Live-Action The Little Mermaid

[Primal Slayer]

The general audience has made it known that they'd be more interested in a movie titled Superman than a movie titled Static Shock.

Ariel is 10x bigger than Tiana so one feels more comfortable with a Mermaid movie.

Majority of characters were conceived as white jsut because that was the normal thing to do, not because they needed to be white.

 

[Zarex]

The argument for racebending a character is just as dumb as the one against it so the easiest solution is simply to leave things as is and create better stories suited for representation, that's how I feel about representation in general. Racebending an established character does nothing but cause a vitriol amongst fans further fanned by accusations of racism when most arguments are as simple as "X character looked like this and we want to keep it faithful."

When lesser characters are gender or racebent it usually doesn't matter as they are never as important to the iconography of a property so for the most part those I don't care about.

At the end of the day making Ariel, or Kal El, or whatever other character they want to racebend black or something does absolutely nothing but pander to people, I'd rather they lift up characters like Tiana, Static Shock, etc etc instead of pushing race on established characters.

There's no race bending taking place here. Ariel isn't Caucasian. She is a fish lady.

 

[Punisher_MAX]

There's no race bending taking place here. Ariel isn't Caucasian. She is a fish lady.

But DISNEY'S Ariel is white skinned with iconically RED hair, this point is so obtuse it isnt even funny anymore.

I'm not saying there can't be black mermaids, they exist in various folklore, I'm just saying making Ariel black is just stupid as **** cause it does nothing but add controversy, if they wanted a black mermaid then make a different character that keeps the themes of the story and voila, issue avoided.

 

[Punisher_MAX]

The general audience has made it known that they'd be more interested in a movie titled Superman than a movie titled Static Shock.

Ariel is 10x bigger than Tiana so one feels more comfortable with a Mermaid movie.

Majority of characters were conceived as white jsut because that was the normal thing to do, not because they needed to be white.

Then make new Characters.

The "General Audience" accepted Sam as a Black Captain America because 1. His story earned him the title 2. He is NOT Steve Rogers he is Sam Wilson and 3. Marvel wrote a strong story.

The same can apply to ANY character.

 

[Primal Slayer]

But DISNEY'S Ariel is white skinned with iconically RED hair, this point is so obtuse it isnt even funny anymore.

I'm not saying there can't be black mermaids, they exist in various folklore, I'm just saying making Ariel black is just stupid as **** cause it does nothing but add controversy, if they wanted a black mermaid then make a different character that keeps the themes of the story and voila, issue avoided.

So....we shouldnt do things to avoid controversy? There's real controversy and then there's just controversery that is laughable at the end of the day. Racebending characters is one of those.

 

[moviedoors]

I'm not saying there can't be black mermaids,

Yes you are.

 

[Punisher_MAX]

This just irks me as a proud Hispanic because more than anything I want to see proper representation and I'm honestly insulted when they have to race change characters because it says that original minority characters can't have strong stories or hold their weight.

For example, I love Johnny Blaze as Ghost Rider but I also LOVE Robbie Reyes because he is a Latino that reflects his struggle against gangs in LA Barrios. I don't want a Hispanic Johnny Blaze.

 

[Punisher_MAX]

Yes you are.

No I am NOT. I'm literally saying Ariel shouldn't have been black. I JUST posted that they could've made an original black Mermaid for the adaptation.

 

[moviedoors]

So....we shouldnt do things to avoid controversy? There's real controversy and then there's just controversery that is laughable at the end of the day. Racebending characters is one of those.

Yes. Ariel being played by a black person is only "controversial" if you're a ****ing racist.

This sounds like my dad; he normally wouldn't care at all about anything to do with THE LITTLE MERMAID. But cast her with a black actor? Oh, suddenly, he's got opinions! And that's because he's an old guy with ****ed up, racist opinions on race.

I suggest none of you be like my dad.

