Jenna Wynes- "Balancing Tradition and Progress in Disney’s live-action remakes"

 Recently, I have seen Disney (and other corporations) begin to cast more diverse actors for characters in the reimagined versions of traditional stories. My main focus is on the live-action 2023 remake of The Little Mermaid starring Halle Bailey. It cannot be argued that she owned and earned that role, but it sparked backlash and discussion about representation within the media. While I have my perspectives, I will present them in a way that encourages thoughtful dialogue and appreciation for different viewpoints, aiming to reflect my genuine interest in how social media and society have transformed diversity and inclusion in the 21st century.

  My main opening questions for researching this topic are: How does this reformation of inclusivity affect the meaning of legends and stories? Where does the line get drawn? Which characters are more tolerant of switching ethnicities? Why is this topic such a controversial thing? How can companies keep the integrity of storylines and their messages without distracting the audience with social issues like representation, 

Some background of Disney’s Princesses is: Out of the 12 official Disney princesses, half of these characters are traditionally white storylines. In contrast, the other half represents other cultures, such as Jasmine- Middle Eastern, Pocahontas- Native American, Mulan- Chinese, Tiana- African American, Merida- Scottish, and Moana- Polynesian. 

An argument for replacing traditional characters is to allow young children to see themselves in mainstream media. I agree with this and love seeing diverse individuals and learning more about them, however, the selections of these casting directors must be done with care and focus primarily on the talents of the actors/actresses and their ability to enhance the storylines rather than on gaining diversity points from society or media. The Little Mermaid was based upon a mythical storyline that doesn’t focus on the culture of any one nationality. Alternatively, in a story based on more culture-based topics like Moana, Tiana, or Mulan, the nationality of the characters plays a more integral role in the significance and integrity of the storyline. It is important to remember that the lessons and themes within stories are made to create seamless works that challenge what is known and broaden the audience's minds to new ideas.

My closing questions are: Why can’t Disney work to introduce new and diverse princesses that allow representation while maintaining traditional and cultural storylines? Why is this issue so prevalent among adults when Disney princesses are targeting an audience of young children? 

Overall, I would say that increasing representation within traditional storytelling is a great way to showcase the talents of individuals, however, the stories that are chosen to have an “ethnicity swap” need to be impartial from the storyline. In a perfect world, the solution would be to create storylines highlighting more diverse cultures and providing a community for different actors and actresses to feel represented with new exciting stories! I love seeing the vast amounts of talents being shared through the media and I can’t wait to see how society transforms with these reimagined and new stories!

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