Live-Action The Little Mermaid

[Marvel united]

Originally, “woke” meant “alert to injustice and discrimination” — which, one might think, is a good thing. But then the right (especially the far right and MAGA types) appropriated the term as a pejorative. Thus, a black Little Mermaid is “woke” because this (fictional) character is… ahistorical?, revisionist?, a threat to white culture?, etc. Wonky stuff. More recently, however, many on the left (who otherwise despise Trump and all things MAGA) have started using “woke” to describe perceived excesses on the far left. So the definition is all over the map. The linguist John Mc****ter (not sure why his name is censored), in a NY Times essay, has an interesting overview on the evolution and transformation of “woke.”

Opinion | How ‘Woke’ Became an Insult (Published 2021)

(It’s paywalled; but you might be able to read via a “free trial” or other workaround.)

"Woke" is actually an appropriated term from AAVE, which started in the Black community, and it goes back decdes. Originally, "woke" was meant to describe Black people who were conscious of anti-black systems, revolutionary energy (e.g. James Baldwin, Angela Davis etc), and spiritually in-tune with our ancestors.

But like everything we produce, it was uprooted from the Black community, stripped of it's original spiritual semantic, and attributed a pejorative that has now basically become a catch-all dog whistle for bigots, and in many cases, a substitute for the N-word.

Because we all know what these people REALLY wanna say about the movie, but can't, at least not publicly. So "woke" is their way of communicating they hate that she's black.

 

[Shinobi Shaw]

"Woke" is actually an appropriated term from AAVE, which started in the Black community, and it goes back decdes. Originally, "woke" was meant to describe Black people who were conscious of anti-black systems, revolutionary energy (e.g. James Baldwin, Angela Davis etc), and spiritually in-tune with our ancestors.

But like everything we produce, it was uprooted from the Black community, stripped of it's original spiritual semantic, and attributed a pejorative that has now basically become a catch-all dog whistle for bigots, and in many cases, a substitute for the N-word.

Because we all know what these people REALLY wanna say about the movie, but can't, at least not publicly. So "woke" is their way of communicating they hate that she's black.

You preaching on a Sunday homie.

Stay woke (The way it was ORIGINALLY meant).

 

[Marvel united]

You preaching on a Sunday homie.

Stay woke (The way it was ORIGINALLY meant).

Literally! My grandfather was saying it to me back in the 90s! And it goes back DECADES before that

How being "woke" lost its meaning

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

As for skin color, personally I have the same issue with this that I do with black dwarves. Subterranean creatures or deep sea fish people having dark pigment doesnt make much sense.

At least the original version wasn't really a deep sea environment though. It was more of a tropical reef environment in sunlight, and those have all sorts of color. While based on a Danish story, the Disney version always had a far more of a Caribbean/Calypso aethestic, which is why I not only am fine with this racial change but think it is actually more fitting than the original animated version.

 

[mclay18]

RW trolls would still be calling this remake "woke" even if Halle was lighter skinned and looked exactly like the animated Ariel.

 

[Stringer]

You preaching on a Sunday homie.

Stay woke (The way it was ORIGINALLY meant).

I mean Childish Gambino's "Redbone" wasn't even that long ago lol.

 

[RockSP]

As for skin color, personally I have the same issue with this that I do with black dwarves. Subterranean creatures or deep sea fish people having dark pigment doesnt make much sense.

Lol dwarves and mermaids don't make much sense. If those fantasy creatures are acceptable, ethnicity shouldn't be an issue.

 

[Primal Slayer]

Not to mention that TLM had a black mermaid...

And she was deaf. The tv show was so fun.

 

[Silvermoth]

I showed my white nieces the teaser last weekend. They didn’t blink an eye and they’re so excited. We’ve all decided to see it together next year. The only people who care about the race change are online sooks.

Cant wait to see how Sebastian turns out. I loved the way they did Figaro in the Pinocchio live action adaption so they can totally do it well. I feel like this film is going to be huge too so I can totally see Disney already thinking about spin offs and franchise potential

 

[Primal Slayer]

I showed my white nieces the teaser last weekend. They didn’t blink an eye and they’re so excited. We’ve all decided to see it together next year. The only people who care about the race change are online sooks.