 

[moviedoors]

No I am NOT. I'm literally saying Ariel shouldn't have been black. I JUST posted that they could've made an original black Mermaid for the adaptation.

But heaven forbid they cast Ariel as black because....?

There's no legitimate reason. Oh, she has red hair? How on earth could the character that's HALF FISH be played by a black person when she has red hair?!?! Who could ever hold such a concept in their mind!

 

[Shinobi Shaw]

I was today years old when I found out that fictional black mermaids and black Kryptonians was serious, controversial business.

Thank God we still getting them though.

 

[moviedoors]

There's no race bending taking place here. Ariel isn't Caucasian. She is a fish lady.

But RED HAIR!!!!

 

[Punisher_MAX]

But heaven forbid they cast Ariel as black because....?

There's no legitimate reason. Oh, she has red hair? How on earth could the character that's HALF FISH be played by a black person when she has red hair?!?!

You're missing the point to just make noise.

The GA has an image of Ariel from the 90s movie. She is an icon to a lot of red headed girls and for 30 years has been drawn and adapted to look the way she does.

To cast a black girl for seemingly no reason than to check off a diversity quota when all the other adaptations did, for the most part, a good job of adapting their iconic looks, makes absolutely no sense.

She doesn't look like Ariel or even evoke the imagery of Ariel. So now it's gonna be a controversy for no good reason and the poor girl is probably gonna suffer for it, that's the reality of it. The smart thing would've been to make it sn original story with a brand new black Mermaid that doesn't have to live up to the standard of the 90s animated movie, because at the end of the day that's what it'll be judged for and the adaptations lately have sucked.

Are you a minority? Because quite frankly I mostly see white people defending the race change, most blacks dont care for it and if anything, ESPECIALLY after Black Panther, want their OWN character, not a race change that will piggyback off a white appearing character.

That's not progress, that's pandering.

 

[Zarex]

But DISNEY'S Ariel is white skinned with iconically RED hair, this point is so obtuse it isnt even funny anymore.

I'm not saying there can't be black mermaids, they exist in various folklore, I'm just saying making Ariel black is just stupid as **** cause it does nothing but add controversy, if they wanted a black mermaid then make a different character that keeps the themes of the story and voila, issue avoided.

Ms. Bailey may have a skosh more melanin than the cartoon character, but she ticks off the majority of the boxes for folks who insist in fidelity in the transition to live action. She is young, a fine actress, sings like an angel and is awfully purty. And if the Mouse were making the animated feature today they probably wouldn't have defaulted to pale white girl when drawing their legendary sea creature.

 

[moviedoors]

But DISNEY'S Ariel is white skinned with iconically RED hair, this point is so obtuse it isnt even funny anymore.

Excuse me while I beat this point into the ground.

Trust me: she'll still be "ironically" red-headed in the new movie. She'll also be played by a black skinned human.

There is no contradiction here.

Unless you're, you know, racist.

 

[Punisher_MAX]

Oh yeah, I'm racist because Id prefer a character that was drawn to look a certain way reflect that

 

[moviedoors]

She is an icon to a lot of red headed girls and for 30 years

...and? That goes away if her skin tone changes?

Sounds a bit... racist.

 

[moviedoors]

Oh yeah, I'm racist because Id prefer a character that was drawn to look a certain way reflect that

Glad we agree!

 

[Punisher_MAX]

Glad we agree!

Wah the minority wants strong original characters that don't have to compete with a previously established version he's a racist.

Cry me a ****ing river.

 

[moviedoors]

I mostly see white people defending the race change, most blacks dont care for it

****in' prove it.

 

[moviedoors]

Wah the minority wants strong original characters that don't have to compete with a previously established version he's a racist.

Cry me a ****ing river.

Sorry, if you care this much about a cartoon fish lady being cast by a real life human being that happens to have a certain skin tone, I'm gonna look at you sideways.

Scratch that; I ain't sorry.

 

[Punisher_MAX]

****in' prove it.

I'm not going to scour the internet for a consensus, you're more than welcome to cause I frankly don't care enough to argue with you.

