Little Mermaid.

wil

wil

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I just saw it. I wondered what the stir was about...a black mermaid...blasphemy!

Lol... I saw it, and now understand the issue.

The show was always about differences...about the water people staying in the water and the land people staying on the land. The battle of supernatural sea gods vs the sailors battling the seas.

About heaven forbid a sea creature connecting with man....about our differences...about keeping them separate.

But now they made it clear in this movie...not some simple fairy tail (are any of them simple) but pointing out specifically the race difference...

And it upsets the racists...heaven forbid...lol
 
I haven't seen it, but I remember the controversy coming up about A Wrinkle In Time, a few years ago. I didn't see that one either.
They cast a black actress in the role of Meg.
Then there was the version of Annie with a black cast.
Retelling stories, remaking old classics, and recasting in contrast to the long held images
It really throws some people for a loop
 
wil said:
But now they made it clear in this movie...not some simple fairy tail (are any of them simple) but pointing out specifically the race difference...
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Or it takes a simple fairy tale and tries to spin a buck by turning it into a racial issue? There are a lot of black people in Africa @wil not everything is about America, lol?
 
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In the UK we've had a couple of notable additions – one being David Copperfield, in which our hero is played by Dev Patel.

dev-patel-david


Patel stars alongside Tilda Swinton, Hugh Laurie, Peter Capaldi, Benedict Wong, Nikki Amuka-Bird and Rosalind Eleazar.

I'm sure the racists went ballistic over the casting of a man of Indian origin as our hero. Blah blah, blah, blah.

There was much talk of the questions of ethnicity and 'colour-blind casting'. I'm not sure how Dickens describes Copperfield, but clearly had the actor been of anglo origin, colour of hair, eyes, skin-tone etc would not be a question. I've seen people with suntans darker than Patel's skin colour ... so it's clear where the issue lies. Tanned is OK, racially different is not.

Everybody from Armando Iannucci down (writer and director) was making a statement, sure, but surely the statement is – Can they act?

If you get an actor who looks like the character, then that's a plus, sure. But then if you get an actor who doesn't, but who projects the interior life of the character, then that's a bonus, surely?

Lauding Iannucci's conviction, Loader told the Guardian: “Once you realise that, then you’re making a statement about the fact that you’re going to cast actors who are capable of embodying the character as perfectly as possible, regardless of their ethnicity."

Just watch it – I thought as well ticking all the right, right-on boxes, the production highlighted the larger-than-life – dare I say grotesque – characters that make Dickens what it is, along with the silliest plotlines ever ... in which he tells stories that are both representative and ridiculous at the same time.

For me? Dev Patel's performance was a delight. And I'll watch anything if Tilda Swinton's in ti. The rest of the cast were fab, and the fact that the blood-ties between characters bore no relation to the obvious ethnic origin of the actors just added to the story ... which is no reason in itself for colour-blind casting, it just worked with a Dickens story like this one.

+++

Wil and I both know people don't like their myths being dickered about with.
 
Humpty dumpty was a cannon, played by an egg.

RJM said:
Or it takes a simple fairy tale and tries to spin a buck by turning it into a racial issue? There are a lot of black people in Africa @wil not everything is about America, lol?
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I am afraid your point misses me completely...

There are a lot of black people in Africa? I am sure you don't think I am unaware of that...but how that pertains I am clueless.
 
Merpeople marrying a hunan prince.

Can't get much more of a mixed marriage than that can we?

Talk about interfaith and putting aside differences...each seeing the worth in the other is the point of the tail (oops, I mean tale, lol)
 
wil said:
I am afraid your point misses me completely...
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So how is a remake of 'The Little Mermaid' big news? She could be blue -- so what? I am afraid the point of your thread misses me completely ...
wil said:
a black mermaid...blasphemy!
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Whatever
 
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I enjoyed the movie. Am not that surprised of opinions from people who have not seen it.