Cant wait to see how Sebastian turns out. I loved the way they did Figaro in the Pinocchio live action adaption so they can totally do it well. I feel like this film is going to be huge too so I can totally see Disney already thinking about spin offs and franchise potential

Aladdin made $1 billion and they did nothing with it. I dont see anything different for this tbh

 

[Babillygunn]

So what would this discussion be, if they‘ll do a live action version of the princess and the frog and Tiana will be white?

This argument is often thrown around by the right in an attempt to manufacture hypocrisy, but it ultimately proves the historical problems with casting in Hollywood.

Tiana’s race is critical to the story and the culture that is central to the story. So no, it would make no sense to have her played by a white actor. But there is nothing in the “mermaid culture” that dictates the a POC actor could not play Ariel. The same holds true for Jim Gordon, Clark Kent, and any number of other characters. Race just isn’t a central, immutable characteristic of the character.

But what arguments like this, which deny this fact, are really saying is that minority actors should be relegated to playing pigeon-holed roles where the race of the character is central, or the characterization is steeped in stereotypes. Otherwise, all other roles should be played by white actors because they’ve historically been casted as such.

Personally, I think that there are roles that an argument could be validly made that they should be relegated to only white actors. Bruce Wayne arguably is one of these inasmuch as he is typically shown as a man living off generations of privilege which makes most sense to be portrayed by a white actor. But if the privilege aspect of the character were not explored, maybe his race wouldn’t be as important.

 

[CB Fan]

^yup also Tiana is a dang frog the whole film save five or so minutes…

 

[Blade Hoarder]

As for skin color, personally I have the same issue with this that I do with black dwarves. Subterranean creatures or deep sea fish people having dark pigment doesnt make much sense.

wait, so the existence of these highly fantasy creatures that defy all logic is fine, but their skin color is when your logical mind activates?

lmao

 

[samsnee]

 

[Elayis]

Not feeling it, but then this movie wasn't made for me. I haven't liked any of the modern live-action remakes so I was never going to see this to begin with (especially with Rob Marshall at the helm). Aside from the visuals looking nice enough, the Christina Aguilera-esque singing put me off. Just not my cup of tea.

 

[Babillygunn]

Oh my goodness this is so awesome!

this is why certain populations don’t want things like a black Ariel. Because it reverses the trauma of racism. It’s a reversal of the Clark doll test findings.

How Dolls Helped Win Brown v. Board of Education | HISTORY

 

[Da-Scribe]

Black people, we need to show up for this movie. Summon that Black Panther energy

 

[NotNickFury]

Black people, we need to show up for this movie. Summon that Black Panther energy

Is The Little Mermaid as beloved as The Lion King or Aladdin, though? At least as far as name recognition.

Never seen it, so I have no idea- or any real reaction to this new version- but something like the live-action The Lion King or Aladdin, regardless of their quality, I can see how they did as well as they did. Not to mention the Disney marketing machine. Has The Little Mermaid ever been on that same level?

 

[Iceman]

Is The Little Mermaid as beloved as The Lion King or Aladdin, though? At least as far as name recognition.

Never seen it, so I have no idea- or any real reaction to this new version- but something like the live-action The Lion King or Aladdin, regardless of their quality, I can see how they did as well as they did. Not to mention the Disney marketing machine. Has The Little Mermaid ever been on that same level?

My favourites from that era were in order:

1.Aladdin
2.The Lion King
3.Beauty and the Beast
4.The Little Mermaid

So not quite on the level of the big 2, but still an important part of the classics of the time.

 

[Iceman]

People who are unsure need to see this to understand the important of this kind of casting.

 

[samsnee]

Is Little Mermaid considered part of that era? I always thought it started with Beauty and the Beast

 

[Da-Scribe]

I grew up with Lion King, Aladdin, and TLM as the top three within my particular community. BatB might’ve tied for third or a real close fourth.

 

[Frodo]

The Disney renaissance started with The Little Mermaid in 1989
Disney Renaissance - Wikipedia

 

[Iceman]

Is Little Mermaid considered part of that era? I always thought it started with Beauty and the Beast

I can't say how others view it. I was pretty young at the time and there was no internet to discuss things like this. As a kid/teen growing up, those 4 make up the Disney classics era of my youth before they started going a different direction, and before Pixar started building momentum.

 

[Frodo]

I can't say how others view it. I was pretty young at the time and there was no internet to discuss things like this. As a kid/teen growing up, those 4 make up the Disney classics era of my youth before they started going a different direction, and before Pixar started building momentum.

As someone who was old enough and aware enough then, Little Mermaid was the beginning of that
era.