In a recent appearance on the Dreadloc Blerd podcast Kendrick Grey and I discussed adaptations of stories into different media. I am pretty sure we were really talking about turning anime into live action and I posited different visions of source material had room to co-exist and fans didn’t need to go crazy over it. I am sure I referenced the Japanese comic writer and artist Leiji Matsumoto. He delights in taking the same core character, space pirate Captain Harlock, and placing him in stories set essentially in different realities with Harlock, while remaining constant in terms of personality, having different backstories and positions in the reality. I think I also mentioned there are about a million versions of Batman and that is okay. Basically, I stated there was room for different interpretations of the characters and stories we love. For the record, Kevin Conroy is my Batman of choice. I also am pretty sure I mentioned my personal bone of contention was when something was stated to be in the same continuity (ie “share canon”) with other properties but then did not seem to respect or acknowledge the canon. Yes, I was talking about you Star Trek: Discovery and Strange New Worlds.
On the heels of that appearance the fantasy community entered a huge uproar (or so I am told by the media) because the new Amazon Prime Rings of Power series featured black elves. Not black elves like the Drow in old school Dungeons and Dragons (I am old and I am nerdy) but elves portrayed by actors of African descent. Although Rings of Power is a newly written, original series it is based on JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings books. Apparently, based on Tolkien’s works, many fans have decided there are no black elves or hobbits. And then, perhaps a little bit more tangential to the science fiction and fantasy realm, came news Princess Ariel the mermaid would be played by a black actress in the upcoming Disney live action movie… and, according to the media, it was causing an uproar.
This is not a phenomenon restricted solely to fantasy; it wasn’t that long ago certain groups of science fiction fans were in an uproar over whether or not there could be black stormtroopers… The Disney hating part of me, which I fully admit exists, feels compelled to point out that this was a Disney controversy, too. But there was also a reported backlash to Anna Diop portraying the alien superhero Starfire in the live adaptation of DC Comics’ Titans. And I remember some reported grumblings about Zendaya being the traditionally white and red headed Mary Jane in the latest Spider-Man films. Dammit, that is Disney too. And that whole thing got weirder when her MJ Watson turns out not to be Mary Jane but more on that in a second.
Let me just say something straight out that is going to be very unpopular with some people, maybe even anger some and might even make some people decide I am a horrible person and they should avoid all my books:
You can be upset, even against, a black actress playing Ariel in a live action remake of Disney’s The Little Mermaid for reasons other than racism.
What? No, you have to be racist if you are against black actors getting roles… I can almost hear the cries now. And, yes, if you are against black actors getting roles solely because they are black then you qualify as a racist. If you take to social media spouting racist terms, well, you are obviously a racist. But that is not what this is about. This whole post already has me thinking about the opening of Chasing Amy, perhaps the greatest film commentary on comic books and comic book fans ever. If you haven’t seen it go find a copy now. But I digress. Seriously, give me a minute and hear me out.
First, let me say that ultimately, I don’t care who plays Ariel in the live action movie. Until I have grandchildren, if I have grandchildren, I have absolutely zero intention of watching any version of Disney’s The Little Mermaid. I can not say with any degree of certainty I have ever actually sat down and watched the film all the way through. I am of a certain age so, to me, Princess Ariel is no mermaid. She rolls with my man Thundarr the barbarian and Ookla the Mok. If you are not of that same certain age then look it up… Yup, that is what Saturday morning looked like for my generation. Even our cartoons were post-apocalyptic hellscapes; I’m surprised they didn’t make an after school cartoon out of Mad Max. I totally would have watched it.
Second, let me also say that I am going to discuss these things basically as a group even though you could make a case they are separate issues. I completely see how The Little Mermaid could be a seen in a different light than Rings of Power and Star Wars but maybe not so different than Starfire in Titans. Ultimately, though, I think a great deal of this backlash comes from the same primary reason and I do not believe it is racism.
