The Little Mermaid Casting
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And NEWSFLASH: Halle Bailey is African American.
That's what's been causing such a commotion on social media: a young African American woman is playing a character that has been traditionally and widely seen as Caucasian.
There are a lot of people saying that they grew up with Ariel being a white Danish girl and that casting Halle Bailey would ruin their childhood. Some are saying that Halle looks nothing like Ariel and that it wouldn't result in a faithful remake to the cartoon version. A lot of people of color are saying if Disney wants to promote representation, why can't it create original stories with minority characters (in this case, with leading black characters)? Other people are questioning why some people are so happy about this casting decision. They say that Disney's just doing this to exploit people and to pander to African Americans. Basically, they say the whole reason behind this is to make money and get media attention (which is what Disney is successfully doing). People seem to also point out that if a white woman played a character that is known to be of color, people will be fuming, but when a person of color is playing a a traditionally white character, it is celebrated.
And then there are, of course, so many people on social media that are so happy with this casting decision. Many people, particularly young black and brown girls, are excited to see a depiction of an iconic Disney princess that they feel looks like them. And we all know that Hollywood and cinema in general has a huge issue when it comes to depicting people of different skin tones, cultures, and ethnicities. Those that are excited about this news feel it's a huge step towards positive representation for people of color. It's always awesome to have positive and uplifting depictions of people of color.
Quite a few celebrities have come out to defend Disney's casting decision:
Keke Palmer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKoieCooMmQ
Donald Glover: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVpdRFO5RyE
So how do I feel about this casting news? Honestly, when I first heard about it, I was pleasantly surprised. I never thought that Disney would cast a mixed black actress for the part of Ariel. But my mind was soon plagued by what people online would think......how and why this isn't to be celebrated. Maybe, I'm wrong for being pleasantly surprised. Obviously, this news is not the most serious thing in the world. Our world has bigger issues to deal with than Halle Bailey being cast as the little mermaid.
First of all, I knew people's opinions were going to be all over the place. Most of the people on the Internet just seem to be super cynical about this news. While their cynicism is valid, it also left me broken-hearted. People were so dramatic about this news as if the world was ending. First of all, The Little Mermaid is a cartoon. Culture did not play a role in the story of The Little Mermaid. I get that it is originally based on a Danish fairy tale of the same title, but Danish culture did not play a huge role. It's also fake AF. Mermaid's don't exist. Sebastian the talking crab is Jamaican and NEWSFLASH: Crabs can't talk!! Honestly, the mermaid could be any race. It's not a big deal. Again, as Keke Palmer said in regards to the backlash, "The entire thing is fiction."
When I found that, oh, Halle Bailey is cast as Ariel, for me it's like, "Cool!! Awesome for her!! Congrats!! YAY!! Other people can be given powerful roles as well, great!!" and just move on. I just wish people would stop ruining this young lady's shine.
It's cool to see people of other ethnicities on the big screen. Trust me, I know. I'm Indian and I know how cool it really is.
Here is The Crazed Indian House Wife's video on this news:
The Crazed Indian House Wife's video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C3wux53Dyk
In this video, the woman in the video highlights how cinema has erased darker skin and proper culture. She spoke about how the casting if the live action version of Aladdin was problematic. She said Disney whitewashed Aladdin for the sake of North American audiences by casting a biracial half-white half-Indian actress as Princess Jasmine, who in the animated version has browner skin. Honestly, I found that really weird as well. No darker skin was represented in that movie. There are plenty of Disney princesses for representation for white people. There is always the cartoon version of The Little Mermaid.
I personally know how pervasive the erasure of dark skin in cinema really is. As a brown skinned Indian American girl in America (I'm not trying to create a victim narrative. I'm just stating the reality.), I have grown up in a country where my people are not the majority. Growing up, I didn't see many South Asian people or even many people of color, especially those who were darker skinned, on western television. Honestly, the only South Asian person I saw on western kids TV growing up was Avan Jogia, who was on the show Victorious, who himself, even though he was great in Victorious, is a lighter skinned half-white half-Indian man.
