The Little Mermaid Becomes Part of our Politically Correct World – by Felicia Tweedy
Nothing is safe nowadays from the liberal political correctness and identity politics, not even a classic kids movie.
This past week, Disney announced the actress cast as The Little Mermaid in the live action remake due to come out in 2020/2021. With the announcement, Twitter exploded. Cast as the Little Mermaid is young actress/singer by the name of Halle Bailey (not to be confused with Academy Award winning actress Halle Berry). The issue? Halle Bailey is a black woman being cast as the iconic white Disney princess known for her red hair.
Some praised the choice because of its “diversity”. Others were angry that a favorite childhood character was being changed to such a degree. The hashtag #NotMyAriel has been trending.
But there is more at play here than being upset about the race of a fictional mermaid character. Companies have been pandering to leftist activists and bowing to political correctness for awhile now, especially in the entertainment industry. We’re supposed to be color blind when it comes to casting, we’re supposed to have equal representation. Hollywood continues to push and promote what they think is morally and politically correct, at the same time ignoring their own hypocrisy.
What has resulted is the raising up of one group of people, at the expense of another. It is not about equality but diversity at any cost. If you dare question it, be ready to have the R word thrown at you immediately – you are a racist.
The entertainment industry is one industry leading the way on this. Led by elitist white liberals who have “white guilt” and feel they have to keep apologizing for what happened centuries ago, they are pushing this “diversity at all cost”, and don’t you dare question it.
With the issue of Little Mermaid, because of what they deem as lack of representation, they have taken a beloved childhood character and changed her completely, all for political reasons. Instead of coming up with new ideas, Disney has been cashing in on live action remakes of their classic films. I can’t say I don’t enjoy them, in fact, full disclosure, I am a huge Disney fan and I’ve seen all of their live action remakes. Still, there is something to be said about original content.
Have most of Disney’s past characters, especially their Princesses, been white? Yes. But that is what the times were. Liberals somehow think that they can change and rewrite the past. If we give reparations for slavery, we can let go of our “white guilt” of what happened more than 150 years ago. If we go back and change things in our pop culture, it proves that they are not “racist”. Sadly it does none of these. They’ve only shifted “racism” to another group of people, and the past remains exactly what it was, no matter how many statues they tear down. But even while the entertainment industry beats the moral drum, most of their efforts have been superficial.
If Disney truly cared about diversity, they wouldn’t put a black girl in a white girl’s role, in a film that is based on white folklore. The Little Mermaid is written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, who based his book on European folklore. Instead, Disney could look to introduce new stories from different cultures to the masses. They could look for folklore from Africa, make a new black Disney “princess”, if it’s really about equal representation.
Why isn’t Disney doing this? In the real world, the color Disney cares the most about is green, and I’m not talking about Kermit the Frog. Disney won’t take the chance yet on such a film, but they won’t tell the public that. Disney tried the route of a new Disney princess years back with 2009’s Princess and the Frog, a film I personally love. Unfortunately the film itself was overshadowed by what was seen as Disney’s political pandering. Princess and the Frog came out after Obama was elected President. Disney, who had made no effort to have a Black princess before that, attempted to ride the Obama wave. The film flopped. While a number of factors were at play, one factor was the public saw it as a disingenuous way to make money playing race politics.
Flash-foward to 2019, Disney won’t risk profits, even for the cause of race equality. Instead, Disney took an already successful movie and injected race into it. Little Mermaid was a huge hit for Disney in the 1980’s and has remained a classic since then. Disney feels, that like other live actions films based on classic Disney movies, such as Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, it will be an automatic success. Hijack a classic film, make it a vehicle for race politics, and you’ll have a successful film because the fans will come no matter who plays Ariel.
Why aren’t the activists calling Disney out for this half gesture? I posed the question to someone on social media who is praising Disney’s decision for Little Mermaid. The angry reply I got said it all. I couldn’t help being left to think, is this really about a black girl being represented, or is it about taking something away from white people? Even one told me that she’s “not on my side”. I didn’t realize that we have sides now and that we are to attack the enemy any chance we get.
Do you still need more convincing this move is about identity politics? Just look at the producers on this new Little Mermaid film and you will see a familiar name “Lin-Manuel Miranda” of “Hamilton” fame. Race is at the core of all he does, and it isn’t coincidental. Many don’t realize that Miranda is not a once poor Hispanic kid fighting for equality, he’s from an affluent New York family. His dad, a liberal political activist for decades who founded his own political consulting firm and even has ties to the Clintons. Manuel is the current ‘golden boy” for Disney.
Call Disney out, and again, you’re a racist. Many trying to defend themselves on social media brought up the hypothetical “what if Disney made a live action Princess and the Frog and cast a white girl as Tiana?” Would the reaction be the same by those now calling people “racist”. Of course not, they’d be protesting in the streets, even though “it’s only about a cartoon character” as some have dismissed people unhappy with the casting decision.
We are creating a society not of equality but of retribution. Many are riding the wave of race politics, not to bring about equality but to bring about reverse discrimination. We see it time and time again in society. That is why this issue over a mermaid cartoon character is more important than it should be. It’s a microcosm of race/identity politics in America today, as well as the media’s role in it’s propaganda. As Disney cares first and foremost about “green”, those who are tired of race politics being injected and pushed on you through the media, should just sit this one out. Speak to Disney in the language they understand the most – Money.
