Changing Races in Media
There has been much debate over changing a preexisting character’s race in the media, especially when it comes to adaptations of properties that are very beloved and hold a lot of nostalgia for people such as “The Little Mermaid”.
When Disney announced that Halle Bailey, a singer-songwriter and actress, took over the lead role for princess Ariel there was a lot of controversy surrounding it.
Criticisms about the announcement included that it takes away representations from people with red hair and also how the original story was based in Denmark and written as white. There were also videos made discussing the logistics of a mermaid with a darker complexion existing under the sea.
Where the logic falls through in this particular discussion is Ariel is a mermaid, which is a fictional creature, and to try and apply logic and western ideas of race, which has been used to oppress different groups of people, seems redundant.
Another controversial casting occurred in 2022, when it was announced that actress Leah Jeffries would be playing Annabeth Chase in the live action Disney Plus adaptation of the “Percy Jackson” series. One of the main arguments from people against the casting was that she did not have Annabeth’s signature blonde hair which is integral to the character. There were several negative comments surrounding the announcement and Rick Riordan had to make a tweet in response.
In contrast, there wasn’t much of an uproar when actress Alexandra Daddario was cast as Annabeth Chase in the 2010 “Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief” film and didn’t dye her hair blond in in that particular movie (she did dye her hair in the second film).
The reason why some fans say her hair color is an important aspect of her character is because of the dumb blonde stereotype and how Annabeth Chase defies it with her intelligence which provides positive representation for young girls.
While I do agree that the dumb blonde is a harmful stereotype, it is mild in comparison to several stereotypes perpetuated in media as well as society in regards to people of color such as the angry black woman or the discrimination of African American’s natural hair and protective styles.
Actors often change their hair colors for movies and Jeffries shared an image on social media with her hair dyed blonde. Jeffries’ race does not prevent her from being able to provide positive representation for young girls of every race. This casting would allow the character to further break stereotypes.
The arguments of the character’s hair or other features being important to the character’s core are the main ones that are reiterated in regards to the complaints of this particular casting and others, but there is a point when it starts to sound more racist than criticism of an actor’s ability to accurately capture the essence of a certain character. Such is the case of Halle Bailey’s Ariel.
When the official teaser trailer was released, there were several complaints of Ariel’s hair color not being red enough. In this case, Ariel’s hair color is affected by the lighting as they are going for a more realistic look to better fit the live action as well as the actress. Even before the trailer, there were several that dismissed the casting immediately and that this was not their Ariel or suggested that Disney should stop with the live action adaptation. While I do not care for Disney live action adaptations, I do believe that retellings of classic tales are important to maintaining their longevity and relevance in the media.
There have been numerous retellings and live action adaptations of Cinderella such as the A Cinderella Story movies. The different versions of Cinderella do not all have the signature blonde hair nor are they set in the same time period as the Disney animated movie in the 1800s. The character’s hair color, skin color and other physical traits are not essential to core themes of the narrative or plot.
Common aspects of the Cinderella story are the evil stepmother who treats her like a servant and has Cinderella meeting the Prince at a ball in disguise while having to arrive back in time with the Prince eventually looking for her. Cinderella’s tale can be retold in any part of the world (and has) with ease because the core aspects of Cinderella such as her kindness, beauty and grace are not regulated to a particular demographic.
While there are cases in which changing the race of the character would not be feasible in certain stories that provide substantial social commentary on how race impacts the way a character navigates in the world or are treated by society and is essential to the narrative, there are several instances where the race of a character does change the story in any significant way. In these instances, it can often lead to positive representation for marginalized groups.
