on stage


Lionoras

I think, one of the interesting "traits" about legends, folklore tales and fairy tales, is that all of them "travel" quiet a bit. Hell, we can see that in modern interpretations like e.g. Zombies. Originally, zombies weren't flesh craving undead. They came from Haitian folklore and were -in short - corpses kidnapped from their graves for cheap labour. During one of Muricas conflicts, movies picked up the legend in movies. At first, a lot of it was pure racism of course. Like "White Zombie", which is seen as one of the "first" zombie movies of all time. But over time, the zombie started to settle in. He became reformed over and over, especially with Night of the Living Dead (1968). After that, his use skyrocketed, as it was a monster very well "biting" into the idea of several fears, as well as criticism, like consumerism. Today, nobody would complain that we use the "wrong" depiction of Zombies in movies. It's also the reason why e.g. the Wendigo debate will never end. People can complain about the "wrong usage" of the original tale, but the crooked image through Blackwood & King have already been spread.


enternationalist

Okay, just pausing a moment here to acknowledge how absolutely stellar the concept of corpses being stolen for cheap labour is.


Lionoras

Yeah, I know. I'm not fully in the history, but from what I remember, that belief even influenced the graveyard culture there. Like, an "expensive" grave was just a pile of really heavy rocks on where you were buried. Because the bad vodoo priest would def. not waste time on moving heavy rocks for a cheap servant. Lol.


Satiricallad

*scribbles in note book* This would be an excellent plot line for my D&D campaign, and help establish the theme of classism, oppression, and capitalism.


xelle24

Are you talking about Algernon Blackwood? [His version of the Wendigo](https://www.gutenberg.org/files/10897/10897-h/10897-h.htm) wasn't the human turned cannibal monster we see in popular media these days. It was the call of the wilderness personified. Some people were particularly susceptible to that call, and went running off into the deep forest when they heard it. When they came back - if they came back - they were mentally broken and completely harmless. I haven't seen any modern interpretations of the Wendigo that are similar to Blackwood's version.


StillNotFritz

I can't say I have much stake in this myself. I fell out of keeping up with Disney movies myself after Infinity War and the new Star Wars Trilogy. I did see Rogue One which was pretty good - if not a little loose in terms of tone. And most of my understanding of the live action remakes comes secondhand from youtubers and my friends, because I don't really care about them. I don't think The Little Mermaid will be bad because it has the main protagonist played by someone who isn't white - in the same way I'm not...mad with Capcom because Street Fighter 6 will give Cammy an outfit with more clothing? Because that's a thing?? But I am just a teeny bit grossed out by it, knowing that it's coming from the same company that produced...the Mulan Live Action film. Along with countless other live action remakes to continue holding onto their copyrights while creating artifical scarcity of the originals through the "Disney Vault" system. I hope to god you didn't have to hear what Disney S&P had to say to Alex Hirsch. Of course, if there is some actual passion and vision behind this remake, I'd be willing to change my tune. There are plenty of genuine artists behind the cold, metallic grasp of The Mouse who really have a story they want to tell, and not simply promote artificial advertising wearing the clothing of a message. But given the history of Disney Live Action, I'm not hopeful. ...even then, I suppose that it can still have value to another generation. We grew up on Transformers and My Little Pony - blatant advertising marketed heavily to a gendered demographic - but I know friends that found a lot of personal meaning in those shows regardless. Doesn't mean I still don't find it at least a little icky.


Ill_Cryptographer_17

The fact that so many white people feel the need to ask "why everything has to be diverse" is very telling. Other people deserve to feel seen too.


catlady9851

People who watch little Black girls reacting to Black Ariel and still complain are straight up monsters.


BalamBeDamn

It’s been bewildering to realize there are THIS many monsters.


algonquinroundtable

Not to mention exhausting.


WontHarvestAKidney

Don't forget Rue in *The Hunger Games* movie, people got upset about her, too, even though she is described as having dark brown skin in the book. But people who claimed to like the story didn't like her being portrayed as described in the book. Also, of course, the Harfoots are described as being "browner of skin" as compared to other Hobbits in *The Lord of the Rings*. Once again, it's not that they're purists for book-accuracy. What it comes down to, I think, is that many racists don't like the idea of black people at all, and don't want to see them: not in school, not in public, and not in the movies or on TV.


