Last week, Disney announced that actress and singer Halle Bailey had officially been cast to play Ariel in the new live-action version of The Little Mermaid, and people were quick to start complaining, even creating nasty Facebook groups and calling for a boycott of the film. The day the news was announced, #NotMyAriel was even trending on Twitter. The only reason people were complaining is, in my opinion, incredibly stupid: Halle Bailey is black.
I've read a lot of longwinded Facebook posts and racist tweets about this subject in the last several days, and I'd just like to point out that, first of all, complaining on the internet and bashing this young girl for the color of her skin is pointless and, frankly, incredibly racist.
In fact, the definition of racist is "a person who shows or feels discrimination or prejudice against people of other races, or who believes that a particular race is superior to another." By saying that Halle Bailey can't play Ariel just because the original (whom, by the way, was literally a CARTOON) because she is black is definitely showing discrimination or prejudice against her because of her race, also known as textbook racism.
For one thing, Halle Bailey has an amazing voice. A quick YouTube search of her singing will show you that she has the perfect voice as far as range and timbre to play Ariel and sing the songs featured in the original film. She is also a very talented actress and can be seen in the hit Freeform show Grown-ish.
I can tell you from my own experience in theatre performance that more often than not, actors and actresses are cast in roles not because they look like the original actor that played the role they are auditioning for, but because they fit the character the best, and they have the best audition. There is not a doubt in my mind that that is exactly what happened in the case of Halle Bailey.
I have also seen people try to disguise their racism by saying that mermaids cannot be black because sunlight would not reach them at that depth of the ocean to make their skin darker. I'd like to point out a very obvious flaw in this "scientific" argument: mermaids are fictional characters.
People have also complained that Halle Bailey isn't redheaded so she couldn't possibly play Ariel. As far as those people are concerned, I'd like to remind them (and anyone else that may be lacking in basic knowledge of movies and television shows) that things like CGI, hair dye, and wigs exist. In fact, many of your favorite "redheaded" characters are not actually portrayed by redheaded actors; they are made to look redheaded using these techniques, including Archie from Riverdale and Cat from Victorious.
The bottom line is, the race of Ariel just isn't central to the character's backstory the way it is for other Disney characters like Tiana and Mulan. It doesn't matter to me what the actress playing her looks like, and if you really cared about the success of the movie, it wouldn't to you either. The only thing that matters when casting a role is that the person chosen to play that role is able to carry out the role better than anyone else that auditioned, and I fully believe that Halle Bailey is more than capable.
The next time you complain about Halle Bailey playing Ariel because she's black, remember that not only are you teaching every single young black girl that might see or hear you that they aren't good enough, but you're teaching your own white kids that they are better and more deserving than anyone who isn't white. Remember that racism is a learned behavior, and think before you judge someone or deem them unworthy because their skin is richer in melanin than yours is.