Third, let me also state for the record I really, truly understand how important it is for people, especially children, to see heroes they can relate to in media. It isn’t enough to just have characters there on the screen… People assume I am an old white guy. Basically, I am but I grew up very aware of my American Indian heritage as well as my European roots. Who did I have to look up to? Tonto. But was that the only indigenous character on television? Of course not. Lots of movies were full of savage redskins (often played by actors of seemingly random ethnicity or stuntmen in brown face) being conveniently mowed down by clean cut cowboys. And lets not forget the Hekawi Tribe on F-Troop or Geoduck and Crowbar in the Ma and Pa Kettle films… hardly positive and I do not believe any of them were played by indigenous actors. Hell, I think Don Rickles played an American Indian on F-Troop! Eventually it was a positive portrayal of a mixed blood American Indian hero (actually portrayed by a white actor) in Billy Jack which literally set the course of my life by causing a very young me to become determined to study traditional martial arts.
Okay, with all of that said, let’s get back to my assertion someone can have a negative reaction to a black actress playing Ariel in The Little Mermaid and not be racist. I am sure there are racists out there and I am sure they are convinced there are no black mermaids or black heroes or positive black characters in general (you know, because they are racists) but just because some people are against this casting call solely for racist reasons does not mean all people against it are racist or even that the majority of them are racist.
Let’s explore Disney’s animated The Little Mermaid for a moment. If you ask Americans what a mermaid looks like it is reasonable to assume a huge percentage of them instantly think of Princess Ariel from the Disney animated film The Little Mermaid. There is good reason for that, too: Disney worked hard making that happen. A few, probably a little older, might go to a blonde mermaid inspired by Darryl Hannah in the live action comedy Splash which, I believe, was also made by a Disney subsidiary. I will even posit you will get a handful, probably younger and mainly of Chinese descent, who go to a mental image of Jelly Lin Yun, the actress who starred in Steven Chow’s The Mermaid, which was also inspired by Hans Christian Anderson’s fairy tale (albeit it is very different than Disney’s animated film). All in all, though, I think it is a safe bet to say most Americans will default to a pale, red headed, green tailed sea princess with a tasteful clam shell bra and a lovely signing voice because Disney has pushed that image down our throats since 1989.
Want to know a not-so-secret secret? Disney has a problem with many of its properties: they don’t actually own the stories. They are drawing from familiar fairy tales for their films (Get it? Drawing from…). These stories are in many cases public domain. As soon as they release them, sometimes even before, cheap copies quickly animated and rushed to market are out to capitalize on the excitement around Disney’s product. In some cases, such as that Stephen Chow movie Mermaid I mentioned before, there are other films which really aren’t meant to compete with Disney’s products but are taken from the same source materials. I mean, before Disney’s animated Hunchback of Notre Dame there were at least half a dozen live action film versions going back to the silent era and even another animated version which was released about a decade earlier.
So what can Disney do given their tremendous investment in their animated features? They can not keep other groups from making their own versions of public domain novels, fairy tales, legends or historic characters. But what about the actual design of the characters and the songs used? Those are definitely Disney’s intellectual property which they jealously guard with teams of lawyers and maybe even assassins. Seriously, you don’t mess with Disney. There are stories of them trying to collect royalties from people with Disney character tattoos!
So they carefully designed Princess Ariel to be something they could market and protect. She has red hair because it goes well with her tail and was easier to animate in the land and sea environments, but also (according to Treasures Untold: the Making of the Little Mermaid) to differentiate her from the mermaid seen in Splash. Disney does not simply design characters. They set out to design distinctive characters and they expect them to become iconic bits of pop culture. And then they carpet bomb children with them by throwing out tons of commercials, toys, clothes, backpacks, books, albums, etc. to make that happen while they turn a tidy profit.
Disney’s The Little Mermaid was a huge success which spawned two direct to video sequels, an animated series, a musical, toys, albums, clothes and more. If you were a little girl in the early 1990s Princess Ariel was burned into your consciousness, probably even more so than Barbie. Even if you were not a little girl you got a huge dose of Ariel. What does a mermaid look like? Princess Ariel from The Little Mermaid. What does a mermaid sound like (not such a strange question given the story)? Mermaids sound like Jodi Benson, who provided not only Ariel’s speaking voice but her singing voice. For over two decades now Princess Ariel has been part of American pop culture.