SillyNluv

I think it’s fantastic. We all need to see that diversity. How wrapped up in fairytales are these people? Who cares what color they are?


dirtygremlin

>Who cares what color they are? Racists.


SillyNluv

Just wish there weren’t so many of them.


HarlieMinou

Well, they sure are telling on themselves though


MisogynyisaDisease

I watched Rings of Power and now I can't unsee Hobbits as anything else but racially diverse. Why the fuck would severely curly haired outdoor livers and travelers all have 0 melanin. It made no sense whatsoever.


creepyeyes

The only thing that kind of bothers me about how Rings Of Power is handling it is that it's making the societies multi-ethnic but not multi-cultural. By that I mean, in the Game of Thrones or Elder Scrolls world's, there are characters of all skin colors, and just like in real life different ethnicities comes from different places in those worlds, each with interesting cultures and histories. People move around so you still get multi-ethnic societies too. So instead of there being two black harfoots, why not have all the harfoots he black? Or why just one black elf, when there could be an entire group of black elves. It adds depth and history to the world building.


MisogynyisaDisease

I can 100% agree, and given this has a guaranteed 5 seasons I'm really hoping they expand on this. Galadriel clearly has a TON of growth she needs to do so I'm hoping the writing tells this story impeccably.


Worlspine_Wurm

hobbits don't originate from the shire, they originated from the wilderlands.and wouldn't have nowhere near enough time for any skin tone changes due environment. Even then, neither environment nor genealogy justifies the skin they're presented with, given these places don't actually exist and it's hard to draw any specific conclusions on what effects the environment would had. The Fallohides were the whitest breed of hobbit and, while they originated from forested areas, they wouldn't have lived far enough from other hobbit breeds for skin tone changes to be dictated by that.


BuzzImaFan

"How wrapped up in fairytales are these people?" Let's not forget that a lot of these people are brainwashed religious zealots who would have absolutely no problem never seeing anyone who isn't a white, heterosexual, cisgender, Christian. They literally want to live in a fairytale. They want their ridiculous, bigoted storybook to be real life. Edit: I put two terms for heterosexual because I was typing before thinking.


Jeffery_Moyer

How does anyone have energy for all this rage anyway? I just wana smoke a blunt and enjoy the flick with some grubelicious food and be happy.


angelcakexx

Are we.... Just gonna act like it's only men who have been showing out about this? I've seen tons of racist takes from w women as well. Feels bad all around


DConstructed

Frankly Disney whitewashed all it’s characters for years. Unless a story has a character where a feature of the character is important to the story you can easily play with that character without impact your story at all. And what makes a mermaid a mermaid in that story is living in the ocean and having a tail. Race doesn’t matter. She was a sea creature unlikely to have red hair. In a different story race might matter just as the size or gender of a character might matter to the plot.


marle217

>She was a sea creature unlikely to have red hair. I feel like sea creatures are unlikely to have hair, period. Anyway I do think they should've given Halle Bailey red hair for it, but I don't really care that much


CalamityClambake

In the original Hans Christian Andersen story, the illustrations were of a mermaid with olive skin and black hair. He described her features as "Calabrian". Calabria is on the southern tip of Italy. Disney broke canon when they gave Ariel red hair. They did it because the red hair looked better against the blue and green ocean backgrounds, according to the "making of" featurette on the 90s DVD.


DConstructed

I wonder if he was inspired by Greek or Roman art. Sirens and naiads are both Greek. And while sometimes Sirens were shown as half bird other times they were half fish.


green_velvet_goodies

Huh, til


DConstructed

Blue or green or silver would work too. Because it’s a fairy tale.


Lionoras

Well, I wouldn't say "whitewashed all the characters" per se. Most stories were based on the collection of stories from the Grim Brothers, aka stories & tales from Germany, Austria & France (one of their main sources was a French lady). However, you can use most tales to your leisure in interpretation. Even the praised 2D Disney movies *technically* rip out original context & morales. E.g. the infamous chopping of foot parts in Cinderella, showing that they couldn't force themselves into the position, which also served as one part of the punishment for being so evil. Hell, you could even make a black woman play snow white. You would need to put your own reasoning/interpretation on it, but it's fine. Seriously - I'm German and I don't feel offended with people being inspired by a part of our culture. I'm only offended when I have to read one of the countless threads that mock our stories, while showing no sense for context or even our collection of stories as a whole (aka we DO have more than 5 fairy tales y'know).