And then growing up with Indian cinema is a whole other story. For what I have seen, Indian movies have overall failed to properly represent darker skinned people. While we may see some brown and darker skinned lead actors, the lead actresses are almost always in the pale to beige range.
I know what it's like to, in a way, not see people who have similar skin tones to myself and darker skinned people. India, especially the region in India that my family is from, Telangana (formerly part of Andhra Pradhesh), is obsessed......I mean obsessed with movies. Growing up with both types of mainstream cinema, I didn't feel seen.
I find it refreshing to see a browner skinned young woman with dreadlocks play a Disney princess. Perhaps, this casting is an effort to have people of other ethnicities feel and be seen in whatever way, shape, or form it can. What do you think?
Quite a few celebrities have come out to defend Disney's casting decision:
Keke Palmer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKoieCooMmQ
Donald Glover: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVpdRFO5RyE
So how do I feel about this casting news? Honestly, when I first heard about it, I was pleasantly surprised. I never thought that Disney would cast a mixed black actress for the part of Ariel. But my mind was soon plagued by what people online would think......how and why this isn't to be celebrated. Maybe, I'm wrong for being pleasantly surprised. Obviously, this news is not the most serious thing in the world. Our world has bigger issues to deal with than Halle Bailey being cast as the little mermaid.
First of all, I knew people's opinions were going to be all over the place. Most of the people on the Internet just seem to be super cynical about this news. While their cynicism is valid, it also left me broken-hearted. People were so dramatic about this news as if the world was ending. First of all, The Little Mermaid is a cartoon. Culture did not play a role in the story of The Little Mermaid. I get that it is originally based on a Danish fairy tale of the same title, but Danish culture did not play a huge role. It's also fake AF. Mermaid's don't exist. Sebastian the talking crab is Jamaican and NEWSFLASH: Crabs can't talk!! Honestly, the mermaid could be any race. It's not a big deal. Again, as Keke Palmer said in regards to the backlash, "The entire thing is fiction."
When I found that, oh, Halle Bailey is cast as Ariel, for me it's like, "Cool!! Awesome for her!! Congrats!! YAY!! Other people can be given powerful roles as well, great!!" and just move on. I just wish people would stop ruining this young lady's shine.
It's cool to see people of other ethnicities on the big screen. Trust me, I know. I'm Indian and I know how cool it really is.
Here is The Crazed Indian House Wife's video on this news:
In this video, the woman in the video highlights how cinema has erased darker skin and proper culture. She spoke about how the casting if the live action version of Aladdin was problematic. She said Disney whitewashed Aladdin for the sake of North American audiences by casting a biracial half-white half-Indian actress as Princess Jasmine, who in the animated version has browner skin. Honestly, I found that really weird as well. No darker skin was represented in that movie. There are plenty of Disney princesses for representation for white people. There is always the cartoon version of The Little Mermaid.
I personally know how pervasive the erasure of dark skin in cinema really is. As a brown skinned Indian American girl in America (I'm not trying to create a victim narrative. I'm just stating the reality.), I have grown up in a country where my people are not the majority. Growing up, I didn't see many South Asian people or even many people of color, especially those who were darker skinned, on western television. Honestly, the only South Asian person I saw on western kids TV growing up was Avan Jogia, who was on the show Victorious, who himself, even though he was great in Victorious, is a lighter skinned half-white half-Indian man.
And then growing up with Indian cinema is a whole other story. For what I have seen, Indian movies have overall failed to properly represent darker skinned people. While we may see some brown and darker skinned lead actors, the lead actresses are almost always in the pale to beige range.
I know what it's like to, in a way, not see people who have similar skin tones to myself and darker skinned people. India, especially the region in India that my family is from, Telangana (formerly part of Andhra Pradhesh), is obsessed......I mean obsessed with movies. Growing up with both types of mainstream cinema, I didn't feel seen.
I find it refreshing to see a browner skinned young woman with dreadlocks play a Disney princess. Perhaps, this casting is an effort to have people of other ethnicities feel and be seen in whatever way, shape, or form it can. What do you think?
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