Why Ariel Being Black Matters So Much
Originally Posted September 15, 2022
On Friday, September 9th movie Director Rob Marshall and singer/actress Halle Bailey showcased the new trailer for Disney’s Live-Action rendition of The Little Mermaid. Despite the wonderful response from the audience at the D23 expo, thousands of people on social media weren’t so happy.
Comments like “It doesn’t make scientific sense for her to be Black” “Ariel is supposed to be Danish”, “Woke culture is racist. This trailer is racist”, “Will this Ariel have 4-inch fingernails and a bottle of hot sauce and ranch in her sea purse” have been flooding social media.
Reactions have been everything from flat-out racist, celebratory, or even dismissive. But something I’ve been seeing the most is “Why does it even matter?” So let’s talk about it!
Representation Matters
I’m sure you’ve heard over the years about how much representation matters, but for some people that might not mean much. Representation is a figure that goes on behalf of someone else. Oftentimes this is done for vulnerable or mistreated populations that don’t have much recognition. By having more representation, people are able to associate these groups in a different light. Unfortunately for minorities, their representatives in media are rarely shown in a positive and encouraging light.
This is often true in media. Even in Disney, there is a severe lack of positive Black main characters. Since 2000 Disney has released 92 animated movies, of those movies 62 of them have humans as main characters for at least part of the movie. Of those 62, only 3 of them have a Black person as the main character, and in all three of those movies, at least 60% of the movie is spent not being able to see the character’s Black skin color.
With Halle Bailey as the new Ariel, children and families will get to see themselves as a beautiful, creative, inquisitive, Black main character for the entirety of the movie. Not as a frog, a pigeon, or a blob, but as a beautiful mermaid with a skin tone similar to theirs!
In my own childhood, I remember being told “I can’t have a crush on you, you’re Black”, “he says if you weren’t Black he would like you”, and “you’re ugly and burnt”. My experience is not a unique one, in fact quite common. Ariel being pursued by a handsome prince even though her skin color is different is a beautiful change of pace that is very needed.
Racial Identity is not Central to the Movie
I’ve seen a lot of comments saying “if Black Panther was recast with white people you’d be mad”, and they are absolutely correct! However, this is because their racial identity is integral to the movie. It is centered around the idea that Black communities are often overlooked when it comes to prosperity and scientific advancement. This is not the case for The Little Mermaid.
Take for example Moana. That is rooted in Polynesian Culture. It would be inappropriate for the main character to be Black or White when the majority of Polynesian people are not of those races. However, if Elsa from Frozen was Black it would be okay because the storyline does not focus on White culture.
Recasting Based on Actress’ Ability to Fill the Role
Recasting a princess of a different race has been done before beautifully. Disney has done a live-action remake of Cinderella with Brandy Norwood as the main character. To this day it is still one of my favorite movies, not only because I got to see a princess that looked like me, but because Brandy did an incredible job! This will also be true for Halle Bailey, not only will she be a positive role model, but she has the talent to do justice to the character.
The Mistreatment of Halle and the Widespread Racial Trauma
I can’t imagine how Halle must be feeling. It was a dream come true to land this role. Yet all the attacks and abuse she’s receiving must be painful. For myself, it hurts to see how much hate she is getting because of her skin color. I am significantly darker than Halle, so I can just picture the undue amount of abuse someone that looks like me would receive.
It is racist, belittling, and uncalled for, but not surprising. Time and time again we see reactions like this when a Black person earns a positive and powerful position. Although it isn’t surprising, it is disappointing.
I hope this serves as a reminder that even if you’re “just” criticizing Disney or the actress, there
are humans on the other end of it. And there are real people in your life who see these comments and may be affected by them.
To all the little girls who get to see themselves as a princess on the big screen, I’ll be singing right alongside you with tears in my eyes.
Ariel is Black and it matters.