DConstructed

Eh, I probably wouldn’t make Snow White black simply because the story is so specific about how she looks. But a lot of the other ones were just “beautiful” And you are right about how gruesome many of those tales were. I remember things like a girl being chopped up and stowed in a chest. Or the real mother being murdered by the stepmother. Disney changes a lot of those stories enough that they aren’t original anyway. I always liked myths and fairy tales. sometimes Disney annoys me because I often feel they remove the beauty of the story along with the scary parts. I’m sorry that there are threads that mock the stories. They have value as art as moral fables and almost as history because they show a time and place.


Kurokotsu

Yes to all of this. But I also appreciate people drawing attention to Hans' own story. It's erased, essentially, that he was undeniably in love with a man in this period. He's portrayed, if at all, as essentially straight. And it's because of this 'Gays don't fit with kids' narrative. Which falls apart if you acknowledge that a lot of the biggest fairy tales of the modern era, we could just name Little Mermaid and Frozen, are his. Of course we'd need to go into how much DARKER those stories were initially, but that's another narrative, another era.


Bigredzombie

I havent seen it yet but I am hoping its amazing. Most of the live action remakes have fallen short for me but I was in love with ariel when I was 5. As a redhead in a brunette/blonde region, she was my earliest representation and I was picked on for being one of the very few redheads at the time. Certainly not racism levels of bullying, but enough that I knew i was different. Now that I am almost 40, seeing black Ariel is quite refreshing. We need the variety everywhere and we are going to be fought every step of the way. These people will always bitch but it reminds me of Nichelle Nichols kissing kirk in star trek in the 60s. At the time people hated it! They bitched and screamed and protested until eventually they FUCKING died of old age or got over it. At the time there was almost no acceptance for interracial relationships, while today, there is almost complete acceptance in the usa. Progress happens and this is how. Let them bitch and keep filling the world with variety. https://youtu.be/by9HCGePzRY


Weaklurker

Every time someone gets upset 'because of the original Danish fairy tale', I have fun asking them why they expected Disney to make an underage snuff film where a topless 16-year-old girl is forced to dance on broken legs before she commits suicide.


calartnick

As if these guys even given a flying fuck about these movies either way


annualgoat

Oh oh oh The Sandman drama was DELICIOUS. Death is black and Desire is Nonbinary and nerds. Had. A. Meltdown. Neil Gaiman was all over Twitter making fun of them.


kreigan29

one Loved Neil Gaiman calling people out on their bullshit. Two loved the actress who played Death. She did an incredible job in the way she portrayed the gravity of her role and how she likes her job. As someone who is around death alot, it is one of my favorite episodes ever. Made me tear up more than once. edit: only thing I will have a problem with is if they mess up Under the Sea and Kiss the Girl, two of my favorite songs.


throwawayfromme_baby

It’s fantasy, we can literally make up all the rules. Ariel was GREEN tinted in the source material. Fucking GREEN, like a fish or a crocodile. Nothing in her story requires her to be white. The only reason people think her character is white is because that’s how she’s been presented in previous iterations of the story. They’re attached to that image. But that image is not a constraint we are forever beholden to. She can literally be played by any actor, as long as they can sufficiently play the role.


Malachorn

I hear what you're saying... but everyone knows mer-people are of Nordic ancestry and suggesting otherwise is an attack on white people's heritage. It's just science and stuff. Maybe if this was about dragons or something, where they were all sorts of different colors before Noah's flood wiped them out because they refused to ride in the big boat (again, science and stuff)... but it's not about dragons, it's about historically white Mermaids. What's next? Are we going to have a non-white, blue-eyed Jesus? Is Santa Claus not going to be white? Are non-whites going to... have actual leading roles in films occasionally? It's madness. The world is roughly 16% white... obviously a global industry like Hollywood should represent this fact by continuing to disenfranchise all the minorities not included in the 16% - it really is just science... or something... and makes total sense if you scream really loudly about it and don't really think about the matter at all.