You can do it.

I'm not watching this movie anyway, so if it's good awesome if not well big surprise

Sorry, if you care this much about a cartoon fish lady being cast by a real life human being that happens to have a certain skin tone, I'm gonna look at you sideways.

Scratch that; I ain't sorry.

I literally don't care that much to be pressed since I won't watch the movie unless it's free, im just expressing my opinion that it's the general idea of racebending established characters that as a MINORITY I find offensive.

I believe a Princess and the Frog movie would do WAY more for black representation than making Ariel black because one just feels like throwing a bone to placate the left while the other focuses on a strong black character with a uniquely African American flavor to it.

THIS is the crux of my ire, I'm tired of changing white or white looking characters into other races, it just says minorities don't have strong enough stories so let's piggyback off a white character's story; give us the Miles Morales, Robbie Reyes, Calvin Ellis, Blades, etc etc of the world, stories that ACTUALLY represent minorities.

Quite frankly I look down at my fellow minorities who are ok with simply wanting to cast a minority actor in what is portrayed as a white character instead of wanting their own character they can identify and champion, we have our own amazing stories to tell and don't need a damn bone thrown to us to "satisfy" a quota, we're better than that.

 

[Punisher_MAX]

I don't see an issue racebending characters where it makes no difference what race they are in the first place, especially since it's a reimagining and they're merpeople. Disney just did the same thing with a few of the characters in Cruella. The original animated Ariel isn't going anywhere and will still be the definitive version, much like Belle and Jasmine compared to their live action counterparts.

Also for clarity, by "a**holes in the peanut gallery" I mean racists who also complained about the leads of the Star Wars sequel trilogy not being a white male.

Finn should've been a Jedi and should've been a lead character, Lucasfilm did him dirty.

 

[Shinobi Shaw]

THIS is the crux of my ire, I'm tired of changing white or white looking characters into other races, it just says minorities don't have strong enough stories so let's piggyback off a white character's story; give us the Miles Morales, Robbie Reyes, Calvin Ellis, Blades, etc etc of the world, stories that ACTUALLY represent minorities.

Quite frankly I look down at my fellow minorities who are ok with simply wanting to cast a minority actor in what is portrayed as a white character instead of wanting their own character they can identify and champion, we have our own amazing stories to tell and don't need a damn bone thrown to us to "satisfy" a quota, we're better than that.

Speaking as a black man and someone who works in television, why can't we have both? For every one white character that gets race bent there are a million more white characters to sub for them. And then your whole argument of "it says minorities don't have strong enough stories" is full of it because we all know Hollywood is devoid of equal representation. There are countless scripts made for and about black people that get tossed out the window and won't get greenlit because Hollywood execs feel like we're just a monolith that won't go for a certain type of movie unless it's about what they think black people like.

So in the meantime while we wait and fight for more original black stories and pray that they actually get made, I'm more than cool with watching a piece of established intellectual property like Ariel being played by a black actress.

 

[Punisher_MAX]

Speaking as a black man, why can't we have both? For every one white character that gets race bent there are a million more white characters to sub for them. And then your whole argument of "it says minorities don't have strong enough stories" is full of it because we all know Hollywood is devoid of equal representation. There are countless scripts made for and about black people that get tossed out the window and won't get greenlit because Hollywood execs feel like we're just a monolith that won't go for a certain type of movie unless it's about what they think black people like.

So in the meantime while we wait and fight for more original black stories and pray that they actually get made, I'm more than cool with watching a piece of established intellectual property like Ariel being played by a black actress.

Hollywood needs to change because I agree that it's so stupidly racist and elitist, but I personally as a minority find it insulting that we are thrown scraps by having to pointlessly change the race of a character.

I understand what your position is I just refuse to settle for racebending and much prefer original minority characters.

Like I said as an example, I want Robbie Reyes not Hispanic Johnny Blaze.