Don’t Be Mad At Halle, Be Mad At Disney
Image Courtesy: Disney
When Disney Studios announced that they would be making a live-action Little Mermaid, people were surprised and concerned about how an underwater world would be translated on the big screen. However, no one would have guessed the controversy surrounding the fictional character of Ariel, being played by a black woman.
Since Disney cast Halle Bailey as the lead for The Little Mermaid, she has garnered more hate than any recent live-action remake. In the original Ariel animation, which came out in 1989, Ariel is featured with white skin. The teaser trailer released in September on youtube has over 3 million dislikes. In addition, tweets have circulated amongst racist trolls, targeting Bailey for playing Ariel.
“As a black person, you just expect it, and it’s not really a shock anymore,” Bailey told The Face magazine.
For Bailey, taking on the role of Ariel wasn’t just for herself. It was for a community filled with young black girls and children looking up to her and finally seeing a version of themselves in these spaces. “…People don’t understand that when you’re Black, there’s this whole other community. It’s so important for us to see ourselves,” she said.
When the teaser trailer dropped, hundreds of videos featuring young black girls circled social media seeing Halle as The Little Mermaid. So many young girls were shocked to finally see a character with such stature looking just like them.
Just a few years after the buzz from the height of the Black Lives Matter Movement, people are looking for changes within the media, and more representation is the first step. Companies like Disney are entering an era of trying to show that they can be progressive and create roles for black, brown, and other POC actors.
There are many sides to the dilemma that is a black Ariel, and one is that there shouldn’t be one. Most of the negativity and media surrounding the movie is that people don’t think Ariel should be black. The negativity is circling anti-black rhetoric and hiding behind the idea that ‘it’s not liked because it’s not accurate to the original telling.’ However, maybe it’s time to admit that the idea and comment stem from racism.
In September, a video on Twitter with an AI replica of Halle Bailey as Ariel featuring white skin circulated, with many people captioning the post “fixed it” or “much better.” Even worse, there were tweets calling for Halle to be lynched for playing the role.
With a story like The Little Mermaid, should it even matter whether she is black? Considering it is a fictional story about a mermaid, and her race has nothing to do with the plot, the change should not have caused this significant reaction. For years, people in the black community have been begging for a movie centering around POC as mythical characters. So now that it’s finally happened, why are so many disappointed?
Disney is in a gray area when it comes to producing new content. There have been many remakes, reboots, and spinoffs recently, and The Little Mermaid is just another live-action after a slew in the last couple of years. Not only are people bored of the story retellings, but people, specifically in the black community, are disappointed.
In the original Danish telling of The Little Mermaid, which came out in 1837, they describe her as someone who possessed “clear and delicate rose-leaf skin.” And, of course, in the cartoon, she appears white. So, for almost 200 years, Ariel has been a white character, which is how she will most likely always be remembered.
Putting a black character in the place of a character that has always been white not only sets up the actor and movie for failure but is just lazy writing. Many wish Disney could have created a new movie featuring black and other POC mermaids or mythical creatures.
The trailer for another remake, Peter Pan & Wendy, was released recently. It features black actress Yara Shahidi in the role of Tinkerbell. Although another made-up and mythical character, a black actress, was put into the role of a character that was always white. And similarly, Shahidi has been hated by many racist internet trolls.
It’s heartbreaking to see all the hate thrown at Halle Bailey and, recently, Yara Shahidi. All they both wanted to do was be a good representation of young black and brown kids, but instead, they have been met with an overwhelming amount of hate. No one deserves to get that sort of criticism for taking a role meant to be a positive development in media representation. The racism surrounding the film is just a reminder that there needs to be more POC actors and characters in film, television, and stories.
I know I’ll be seated at the theaters on May 26 in support of Halle because she was chosen for the role for a reason and never disappoints.
Strike Out,
Morgann Rhule