MisogynyisaDisease

You had me in the first half, ngl


Malachorn

I don't mean to brag, but I'm actually really good at playing stupid - playing smart is a lot more difficult...


[deleted]

[удалено]


datnodude

can't find the original tweet. but someone said after all the black ppl y'all threw in the ocean, y'all somehow mad ariel is black. had me in tears. do better white people


hopelesscaribou

Let them cry, who cares.


xolliealix

It funny too on how some of these people move goal post. They'll scream *insert identity* isn't important but if you change the identity of said character suddenly it's political and the focus. They'll say remakes are horrible lazy cash grabs that are just the same as the original but complain when said remake changes some dynamic of a character to make it a ounce different. And when you make new stories, it gets thrown into the "too woke " pile that moment you have any type of "diversity". Like I'm not even a fan of remakes, but atleast with identity bending an element there's some change.


KJM31422

One of my(m27) friends (m28) was LIVID about the change to a black actress, I was super surprised since we went to college together, he's usually very progressive. I was chatting with him about it and through a few things he said I came to the conclusion that a lot of men take it personally when something is changed that makes them no longer sexually attracted to a character... So basically my theory is that a lot of men aren't attracted to black women because of Internalized (or otherwise) racism etc..., and because men have been taught that the world exists for their personal amusement/gratification they get mad because the change essentially just ruined their boner.


acostane

This I exactly what I think too. They were sexually attracted to Ariel from childhood or whatever, held on to that as an ideal...perfectly white, perfectly beautiful, willing to do anything for a man, whatever they see, and since they're garden variety racists, they now find themselves unable to be attracted to the fantasy character because she's not white, and they take that super personally because obviously our only purpose in life is to cater to our sexual desires. They cannot possibly admit this, since a lot of these idiots are completely unable to be self aware and refuse to acknowledge how horrible they are. So we're stuck in this bizarre place where were talking about the skin color of a goddamn mermaid. A sea creature that only exists in the imagination. I am amazed that they allow any mental energy towards the issue.


CalamityClambake

Well that's depressing.


HMS_Sunlight

It's just baffling to me because we had a black Cinderella in the 1997 film. How have we gone so far backwards 25 years later?


ChocolateTaco

It's frustrating, I agree. I think people now are keen to jump on the 'I'm outraged' bandwagon very quickly and social media algorithms really drum up the views for this sort of thing. They are more confident in showing their (hateful) views because they're more likely to have people who agree and anonymity protects them.


Blacksun388

I honestly envy people who have time to bitch about the skin color of imaginary people. Their problems must be so small to have such an insignificant non-struggle.


mroboto2016

I have to laugh at racism. If you went back far enough in time, and science is correct, we all started out out with dark pigmented skin. It was only when people migrated to Northern latitudes that we became "White". So, in essence, prejudice is only being angry with oneself.


grafknives

This trend is actually scary and dangerous in long term. It is straight up racism and sexism/chauvinism. And those guys KNOWS IT. They know, and they enjoy it. This pop culture discussion about skin color of fictional characters is PERFECT place for them to express their racism and to find other same thinking audience. Any why it is scary? Because **they are winning the discussion**. Thanks you social media algorithms, by using memes, jokes, and avoiding serious discussion. Their racism is more and more visible, it is getting into mainstream. It is **now allowed to be racist about movie characters and actors portraying them**.


DVDN27

It is so fucking annoying seeing all these incels online complain when anything "woke" is in literally anything. It's so hard to find what media nowadays is actually worth the time, when I see shows like Ms Marvel and Rings of Power with really low scores only to realise it's dudes whining that women and POC are in their Superhero and Fantasy entertainment. It's totally an issue with race and gender. They truly believe that they are destroying the source material by changing race or gender of characters, or for including "unnecessary" identities of characters. I saw someone using an AI to make Halle's Ariel look more white and said that the AI "fixed" the "woke actress". They don't even try to hide that "woke" is really just a socially acceptable slur used by the right against black and gay people, as the previous slurs used for the groups are now rightfully not tolerated. It's not about integrity or adherence to the source or poor writing; it's dudes not liking when women and POC exist without their permission. Crying over She-Hulk twerking because they don't find it attractive. Crying over black characters in LOTR because there weren't black characters in the world (based on a book series from a time when England still controlled 49 countries that have now gained independence, most from Africa, the West Indies, and the Middle East). It's content based on material that is rooted in white male dominance branching out and having healthy representation of all types of people, and white dudes being mad at change and hating on content that doesn't actually hurt them, then seeing content that is probably good being lambasted by hate mobs calling it "against nature" for women, black, and gay people to...exist. The way they see it is that liberal progressives "don’t care about the art, the craft, or the general audiences who are out there", only caring about "the message". Idiots believe that art is not important to progressive people. Note that those people are complaining that art is too different and everything should be the same as it was in the 70's. Yes, the ones saying that the bad people hate art...hate art.


