Should Disney Stop Casting Actors for Live-Action Adaptations That Aren’t Physically Similar To the Character?
Should Disney Stop Casting Actors for Live-Action Adaptations That Aren’t Physically Similar To the Character?
There’s a lot of controversy surrounding the casting of Disney Princesses in recently produced live action films. For example, in the live action adaptation of The Little Mermaid, Halle Bailey was casted for the lead role of Ariel in 2023. Personally, I really liked this casting, but some people didn’t think it was a good pick.
These people often stated their opinions online, and argued that having a black person play a white character wasn’t authentic to the original movie. This point could have been made respectfully, but in many cases within the media it wasn’t. Halle Bailey ended up receiving a lot of backlash for being casted, and there was definitely racism hidden underneath this criticism. This backlash included threats to her, racist comments, and even a hashtag that surged–#notmyariel. According to The Guardian, Halle Bailey addressed the situation saying, “as a Black person, you just expect it and it’s not really a shock any more.”
So, in the case of The Little Mermaid, I believe this representation was an essential breakthrough for Disney.
However, in the newest live action adaptation of Snow White, I have some different feelings.
Disney casted the Latina actress, Rachel Zegler for the lead role of Snow White. This casting sparked just as much controversy as the casting for The Little Mermaid did. While I think that representation in Disney is essential, this casting felt a little more fake. What I mean by fake is that Disney was trying to purposely add diversity in their productions for more appreciation from the public.
According to Entertainment Weekly, “Her casting sparked a racist backlash, with some criticizing an actress of Latin descent playing a character described in the original fairy tale as having "skin as white as snow”. This unnecessary backlash is similar to what Halle Bailey received as well.
I think having a Latina princess is great, but I think the casting could have been more true to the character, and it would’ve made the production more authentic.
Along with this casting, there were also a lot of problems following the casting of the dwarfs. Instead of giving opportunities to real people with dwarfism, CGI was used to create the dwarves in the film. This sparked a lot of hate from actors with the condition.
Overall, the remake of Snow White wasn’t very good, and didn’t do very well in the box office, costing Disney millions of dollars.
To conclude my blog post by answering the question, I think it really depends on the movie itself and how much the physical appearance of characters affect the movies plot/storyline, but I do think representation is important in the film industry.
Works Cited
Tayo Bero, “The global backlash against The Little Mermaid proves why we needed a Black Ariel” The Guardian, June 9, 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jun/09/the-little-mermaid-global-backlash-black-ariel
I totally agree; I think race-swapping is okay, but not when it's important to the character. (For example, race-swapping Snow White, Rapunzel, or Elsa wouldn't really make sense seeing as they take place in European countries, and their appearances are kind of important.) Additionally, I strongly believe that race-swapping is a lazy excuse at diversity. If Disney really wanted to be more diverse, they'd put in the time, effort, and research it needs to create new characters representative of more cultures. Race-swapping an old character doesn't necessarily make them diverse, nor does simply making the main character in Wish black. We want to see culture: Lilo and Stich, Mulan, Moana, the Emporer's New Groove, the Princess and the Frog; I feel like those older movies did so much of a better job actually drawing awareness to the variety of people that exist on earth. It's because they understood that DIVERSITY MEANS MORE THAN SKIN COLOR.
ReplyDelete(Sorry if I was too energetic with this comment ToT I'm very passionate about this)
DeleteI think I really agree with Layla's point of how lazy Disney has been with diversity. I additionally think that creating new characters and implementing new cultures would definitely be more inclusive while still appealing to Disney's own needs. You're blog post did a really good job of differentiating between the problems in casting. Overall, great job.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Catalina. I think it really depends on the movie and the importance of race for the specific character. Furthermore, for the argument about Ariel, I believe that people of minority groups in general don't get the same representation as white people, and it limits many non-white actors' opportunity for different rules. For example, if most of the Disney princesses are white, it is only fair that actors who are not white should be able to act in these roles because they don't have the same options and opportunities to act in roles of their race. I think if people have a problem with a black woman being Ariel in the live action movie, they should reflect on how many black Disney princesses there are. The only actually popular black Disney princess is Tiana but a black actor's options for roles to act should not be limited to Tiana and lesser-known characters just because Disney doesn't represent them enough. Overall, a person of less-represented groups should not limit what characters they can act because limiting it gives them less options and opportunities than more-represented groups but also it depends on the significance of the character's race and culture in the particular movie.
ReplyDeleteI like the way you structured your argument! In addition, you use your sources very well to back up your points, and personally, I agree with you. I also like that you did your post on a topic frequently brought up in the media, since most of our blog posts aren't on current events. This was an enjoyable read, good job!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post! This debate has gotten a little mind numbing in recent years, but I think you provided an interesting and nuanced perspective, that I completely agree with. Halle Bailey did a lovely job as Ariel, and her casting was a great opportunity for positive representation. However, Disney has proven on many occasions that their apparent progressivism is largely performative and for profit, which can be seen in the choices made in the new Snow White.
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