Racism in the Folklore World
9/14/2022
Racism
in the Folklore World
I
have always been a fan of folklore and mythical creatures such as mermaids and
dragons mostly thanks to Disney movies. The
Little Mermaid was one of the movies watched many times in my family’s
household. Dragons have gained more popularity this decade thanks to “Game of
Thrones” and its prequel, “House of Dragon”. The upcoming live-action remake of
The Little Mermaid and “House of Dragon” have received controversy
for one absurd reason-racism. Characters have been assumed to be white.
The
casting of singer Halle Bailey as Ariel in The
Little Mermaid has been consumed in controversy over Bailey not being
white, but Black. “The film’s trailer has been flooded with 1.5 million
dislikes from angry ‘fans’ - despite YouTube removing the dislike counter, the
numbers are still available through an extension” (Di Placido). Hateful
comments have been seen on YouTube and all social media platforms. Social media
has been a tool for “interpersonal racism,
racism between people” (Imani 116). “The
way individual people enforce and reproduce the institution of racism by making
it their personal mission to racialize other people and perpetuate racism
accordingly” (Imani 116). One Twitter user,
@vandalibm (who used interpersonal racism), has been banned for whitewashing
Bailey and “changed her features, including cartoonishly reddening her hair,
but also pointed out the irony that whoever created the clip made no
modifications to her voice, seeming to indicate that they found it acceptable” (Serrano).
@vandalibm claimed to “fix” Ariel’s face through whitewashing (Serrano). There is a following, #NotMyAriel, giving
power to white supremacy.
In
the words of the creator of the viral web series, Smarter In Seconds, Blair Imani (author, historian, activist,
influencer, and educator), “If you have any problem at all with a mermaid or a
fictional character being played by a Black person, you’re racist”
(blairimani). I fully agree with Imani. Society
has been ingrained to believe that white characters only exist in mythology. “People
of color aren’t fictional” (blairimani). Why should mythical creatures be
automatically assumed to be white?
“Mythical
creatures ARE NOT REAL but if you consider elves, merfolk, fairies, etc. to be
white by default then somewhere you also believe human beings to be white by
default. And to those who say that merfolks originated in Scandinavia and are
therefore white, perhaps now is an excellent time to learn about the people
rest of the world and the folklore of marginalized and colonized peoples” (blairimani).
Eurocolonization
and Eurocentrism have “prioritized European ideology, values, ethics, morality,
and constructs while diminishing and erasing all others” along with stories of
mythology (Imani 58). Stories told by Indigenous communities have been erased
or whitewashed by colonization to accommodate the “superior” white race.
Steve
Toussaint, one of the stars of “House of Dragon,” has received racist backlash.
His character, Lord Corlys Velaryon a.k.a. “The Sea Snake,” is another
character assumed to be white. ‘“It seems to be very hard for people to
swallow,’ Toussaint said in an interview with Men’s Health. ‘They are happy
with a dragon flying. They’re happy with white hair and violet-colored eyes,
but a rich Black guy? That’s beyond the pale.”’ (Shanfeld). George R. R. Martin, the author whose book (Fire
and Blood), “House of Dragon” is based on, is “never explicitly described
as white;” many readers “imagined the character to be fair-skinned because his
ancestors are Valyrian and his hair is described in the book as “Targaryen
white-blonde”’ (Shanfeld).
Fortunately,
Toussaint has also received supporters. ‘“Oh my god, I can’t wait, this is
going to be great!'” Toussaint said more supporters have told him, “Even when
we were doing certain scenes, there would be supporting artists who would come
up and go, “‘It’s great to have this representation'” (Shanfeld).
I
do believe that representation matters. Social media has also been a tool of
positive response; specifically representation. Parents of Black daughters have
been posting TikToks of their daughters being thrilled to see Bailey as Ariel
in the trailer for The Little Mermaid.
One little girl exclaimed, "Mommy! She's brown like me!" (Sung). I am
grateful that the little girls’ generation is being represented.
Citations
blairimani. “Smarter In Seconds: Mermaids and Racism.”
Instagram, 14 Sept. 2022, https://www.instagram.com/p/CiflYaiJm0s/
Di Placido, Dani. “Disney’s ‘Little
Mermaid’ Backlash Has Reached Insane Heights.” Forbes, 14 Sept.
2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2022/09/14/disneys-little-mermaid-backlash-has-reached-insane-heights/?sh=245333545592. Accessed 14 Sept. 2022.
Imani, Blair. Read This to Get Smarter: about Race, Class, Gender, Disability &
More. Ten Speed Press,
2021.
Serrano, Jody. “Twitter Bans Weirdo Who Shared Racist Video Changing Halle Bailey's Ariel From Black to White.” GIZMODO, 14 Sept. 2022, https://gizmodo.com/little-mermaid-halle-bailey- ariel- twitter-white-ban-1849535257. Accessed 14 Sept. 2022.
Shanfeld, Ethan. “‘House of the Dragon’
Star Steve Toussaint Slams Racist Viewers: ‘They’re Happy With a Dragon Flying’ but Not a ‘Rich Black Guy.’” Variety, 22 Aug. 2022, https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/house-of-the-dragon-steve-toussaint-racist-trolls-1235347554/. Accessed 14 Sept. 2022.
Fantastic! Well-written and thank you for addressing this topic. People need to wake up and realize, white people are not the visual representation for everything! While we are at it, why are most mythical people British??? They all have British accents!
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