‘The Little Mermaid’ Gets Doused in China, South Korea After Racist Backlash

[vanilla_09]

#TheLittleMermaid tanks in both China and South Korea amid a racist backlash over the casting of #HalleBailey in the role of Ariel #THRNews pic.twitter.com/J0A1ZFGxL1
- The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) June 6, 2023

The movie has grossed a mere $3.6 million in its first 10 days of release in China, by far the worst showing among Disney’s live-action

Comments

[howthedaysounds]

"It takes a leap of imagination"

Ok then fucking jump. Don't be a piece of shit about it just because your views are so narrow.

[theactualworst]

Like it’s a goddamn fairy tale! Imagination is required!

[moonisaballoon]

MTE! SHE'S ALREADY A FISHGIRL

[beigemediocrity]

They require realism in a movie about talking mermaid.

[brennans]

But mermaids themselves don't take a leap of imagination? K.

[violue]

anti-black racism internationally? shocked_pikachu.jpg!!!

[filmstudent23]

Yep, this is not surprising. Asia unfortunately is still obsessed with their own whiteness and still hold insane beauty standards.

[corrykennedy]

this sucks, i feel bad for her.

acting like disney's lazy storytelling has anything to do with the casting is a choice. Halle seems quite charming in this even if the movie itself looks terrible

[howthedaysounds]

The movie wasn't even awful as far as live action Disney adaptations go!

[alienjive]

The movie is far from terrible, give it a shot

[corrykennedy]

what were your thoughts on the other disney live actions?

[filmstudent23]

“The controversy surrounding Disney’s forced inclusion of minorities in classic films is not about racism, but its lazy and irresponsible storytelling strategy”

I think it’s both. This will continue until Hollywood comes with original stories worth telling from minorities POV. I’ve always maintained that casting people of color in character that were originally white is lazy and will only hurt in the long run. People of color deserve to have their own stories. Yes, challenge the audience imagination but also your own to come with something fresh.

[chaincombo]

Why is it lazy to cast poc's in characters that were originally white? Surely it's lazy to do the same thing as the original.
Poc's can (and do) have their own stories as well as being cast in remakes, we can have both!
Who is it hurting in the long run?

[glitterslugs]

i think they just meant that it's lazy of hollywood to just do this constantly to prove 'um look we DO include poc' and then pat themselves on the back while doing nothing further and the actor/actress gets thrown to the wolves

[filmstudent23]

This is exactly what I meant. They’re not doing for the inclusion/sincerely showcasing POC talent. They’re doing to get their own ass out of the fire and pat themselves in the back.