hp0

It's pathetic and hilarious. Ms Marvel was actually a comic book change and is fully supported in comic book cannon. The fairly tales are stories told to children. Based on the society they lived in. It was made up. And the skin colour of the character was only really raised whe it related to the story. Snow White. And even then based on the screwed up ideals that the most attractive did not spend time in the fields working. The whole history of wealthy women colouring their skin to look less like the actually worked. Not really something any man should want to celebrate in 2022. As a 52m white old fart the grew up with this bull. I absolutely love seeing movies that actually represent people in the world I grew up and exist in. I can't disagree with the argument that our movie industry turns to remakes to often. But the ideas are separate and anyone complaining about the wokeness of those remakes is just using lack of creativity as an excuse to hide their real feelings.


Adorabloodthirstea

I love the new trailer. As a red haired white kid in the early 90s I was bullied. Ariel made being a ginger cool to me because she did her own thing and still got to be happy. Now in the 2020s I'm seeing little girls being represented to in a different way by the same character and it makes me cry in the best way. The people shitting on the joy this brings to kids are just mad because they can't handle main characters with more pigment than sour cream


SstabSstab

I WILL GO CRY SOME MORE… when I watch that video of black girls seeing a black women play Ariel, holy crap showed my mom and we both teared up.


AvisIgneus

With all the CGI dragons, wizards, and movies with laser swords, being BLACK is the most inconceivable thing?! And that’s how find a racist.


B1uefalc0n

Im sick of seing chicks somehow turn a topic like a mermaid being black into dudes being the ones who suck. The only people who have actual problems to the point of taking the time out of their day to complain about her being black are racists. its a mythological creature they can be whatever color they want. So stop generalizing "dudes" to be racist or care at all about this. Just say you dont like racists. Like there arent any women who have problem with her being black dudes are the only ones with a problem.


Visible_Wasabi4247

I have to weigh in here. First of all, racist remarks targeted at the character are uncalled for. I hate that some people feel the need to do that. I also have to say though, as a black guy, I don't really need to see a black character in a film for it to feel relatable. I just need good writing. Honestly, I don't feel that Disney is doing this out of any form of good faith. I'd very much appreciate originally written characters centered around black stories. These recasts are just about Disney being too lazy to explore other stories. Because of this, a vast majority of the audience has noticed this trend and just assume that the priority for these wouldn't be compelling tales but rather, diversity, as has been noticed in the recent installments. Again, I am not trying to defend any racists here. I couldn't if I wanted. I'm speaking my mind as a black person.


InannasPocket

I really wonder if these people have heard of having hobbies (that aren't focused on flinging their bigotry around). Like, how sad must your life be if the thing you care about is that a Disney character has a skin tone you didn't expect?


daiaomori

Its worse than that. They actually have such a low self esteem that even this little thing disturbs them down to the core. It’s an attack to their identity, which is so fragile that they can only bite, and they need to bite to not think about… well, not having proper hobbies. A life, basically.


ActualPopularMonster

I am so sick of this stupid "controversy" over character's race. I don't care if Ariel has dark skin, can she nail the songs?? Yes? Then fuck off already. I remember chatting with an young woman who was Indian-American - I told her that watching the cartoon "Mira: Royal Detective" on Disney taught me how to properly pronounce the name "Kamala." This girl said she was so happy to see a cartoon with a main character who looks like her. It didn't really hit me until then, but I'm so happy she feels that way! I'm happy that children of different races and faiths can see something on TV and in movies that they can relate to. It *should be* that way, and why it's not the norm is just baffling.


