Increased diversity in the new movie of the Little Mermaid causes severe backlash.
By: Shara 11.1
Image: @hallebailey on Instagram
People have gone out of their minds over the new up-and-coming movie, The Little Mermaid, but has it all been that good? Recent criticism of the upcoming movie has surfaced on various social media platforms.
Halle Bailey’s dream was to be the Little Mermaid when she was a young girl, and it finally came true at the age of 22 as she has the lead role in the new movie. Bailey expresses her love for the movie, stating, “Being here today is so surreal. I definitely think that because I love this movie so much, and I’ve treasured it since I was a little girl.” The movie is officially coming out in theatres on 26th May 2023.
Images: https://gizmodo.com/little-mermaid-halle-bailey-ariel-twitter-white-ban-1849535257
Things are not as good as they seem to be. #NotMyAriel is a hashtag made by a racially biased community that does not support Bailey as the actress of Little Mermaid. Many fans were thrilled about the release of the trailer on YouTube, but many weren’t, generating 1.5 million dislikes in a matter of two days. Trolls have shown their hatred through racist tweets and comments about the trailer. One Twitter user even went as far as to change Bailey’s skin color.
Bailey has faced racial discrimination online since she was cast for the part, and her family stood like pillars through her entire journey, as her sister says “It’s important to have a strong support system around you. It’s hard to carry the weight of the world on your own.” Bailey herself says, “I want the little girl in me and the little girls just like me who are watching to know they’re special, and that they should be a princess in every single way. There’s no reason they shouldn’t be.”
Many assume that the backlash will affect the release of the movie, but others have shown their love and support for the trailer release as well. Many Little Mermaid fans and children are expecting this movie to be extraordinary, and we hope it is. Diverse representation is not shown on Disney shows as much as we’d like, and Disney producers should acknowledge and understand the serious problems that it can cause. Since Disney’s audience is young and impressionable, it is easy to feel like you don’t belong when it only shows a certain race on the screen of the TV you watch daily.
Not just Disney, but all mass media companies can work better to show minority representation in their films or TV shows. This is how we can teach young children to learn better and be kinder: to learn that the world is a big, different place and everybody’s special in their own way.
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