And that is the problem now. I won’t question Disney’s choice of casting Halle Bailey as Princess Ariel. I am sure she is immensely talented and I certainly wish her the best. Maybe they have a bold vision and the purest motives with this casting move. Perhaps they only desire to give a whole new generation of girls a sense of inclusion (something they have been delinquent at over the years). I certainly hope that is the case. No matter what their motivations, though, this is definitely a bold move. The problem with it is they are working against themselves and the literally iconic image of Princess Ariel… An image they created and then made a part of millions of people’s childhood.
Disney is not putting out a new version of The Little Mermaid; they are remaking Disney’s The Little Mermaid. By doing this, no matter how they cast it, they are messing with people’s childhood memories. If you see Halle Bailey and your knee jerk reaction is “That isn’t Princess Ariel,” I don’t think you automatically must be racist. It may just mean you have a really strong and important personal bond with a piece of your childhood.
I am old enough to remember when it was announced Tim Burton would be making a live action Batman film which, by the way, came out in 1989 just like Disney’s The Little Mermaid. For the record, Batman made way more money… but I digress. People were upset, articles were written and statements were made on television and the radio (as these were primordial times when we languished with primitive personal computers and had no Internet) stating “No one could ever be Batman but Adam West.” Believe me, I worked in a comic store back then. I saw some heated arguments over whether there could be a live action Batman without Adam West… if you haven’t ever seen two middle aged nerds (and I say that with love) about to throw hands over a movie neither has even seen yet you really haven’t lived a full life.
Was this racist? Adam West was white and his movie replacement, Michael Keaton, was… oh yeah, he was white too. So it wasn’t racist. What was it? Michael Keaton was a bona fide movie star. Although his background was in comedy he had gotten good reviews for his recent drama Clean and Sober (although I do not believe it was a particularly successful film). I would also argue anyone pining for Adam West’s portrayal of Batman was not holding out for a gritty drama anyway. It wasn’t racism making people upset about Michael Keaton replacing Adam West, it was nostalgia. It was personal reverence and allegiance to childhood memories. It was a strong connection to the character and its history. In short, it was fandom! By and large, though, it turned out people really liked 1989’s live action Batman and because of that we have enjoyed several other actors portraying the Dark Knight without the same initial backlash… even though some of them probably should not have ever been Batman!
When it was announced Star Trek would be returning to television in the form of a new series with a new crew many fans were livid because Star Trek couldn’t be Star Trek without Captain Kirk, Spock, McCoy and so forth. That wasn’t racism at all. It was fans being really connected and protective of a television series which was very important to them. By the time it was announced Star Trek would be rebooted in a series of films, fans were pretty comfortable with there being multiple captains inhabiting our Star Trek fan universe but there were still cries “Only Shatner can be Kirk!” Why? Because… Shatner… is an… icon. (I truly hope you read that in your best Shatner voice.) When Blade: The Series came out a major strike against it was the lack of Wesley Snipes. Wesley Snipes was many, many people’s first introduction to the character of Blade. For many, Wesley Snipes is Blade and the original movie still remains one of the best, if not the best, comic book films ever made. When Disney reboots and reimagines it, as they are planning to do, they will undoubtedly receive some push back from many fans!
Now, Lord of the Rings and Teen Titans might not be as ingrained into the childhoods of as large a part of the American population as Disney’s The Little Mermaid but for some people these series are just as tightly woven into their psyche. Fans of both have probably read the series for years, decades even, and they have created a definite mental image of the worlds and characters portrayed. Honestly, I haven’t read Tolkien in years (I find him boring; sue me) and I have no real opinion of what elves and hobbits should look like! However, for many people Tolkien was their introduction to the serious fantasy genre and occupies a very special place in their heart. As an aside, I have a vague recollection of reading Tolkien was against adaptations of his works even to the point of not liking illustrations being done. As I recall, he felt the words were there and the readers should create the imagery in their minds. Anything else would affect, possibly spoil, that writer/reader connection. If that is the case, by the way, maybe the real discussion should not be if there are black elves but if The Rings of Power should have been made at all!
