I struggled to find a suitable topic for discussion today. This past Friday, I rewatched the live action Beauty and the Beast, and considered discussing this. However, as I planned on what I might cover in the blog, I realized that there's a far more controversial and current topic trend spreading across the internet with each new remake and adaptation made.
Off the bat, I am all about being inclusive and representing every race and ethnicity out there. One of my favorite Pixar films is Coco alongside Brave and Inside Out. I even grew up loving the 1997 Rodger's and Hammerstein's Cinderella. Though my brother and I questioned the realistic approach because the Prince didn't look anything like his parents. Later, as an adult when I rewatched it, I think I heard one of the character's mention he was adopted, which makes a little more sense.
So, I have no qualms of a black Cinderella or anything like that, but it has to make some obvious sense. This is something I've picked up on in the recent show Rings of Power. I don't mind some racial diversity. However, having a random black elf and hobbit in the middle of a land filled with characters who are mostly white is a little off-putting. Tolkien's Middle Earth setting, as I understand it, is based on the English landscapes. (Yes, I know the films were filmed in New Zealand - a topic for another day and time.) Now, I don't have a clear history on this, so I could be wrong here, but from my understanding on this, blacks probably weren't heavily present in those areas at those times in history. If Middle-Earth is a representation of the UK at the time then it feels even more odd to have them. But, yes, I understand the need for diversity and inclusiveness, but that doesn't excuse lazy writing and world-building. There could very well be black dwarves and elves coming from elsewhere outside of Middle-Earth, or some backstory in how a random black hobbit integrated himself with the white hobbits. Do you see my point here?
I am aware some of you are rolling your eyes - It is a work of fiction? It doesn't take away from the story. So, drop it.
I hear you. Yes, it is fiction, and so are the number of other stories that have been subjugated to this lazy inclusiveness. In truth, and for the most part these race swaps don't often affect the story, but it can be jarring for those who aren't sure if the work is taking a romantic or accurate approach to the setting. Romantic approach, for example, would be the live action Lady and the Tramp where diverse inclusiveness is spread thoroughly through the story, but does not represent how the real world at the time and place truly worked. New Orleans, during that time, didn't have blacks who can own their own shops and be wealthy enough to afford the shipment of a fancy vase from Africa. Even a romantic approach can be jarring, but less so. When there's only one character who has been race swapped than it is even harder to swallow.
What is the big issue? I didn't mind Cinderella. "Cinderella" is a classic, timeless fairy tale that has had many iterations of its story. It is, therefore, immune to race swapping. However, stories that have characters with clear distinct descriptions or a specific film is being adapted into live action that comes with a certain set of expectations could prove problematic. By the descriptions and by what we grow up seeing, we get used to, or imagine without our own heads. So, when Little Mermaid live action remake came out, I was disappointed like many others because I expected a white female red-head to play her. Also, this move also created another problem, which I will get into shortly. The same occurred for me with the "Percy Jackson" show with Annabeth being black with black hair, and Percy being a blonde-haired kid. See, I got bothered by Percy's appearance, too. It has nothing to do with race. I read the books and knew to expect both these characters to be white, with blonde for Annabeth, and black for Percy. Granted a similar feel occurred with the "Forbidden Child" play where they made Hermione black too, but I was willing to let this one slide because the description of her never mentioned her skin, but her bushy brown hair, and buck teeth, which were open to interpretation. It jarred me a little, still, but that's because I knew I never ended up picturing Hermione like that, and I got used to Emma Watson in the role of Hermione. But, I do understand that others may have pictured her differently. So, I am able to get behind this one. However, I can't get behind Harry being Indian. I get it is a classic Indian boy look. Even as someone who has Indian born and raised parents, I can't get behind this one.
Now before diving into the case of Snape, I want to cover something quickly about the Little Mermaid live action. Disney's live action Little Mermaid ended up not just race-swapping the main character, but it also pulled a move that other films and shows have done with specific types of characters - red-headed females. I had watched the CW's "Flash" and I had no idea that Iris was originally meant to be red-headed white. Ariel is a female red-head, and she got swapped for a black. So, in the process of being inclusive for blacks, they're doing the opposite for female white red-heads. That's not cool.
In the case of Snape being black, it is given in the description that he is sallow skinned, and due to his backstory, Snape being black is going to take on a whole new meaning when James bullies Snape, which I don't think Rowling intended. There's already a theme of discrimination in Harry Potter, and I agree we don't always need the classic black against white happening all over again. I get it we need to ensure that future generations learns the power of treating people equally and that discrimination is bad, but surely we can find creative ways to say the same thing. Just look at Zootopia. And there are other races and ethnicities that could use some love, too.
Bottom line, I enjoy watching films and shows, and reading books with characters that are black, white, red-headed, Asian, etc. We grow up watching stories with a certain image in mind of how a character is supposed to look, and while their change in live-action might have little affect on the plot, can be off-putting due to not being used to the change. Even reading a book where a character is given a certain set of descriptions, and then the adaptation wishes to change it, can be upsetting because our minds have used those descriptions within the book to create the character in our heads. If the book mentions the character to be dark-skinned, then I will imagine that character to be dark-skinned.
Inclusivity is fine and important in our culture, but that doesn't excuse lazy writing and world-building. Don't just pick and choose characters at random who will be black for the sake of being inclusive. And don't push other minority groups further into the dark in the attempts to keep putting another race in need of inclusivity in its place.
Be creative and original with a diverse cast or a specific group focus story. Or find a way to be explain randomness. The Inheritance Cycle is a wonderful example of this. I remember one of the characters, I forget her name, is black and it is explained that she is from a certain tribe of people who have their own cultural norms. I loved this because it supported the reason why there's a random black character in the story filled with white characters.
Please share your thoughts. Do you agree? Do you disagree? Do wish to add to it? Did I miss something? Now keep in mind, please be courteous to everyone here. We all have a right to speak and be heard, no matter our opinions. You can say your opinions without hurting someone else.
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