<
https://theconversation.com/the-little-mermaid-has-always-been-a-story-about-exclusion-and-its-author-was-an-outsider-191001>
"Disney’s forthcoming live-action adaptation of
The Little Mermaid has
sparked an astonishing backlash. The trailer for the 2023 film was met with
millions of dislikes on YouTube, seemingly because the mermaid is played by
Halle Bailey, a Black actress.
The 1989 animated Disney film, on which the upcoming film is based, featured a
red-headed mermaid named Ariel (and a singing crab with a Jamaican accent). The
implication of much of the recent criticism is that a Black mermaid is not
“authentic” to
The Little Mermaid fairy tale.
But fairy tales are continually retold in new ways over time.
Hans Christian Andersen’s literary fairy tale is radically different to the
1989 film. He was a bisexual social outsider who struggled to express his
desires. And his
The Little Mermaid was not the happily-ever-after romance
Disney fans are familiar with, but a tale of torturous unrequited love – which
he worked on while a man he was infatuated with was getting married."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
