Christians against Little Mermaid remake

[RDKirk]

In the case of the Little mermaid they are all white and it is a fairy tale. In the case of the Black Panther they are all blacks and it is also a sort of fairy tale. I don't need to talk to you on this topic any more you have pretty much painted a picture for me where you stand.

And we see where you stand as well.

 

[RDKirk]

How does that follow? Disliking a casting a choice because it doesn't match the original source material, in this case the original Disney movie, doesn't make it racist.

Disney got it wrong in their original movie...probably to placate white audiences. The Caribbean Ariel should have always been black.

 

[Ignatius the Kiwi]

Disney got it wrong in their original movie...probably to placate white audiences. The Caribbean Ariel should have always been black.

That's pretty funny. Though if we're going down that line of thought she should be Taino or something.

 

[durangodawood]

That's pretty funny. Though if we're going down that line of thought she should be Taino or something.

No because her undersea world was vibrating with afro carribean type music. So she probaly came after the indiginous were minoritized or assimilated.

 

[stevil]

I don't consider the people who dislike this movie to be necessarily racist. I consider them to be consoomers who don't like the sort of politically correct casting decision Disney has made.

Obviously disliking a movie doesn't show that someone is a racist.
But disliking a movie soley because the lead actress is not white is a completely racist thing, especially when there is no reason for that character to be white. (Mermaids are not humans, they do not have human races, nor human cultures)

 

[RDKirk]

It could very well become one. We have seen that in some cases swapping sex and race and other "identities" can destroy a character as they don't fall anywhere in line with the story which has to drastically change from one that would be acceptable by Christians to one that promotes all sorts of stuff not normal.

What made the original story acceptable to Christians? It should not have been.

 

[keith99]

Here's the original: Hans Christian Andersen: The Little Mermaid

The only adjectives used about the little mermaid's hair are long, thick, and flowing. The prince's hair is described as raven. The grandmother's hair is white. That's it. That's all.

About hair. But the prince's eyes are described as large and black, not traits associated with white Europeans. Indian, as in someone from India would fit hpwever.

 

[stevil]

How does that follow? Disliking a casting a choice because it doesn't match the original source material, in this case the original Disney movie, doesn't make it racist.

When I watch The Little Mermaid, I see a female Mermaid as the main character.
When I see Santa, I see an old fat man in a Santa suit
When I see Batman I see a man in a bat suit

But it seems that some people see the world differently to me.
They see a white female mermaid (I don't even know what white in this context would mean, it's certainly not of Euro human decent)
They see a white old fat man in a Santa suit
They see a white man in a Batman suit.

My question - Why is race so important to these people? Why split everything up into race? and why in particular is it important for these characters to be white?

 

[Trogdor the Burninator]

But we're not talking about the story, we're talking about aesthetics and the overwhelmingly negative reaction to this film announcement. You can repeat these banal progressive talking points in justification for the choices here, but you wouldn't accept any such reasoning in a type of recasting you don't approve of. Say a black character being replaced with a white character.

I don't think "aesthetics" count for that much. I just want movies to make sense.

White people playing Wakandans in Black Panther - doesn't make sense
Non-Asian playing Mulan - likewise

White people playing the lead in a remake of, say, I Am Legend - doesn't really bother me as their race isn't central to the story.
Black person playing a mermaid - likewise. Who cares.

 

[Yttrium]

White people playing the lead in a remake of, say, I Am Legend - doesn't really bother me as their race isn't central to the story.

Especially since the same character Will Smith played was also played by Charleton Heston (Omega Man) and Vincent Price (The Last Man on Earth), all based on the original I Am Legend novel. Will Smith's version was the race change, but like you said, that doesn't matter to the story.

 

[Pommer]

Diversity means a smaller audience sometimes especially when the characters made diverse were popular by the majority and are changed.

Why would it mean “a smaller audience”?

 

[Ignatius the Kiwi]

Obviously disliking a movie doesn't show that someone is a racist.
But disliking a movie soley because the lead actress is not white is a completely racist thing, especially when there is no reason for that character to be white. (Mermaids are not humans, they do not have human races, nor human cultures)

Except that's not solely the reason. The reason is for the difference in appearance between the original Disney movie and this one. Though perhaps a deeper reason is that people see the pandering nature of Disney in it's casting and simply don't like it. They don't have to accept this and nor are they obligated to.

 

[stevil]

Except that's not solely the reason. The reason is for the difference in appearance between the original Disney movie and this one.

If people want everything to be exactly the same as the original then they should watch the original.

It makes no sense at all to try to find people that look exactly like the person in the original, especially if the original is a cartoon.
Do you get upset if in the remake the actors aren't wearing the same clothes, the same coloured shoes, aren't driving the same car of the same colour.
It really seems beyond the pale.

You obviously are picking something that is really important to you. And for some reason that is the Race (or skin colour) of the actor/actress.

 

[Ignatius the Kiwi]

If people want everything to be exactly the same as the original then they should watch the original.

It makes no sense at all to try to find people that look exactly like the person in the original, especially if the original is a cartoon.
Do you get upset if in the remake the actors aren't wearing the same clothes, the same coloured shoes, aren't driving the same car of the same colour.
It really seems beyond the pale.