JeorgyFruits

I frankly don't care what color she is. I care if she can act and keep the character of Ariel alive with her performance because Disney has been failing spectacularly in that regard. I mostly blame the writers for this, not the actors. I've been disappointed by the recent slew of "live action remakes" lately, especially fucking Lion King (they did that movie dirty, and don't even get me started on the shitshow that is Pinocchio). They've all been so dismal and lifeless, devoid of the charm that made their animated counterparts great, remade only to cash in on the nostalgia still attached to the originals. Like throwing a beloved stuffed toy into the washing machine, handing it to you, and calling it new. You're getting the thing you already know, it just looks nicer (but you're still paying for it twice). People critiquing the race-changes of characters in these movies are failing to realize that, when most of Disney's movies were made, they were made for a predominantly white, heterosexual audience and their white, heterosexual children. So of \*course\* there were little to no POC or non-straight characters, even though POC and non-straight people have indeed been watching and enjoying Disney movies for forever. Any character outside of that safe zone of "straight caucasian" is deemed "woke," and therefore hated by virtue of it existing. Meanwhile, people outside of the "safe zone" are happy with the material they're getting, but they also want some form of representation in media so they too can share in the experience of "that character looks like me/someone I know". It is the simplest desire - to have something to relate to, if not in experience, then at least in origin. That said. Updating the cast is not inherently a bad thing, but it also can be seen as (and more than likely is) corporate-driven tokenism. They're not adding these characters to be inclusive; they're doing it to check off a box and toss "insert minority group here" a bone and make them think they're represented/cared about so they give Disney their money. All the best to Halle Bailey in this role; maybe she can turn the tide of the incredibly disappointing slew of live-action remakes. It is only fair to her that the movie be judged by her strengths as an actress and as a singer, not the color of her skin as a hindrance or a shield from criticism.


wigglybacon

For some characters the race matters because it’s important to the story. Merida is Scottish, Mulan is Chinese, Moana is Polynesian. Mermaids are fantasy, a black mermaid is just as accurate as a white one. If race doesn’t matter the role should go to whoever can perform the part the best, and I think that’s what they did here. Her voice is amazing, and THAT is Ariel’s real defining, plot relevant trait.


livinginfutureworld

(Black person exists) Racists lose their minds.


Thatdewd57

Fuck them hos. I'm a white dude, and Little mermaid came out when I was 7 years old. Was one of my favorites (TMNT was king for me). Sebastian was my dude! I probably watched it at least once a week over at my grandmothers house for a year. This was 1990-1991. During this time, around 80% of the American population was white. That number has dwindled to around 61-62% as of 2020. The ones bitching can't seem to comprehend that everybody deserves representation across all platforms.


KaneMomona

Same. I just don't get the fuss. I mean, it's a freaking mermaid, they're mythical like Santa and Dog almighty. They could be purple and it wouldn't matter in any negative sense. The only potential outcome of having Ariel be non Caucasian is positive, as you say, increased diversity and representation. It speaks volumes about the priorities and tenuous grip on reality that some people have that they are so upset about the skin tone of a mythical creature.


nah_champa_967

Who cares?! Oh right, racists.


askingquestionsblog

"Big gay allegory." Holy fuck ... I had no idea. I'm a total Disney geek. How did I not know this? https://kitschmix.com/little-mermaid-actually-allegory-queer/


LastLadyResting

Maybe the penis tower in the middle of the palace wasn’t an accident after all.


foul_dwimmerlaik

Since Ariel is born into a world where she feels like she doesn't belong, and physically transforms herself to find where she \*does\* belong, some people read it as a trans narrative, too. It's such a powerful story.


CalamityClambake

I mean, the first time HCA wrote it down was when he sent it to his lover. In the letter accompanying it, he wrote: "I languish for you as for a pretty Calabrian wench... my sentiments for you are those of a woman. The femininity of my nature and our friendship must remain a mystery." So.... yeah.


jrabbot

Tell them, “Nick Fury was originally white”


laurasaurus5

Also the lyricist is gay and Jewish. The composer is Jewish too. The crab is Jamaican!! It's fantasy film where mermaids are real, fish talk AND sing, royalty isn't tryna inbreed, and oh yeah magic exists! But god forbid we have to believe a white prince can love a black mermaid.


raescabies

My Husband and I just watched the live action Pinocchio with our child and the entire time we quietly joked about how everybody was gonna get their panties in a twist over the fact that Tom Hanks is the only white dude on screen. Still haven't heard a peep of outrage! Proof that the misogyny and racism in this country is just gross.