Teen Titans is not as old as Tolkien’s works, of course, but it does come with a wealth of imagery from years of comics and a beloved animated series. It is natural, I think, for some fans to want a live action adaptation to look as similar to the comics, or the cartoon, as possible. It seems to me this is probably why Zendaya’s character in the recent Spider-Man live action films is not Mary Jane Watson (who is a major and popular part of the comic’s mythos and a red head) but a different MJ Watson. This gives the filmmakers a work around when it comes to fan expectations, kind of like those Star Trek reboot films being set in a different reality.
So, can stormtroopers be black? Apparently, they are all clones or something. I don’t really know, I don’t really care because I am not a Star Wars fan. Again, sue me… it was great when I was five. Anyway, this poses a bit of a different problem which may upset some fans, although still not because of their inherent racism. Apparently, from what I am told by Star Wars fans, stormtroopers are all clones of a specific person. That person was not black so how can an actor like John Boyega be a stormtrooper? If this is truly the case in the Star Wars canon then I understand why his casting would piss off fans. Over on the Star Trek side of things I am very upset with the new shows such as Strange New Worlds for similar reasons.
On the surface Strange New Worlds is a really good, entertaining show. But (spoilers) there are a few problems with it since it is supposed to be in the same timeline as the other television series of the franchise. Christine Chapel and Nyota Uhura both serve with Captain Pike, which was never mentioned in the original show. Worse yet, both are aware of Spock’s arranged marriage… Chapel even meets his intended bride. But in the original series episode Amok Time everyone, including Chapel, is shocked he has a fiancé. The crew of Strange New Worlds has faced the Gorn, although no one knows what the Gorn look like a short time later in the original series. This annoys the hell out of me. All of the new shows ignoring the canon and continuity of the established series, although supposedly in the same reality, bothers me off to the point I am almost done with them. Don’t even get me started on the Klingons in Discovery!
My problems with the new shows have nothing to do with racism. Race has nothing to do with it. The problems have to do with me being enough of the fan to know the history and canon of the series and not understanding why the current writers and producers seem to completely disregard it. I am a fan, a loyal fan. Star Trek is important to me! Ignoring Star Trek canon feels in many ways like an insult to my devotion to the show over the years. If John Boyega’s presence in Star Wars creates an unexplained and ignored challenge to the series’ canon then I can imagine a fan could be very angry about his character being black without any racist motivations. Lots of fans were confused and upset forty fears ago when Klingons appeared in Star Trek The Motion Picture sporting cranial ridges. The obvious, and real, reason for the change in their appearance was modern techniques and Hollywood money meant the producers could make Klingons look way cooler than they could back on 1960s television. It was still a sore point with fans for years, though, until finally explained. And if you spend enough time at a Star Trek convention today, well, I guarantee you will still hear fans bitching about it!
I am not arguing there are not representation problems in science fiction, fantasy or in Hollywood in general (both in the past and to this day). Somebody recently told me in the Walker, Texas Ranger reboot Cordell Walker is no longer part Indian (as the character was in the original series and as Chuck Norris is in real life) and my head almost exploded. Then they told me he does know martial arts either and I am sure I was on the verge of a stroke. Believe me, I am not endorsing the idea that mermaids and elves can’t be black or that stormtroopers have to be white (I still really have no idea about that one and can’t really be bothered to force myself to research it). I am not saying that actors of various ethnicities, sexual orientations, etc do not face disgusting and unfair prejudices. I am certainly not endorsing any behaviors of that type; in fact, I condemn them. I am also not maintaining it was right of Disney (or any other media firm) to have neglected positive non-white main characters for so long, especially in the realm of children’s programming. What I am advocating is that everyone shuts up for a minute, calms down and considers that if someone holds a different opinion than you their reasoning may not drawn from the most shameful aspects of humanity. I honestly believe people can hold different opinions on most topics and not be bad or somehow morally deficient. And when these opinions happen to relate to very dear and beloved parts of their lives, especially parts which stretch back to childhood, there are also some strong emotions at play.
Someone who does not agree with your views is not automatically bad… they might just really feel in their heart of hearts only Adam West can be Batman.