You obviously are picking something that is really important to you. And for some reason that is the Race (or skin colour) of the actor/actress.

It makes perfect sense to me that if you're going to adapt as badly as Disney has in the past and in general try to mimic the cartoon movies as much as possible you would trying to get it looking aesthetically the same. Though I understand they add progressive story beats to these remakes, like making Pinocchio a victim of society or Lefou gay or something.

I don't get upset with these movies because I don't watch them, basically because they all seem terrible to me and representative of a negative in society today. Cash in remakes show a lack of creativity on the part of Disney who only wants to cash in on nostalgia and established brands.

Also, this is not important to me. The conversation around it is interesting, as is your contempt of people who dare not like this Disney product. I'm sure Disney appreciates you shilling for them.

 

[stevil]

Why would it mean “a smaller audience”?

I guess because for the racists it would be hard for them to watch a show which had a character that they loved but now that character is all of a sudden black. How can they continue to love that character when all they see is black?

 

[stevil]

The conversation around it is interesting, as is your contempt of people who dare not like this Disney product. I'm sure Disney appreciates you shilling for them.

I don't care if people don't like a Disney product. I have no horse in this race.

I am just astounded at some people's reasoning here. Oh the character was white but is now black. I hate it <cry, sob>. Seems utterly racist to me.

And the funny thing is that I see often that Conservative USA folk are often complaining about being called racists.
But why here in this thread is it that the only people complaining about a dark skinned Ariel are conservatives. This isn't a fiscal policy thing, this isn't leaning toward socialism or leaning towards capitalism. This is not something in the realm of politics. But why are conservatives complaining?

And why don't we see them complaining when a black character gets replaced by a white actor?

 

[RDKirk]

Except that's not solely the reason. The reason is for the difference in appearance between the original Disney movie and this one. Though perhaps a deeper reason is that people see the pandering nature of Disney in it's casting and simply don't like it. They don't have to accept this and nor are they obligated to.

Well, you know, if someone at Disney said, "Hey, what the heck, let's make Ariel black," I just don't have the problem with it that you have that someone at Disney thought a black character is okay. This makes--what...two? Yeah, I know it outrages you, but it just doesn't bother me to see a black Disney character.

Zero black characters in Frozen. I don't recall any in Sleeping Beauty or Snow White (not even any of the dwarves). But, dang, they let one slip into a movie set in the Caribbean, and some people just can't deal with it.

 

[Ignatius the Kiwi]

Well, you know, if someone at Disney said, "Hey, what the heck, let's make Ariel black," I just don't have the problem with it that you have that someone at Disney thought a black character is okay. This makes--what...two? Yeah, I know it outrages you, but it just doesn't bother me to see a black Disney character.

But It doesn't outrage me. I just see it as politically correct pandering and a needless change for a needless movie from a creatively bankrupt corporation.

I don't care if people don't like a Disney product. I have no horse in this race.

I am just astounded at some people's reasoning here. Oh the character was white but is now black. I hate it <cry, sob>. Seems utterly racist to me.

And the funny thing is that I see often that Conservative USA folk are often complaining about being called racists.
But why here in this thread is it that the only people complaining about a dark skinned Ariel are conservatives. This isn't a fiscal policy thing, this isn't leaning toward socialism or leaning towards capitalism. This is not something in the realm of politics. But why are conservatives complaining?

And why don't we see them complaining when a black character gets replaced by a white actor?

Weird, you seemed to imply by my commenting as if i was deeply invested. Then you imply you are also not invested in this despite your comments here. Hopefully this means we can get past such accusations but I doubt it.

Do they hate it, or just dislike it? I think it's reasonable to dislike this movie for the change, as much as I've progressives dislikes movies and other media for being too 'white'. I mean we all preferences and why think it's based on hatred of other races?

 

[stevil]

I just see it as politically correct pandering and a needless change for a needless movie from a creatively bankrupt corporation.

I don't see it as a change. They needed an actress to play the part, they picked an actress.
I don't see it as a change from white to black. The skin colour is irrelevant.

Weird, you seemed to imply by my commenting as if i was deeply invested.

I wasn't specifically talking about you.

Then you imply you are also not invested in this despite your comments here.

I am not invested in whether people like a Disney movie or not. I am however invested in the fight against racism. If people are getting all upset about a dark skinned actor playing a role, I am wondering why they think the character should have white skin and wondering if that comes about due to their racist tendencies.

Hopefully this means we can get past such accusations but I doubt it.

I see mostly that you are worried about the efforts many companies, organisations and people are making towards inclusion and diversity. I understand that you feel this is a problem.
I am not interested in your belief that Disney are trying to get the black count up. I really don't care.
I'm only interested in this thread in why some people are upset that Ariel (a mermaid that was originally a cartoon character) is being played by a non Caucasian actress.

I think it's reasonable to dislike this movie for the change

There is no change. Skin colour was not an aspect of the character.

 

[Aryeh Jay]

I'm surprised that the story isn't banned considering that the authors preference for Male companionship doesn't jive with the ultra heterosexual vibe that is so popular these days.