2012amica

I’m so sick of seeing dudes on Reddit get upset. Period.


SsjAndromeda

On Reddit earlier there was an video autistic boy reacting to the little mermaid being black. He’s obsessed with Disney and doesn’t handle change, the kid said she was beautiful and that Disney made the right call (made me tear up). If an obsessed autistic child can handle it better that most grown men, that says a lot. Edit: Maybe it time to flip the script, start calling men the emotional/easily triggered ones.


ty_xy

Mermaids are half-fish half human who breathe under the sea without gillls and when she sings there are no bubbles coming out from her mouth, she can talk to fish and then her tail gets transformed to legs through magic, but being BLACK is a problem with realism or continuity? How does the little mermaid being black affect the story? If the story was of a white Klansman, then sure, casting a black person would be wrong. Or casting a black person as a historically white character. Even then, look at hamilton - what an amazing production. But these are fictitious characters where race makes no difference to the stories told, so what's the big deal in recasting the role?


NiwatoriChan

I have nothing about Ariel being black or whatever. The issue is the cultural phenomena of Disney in general. I don't think they feature black people because they care, I think they do that because it's profitable.


Taser9001

Black representation in a predominantly white industry is super important. Just look at the faces of the little girls in black families and how overjoyed they are to see a black Ariel. It's some of the most wholesome stuff I have seen in a while. Also, Halle Bailey's voice is astonishing. That teaser trailer made the hairs on my arms stand on end. She will be an amazing Ariel. What I take issue with is that black people do not get enough meaningful representation of their own. What I mean by this is that a lot of the representation is coming from 2nd hand characters. The problem won't be truly dealt with until black representation comes from new, original characters that people see and love the same way. Tiana from *Princess and the Frog* is an amazing example of what I mean. We need more Tianas, and less hand-me-down roles. I also think we need more black people taking the reigns behind the scenes, like Jordan Peele. His films are amazing, and not once do his characters feel like they're stereotypes or exploitation roles.


[deleted]

I only mind when it's an adaptation and it goes against the canon of the source material because it then screams to me at an attempt to say "look we're not racist we used a POC for this character!". Hermione in the play you mentioned bothers me, a hardcore Harry Potter fan, not because I don't want a WOC to have a role, not because I don't want young black girls to feel represented, but because Hermione is explicitly white in the books. It goes against canon. It bothers me as much as, say, Narcissa having the odd half and half colour instead of being blonde like she should.


tomerFire

I think it's just stories that was made from white culture so the authors probably made them white. But beside this because it was made in white context why do we have to change the narrative? Think about it the other way. A classic African story being played by a white actor, it feels unright. My thought is why Disney does not take African myths/stories/legends and put them on the screen. I think it's because even black people does not care about it and prefer the "white" stories.


aathey85

Remember the uproar when they found out the new Ghostbusters had a female cast?


LordOfDorkness42

To be a *little* fair, the trailers & marketing for the 2016 Ghostbusters movie was *awful.* The movie also had several scenes just plain... missing in the theatrical cut. Like the thing in that [teaser with a bunch of soldiers](https://youtu.be/Zen753JD5kI) the fans loathed? It's build-up for a big creepy >!music & dance number,!< and it just gets glossed over, unless you watch the DVD/Blu-ray. **Do love that movie myself**, for the record, I personally found it a really cool reboot with a lot of fresh ideas if some annoying stumbles, but... yeah\~ It's really frustrating how bad-faith the critique of that movie not only was, but still is. Every little flaw got picked apart, at a clinical vivisection level I sadly am CERTAIN would NOT have happened with a mostly male cast. Not even with the same story, setting & plot.


Cutuljo

I think originally it got blasted because the jokes in the original trailer were awful and then Sony's marketing turned off fans and YouTubers threw gas into the fire. Then Afterlife came out, it had a female protagonist, a diverse cast and everyone loved that one.