Sorto like people with Biblical opinions and never read the book..

Or thoughts on differences the taste of a banana and orange and never had either.

How much credence should one put in their comments I wonder?
 
Thomas said:
There was much talk of the questions of ethnicity and 'colour-blind casting'. I'm not sure how Dickens describes Copperfield, but clearly had the actor been of anglo origin, colour of hair, eyes, skin-tone etc would not be a question. I've seen people with suntans darker than Patel's skin colour ... so it's clear where the issue lies. Tanned is OK, racially different is not.
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Interestingly, some Welsh people are fairly dark as well, though I think that has contributed to the Welsh being seen as different than the English
 
TheLightWithin said:
Interestingly, some Welsh people are fairly dark as well, though I think that has contributed to the Welsh being seen as different than the English
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My dad was Scots/Irish, but 10 minutes in the sun and he's N African/Mediterranean.

We came back from holiday once and at a train station an Italian guy walked up and started asking for directions – in Italian. Somewhat taken back when he found out dad wasn't a fellow countryman.

(Lots of Spaniards ended up in Ireland ...)
 
Thomas said:
My dad was Scots/Irish, but 10 minutes in the sun and he's N African/Mediterranean.

We came back from holiday once and at a train station an Italian guy walked up and started asking for directions – in Italian. Somewhat taken back when he found out dad wasn't a fellow countryman.

(Lots of Spaniards ended up in Ireland ...)
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Also the article describes the DNA testing and finding out about the very old, very pervasive, Basque origin of many in the British Isles.
 
I don't see what a big deal it is that they cast people of color in previous casted white roles. There are so many talented people and how sad that we couldn't experience that talent because of the color of skin. I am very glad little black girls are loving this new mermaid because she looks like them. This topic just icks me out.

Side note.. I watched a you tube video where people in Korea were interviewed about the movie because it tanked very badly there.. the responses were interesting. This is not just a USA problem.
 
TheLightWithin said:
Interestingly, some Welsh people are fairly dark as well, though I think that has contributed to the Welsh being seen as different than the English
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Are you familiar with the story of the "black Irish?" Wasn't there a Spanish Armada got burned by the Brits, and the Spanish sailors that survived ended up in Ireland...so I've been told.
 
Another theory of the origin of the term "Black Irish" is that these people were descendants of Spanish traders who settled in Ireland and even descendants of the few Spanish sailors who were washed up on the west coast of Ireland after the disaster of the Spanish Armada of 1588.

It is claimed that the Spanish married into Irish society and created a new class of Irish who were immediately recognizable by their dark hair and complexion. There is little evidence to support this theory and it is unlikely that any significant number of Spanish soldiers would have survived long in the war-torn place that was 16th century Ireland.

It is striking, though, how this tale is very similar to the ancient Irish legend of the Milesians who settled in Ireland having traveled from Spain.

The theory that the "Black Irish" are descendants of any small foreign group that integrated with the Irish and survived is unlikely. It seems more likely that "Black Irish" is a descriptive term rather than an inherited characteristic that has been applied to various categories of Irish people over the centuries.
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www.irishcentral.com

Who were the Black Irish, and what is their story?

There are a number of different claims as to the origin of the term Black Irish, from the Spanish Armada to the Vikings. Did the Black Irish exist?
www.irishcentral.com www.irishcentral.com

=I learned something...
 
juantoo3 said:
Are you familiar with the story of the "black Irish?" Wasn't there a Spanish Armada got burned by the Brits, and the Spanish sailors that survived ended up in Ireland...so I've been told.
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Yes.
I'm not sure how much of that has been verified by the contemporary DNA tests yet.
 
It's not a big deal. So some white people are upset that Annie, the Little Mermaid, and Tinkerbell have all been recast as dark-skinned characters. Even James Bond might be cast as a black man soon. No biggie. It's not like black people would be upset if Shaft were portrayed by a white actor... right?
 
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