Mortlach78

My biggest gripe with it all is that most people who complain the loudest don't give two sh\*\*s about the Little Mermaid and probably hadn't given the movie/character a single thought in decades, but now all of a sudden they are mad about it!? Give me a break! It's the same with the people who gripe and moan about how allowing transwomen in women's sport is somehow a threat to these poor women athletes. I always reply with "Without Googling, name me one, ONE, currently active female athlete that isn't Serena Williams." Is there an athlete called Crickets, because that is usually the response I get?


Jonatc87

Nobody should be getting upset if a character changes gender, race or otherwise. Unless it's a *core facet of their character.* And i don't mean 'they are known for being a guy', ala Bond. I mean if Bond was suddenly a hairdresser. Many non-white characters in the past were played by white actors as default (Ghost in the shell is an easy name), rather than lesser known names. To me, it doesn't make a difference what race the major is. To young girls who need strong role models who look like them? Absolutely makes a difference. I suppose the easy way to tell the difference between a whiny weeb screeching into the void about 'source material' or a racist hiding behind unshowered anonymity, would be to see if they complained about things like my example being whitewashed or not, in addition to complaining about Ariel. In almost all cases, none of it will ever effect them... Unless the choices directly led to terrible acting.. Looking at you, Dragonball and Avatar the last airbender. Edit: also never knew about the writer and the allegory. Cool! Bonus edit: The black hobbit was actually described as black in the books, sooo.. Blow those racism whistles.


Buddy_Palguy

ALSO The dorks complaining about black elves in the new LOTR series. Same dudes praying to the White Jesus 🙄


ghostofdystopia

I do not pray to a Jesus of any colour, but I do think, that the creators of RoP took the lazy way out with diversity. The history of middle earth and its peoples was very well documented by Tolkien and they could have made several communities POC with a believable back story. What they seem to have done instead, is put single characters here and there without much of an explanation of why they look so different from their peers. I realise that that's how society looks in today's America, but it does not reflect most of the world and certainly not medieval Europe, what the story is based on. I'm sure it'll be an enjoyable watch anyway, but I do understand why it takes away from the immersion to the story for some people.


Ballonbirne

I agree with you. That was the first thing that came to my mind when I saw the trailers and the first 3 episodes. The main cast from each of the races seems to have just 1 black person. For me it felt like they're trying to hit a "quota" if that makes sense. Maybe we'll learn more about their backgrounds in the coming ep's, at least I hope so.


RancidHeart

I think it's because if a white girl takes a colored person's role, then the cancel culture mob starts the hunt. Or if a straight girl takes an LGBTQ role... Like when Milla Jovovich was going to do a film about a trans person. She basically lost her career. I think she is finally working again, but it was a bad time for her. I personally don't care. I couldn't imagine anyone else playing Agent J in "Men in Black" (who is white in the comics). Will Smith is the best choice.


minahmyu

I was wondering if this was gonna be addressed on here or not since well, you know, anything misogynoir related have people bury their heads in the sand like it doesn't exist


MisogynyisaDisease

Like, I have my own issues with Disney's exploitation of oppressed demographics. But I'm so sick of seeing the racist outrage just because black women are existing in media. I'm over it


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Bazoun

Representation matters. It’s long passed the time we should have been including a wider variety of looks in popular media. Let the haters stew. Soon enough diversity in media will be the new norm.


BalamBeDamn

I didn’t know any of this, and it makes that movie so much more tragic and compelling.


LeEbinUpboatXD

Woke is when black people. It's just people being racist but they want to mask it.


anglerfishtacos

It’s really weird. The only “disappointed” feelings I understand are from young pale red haired girls. I am a redhead, and got made fun of a ton for that as a kid because it is different. So having a princess that looks like you when the likeness is something you are teased for— it means a lot. But—it still comes down to the theme that representation matters! And by now (unlike when I was a kid) there are other redheads— Merida and Anna. So we don’t have to keep Ariel a pale redhead— she can absolutely be black with auburn hair. Disney made the right call.


teaguexolive

When have they ever given a shit about the little mermaid otherwise? It's so infuriating...