Japanese actress casted for Little Mermaid's Ariel slammed on social media

[Soxoffender]

There's a flipside to every coin. Virtue-signaling is not exclusive to the PC crowd. Some DO use it to earn brownie points towards those who chastise this era's PC culture. As counter-intuitive as it sounds, it happens. If you have a sizeable crowd to which you'd like to signal some sort of "virtue", it can happen.

While that is certainly true, I think James Bartholemew would take issue with that as an example of virtue signalling. His original article was exclusively about people who want to look PC without actually having to do anything. The sort of people who add rainbow colours to their social media profiles and call themselves "an ally" but wouldn't even go as far as to criticise a homophobic joke.

I know virtue is in the eye of the beholder but it doesn't feel quite right to me to talk about playing to a right wing/conservative crowd using the same term. It might be a similar impulse but stamping your feet over Trans bathroom access when you don't really care feels like something different to me.

Happy to agree to disagree though.

[ranzino]

In the Disney version she's a redhead with an American accent.

Oh no, cultural appropriation!

This is ridiculous. They're not even human, why would they be ethnically Danish?

Naah, voice is localized anyway out of US of A.
Also not an issue: Romeo and Juliet was written by Shakespeare and is about Italians. Turandot by Pucchini is set in China AFAIK and they sing italian ("Nessun Dorma" for example); same with the Choir in Nabucco performing "Va pensiero".

For cultural appropriation and a fine one: Akira Kurosawa was a fan of Shakespeare's works and set up a King Lear theme in old japan; result is Ran. And The Seven Samurai by Kurosawa was the idea for The Magnificent Seven as a western. Nothing wrong with a cultural conversion, if you do it perfect.

For ethnically Danish: it's still a tale for children and anybody in danmark would imagine such a mermaid to resemble something they are accustomed to. Mermaids are fictional, but she turns into a human girl.

[Deleted]

Major from Ghost in the Shell are asian. Hell she even has an asian name.

Who hava a full robot/cyborg body.. with blue eyes.... do you complain that Dart Vaders voice is is done by a black man?

Its the end result that counts, This asian woman look like Ariel thanks to the colored hair....its time to complain if the end result was so different from the "orginal" that the public do not understans who she is...

Complaining about her is equal stupid as complaning about whitewashing.....

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TSo I would imply that he had a female from a European heritage in mind when he wrote the story. On the other hand, trade with Asia was common for centuries, so - points for being exotic. Who knows? People just imply things which seem the most obvious for them.

Not that in the "Nightingale" he pushes very hard in pointing out its exotic China, so if H.C. Andersen imagen Ariel was a exotic asian mermaid and not a common european mermaid he would have pushed that point.

[Deleted]

Well in this one it's japanese mermaid. Get over it. Don't like it? Don't watch it.

[primalmatter]

Why don't people just ignore them? You would think Ghostbusters would of been the final nail in the coffin of pretending these people matter.

[Noomz]

http://buffalonews.com/2017/08/12/li...iddle-america/

For. Real?

Over... the freaking... little mermaid?!? The original was a CARTOON MOTION PICTURE! Who cares if they casted a japanese women to play Ariel!

The obsession over virtue signaling on stupid stuff like that is out of control!

Cartoon motion picture based on a story by a Danish guy.
Though of course, Ariels upper body ethnicity is never specified, as far as I know. But seriously, kids don't give a shit about this. This has to be parents and weirdos.

[Vetis]

Can we all agree random people complaining on social media is not a valid reason for a news article or a thread?

I wish, these are the cranks who would have half written a letter years ago then gave up before sending it. Now its instantly out there for anyone to search for any opinion they want to make a story with.

[Aeula]

Meh, fictional non-human character in a fictional story who gives a fuck.

I could understand it if it was historical.

[Dispraise]

It's funny, because most of you will cry and rage about a white actor playing a non-white character. Double standards are funny.

If the role calls for someone of a specific race, or if it's based off an actual person, then criticizing a miscasting is perfectly valid. Casting a white guy to play MLK Jr. would be worthy of criticism. Casting a black guy to play Abraham Lincoln would be worthy of criticism.

Nothing about Ariel's character says she has to be portrayed by a white girl. Her most iconic traits are A. Mermaid, which is a fictional creature, B. Redhead, and an Asian woman is certainly capable of dying her hair or wearing a wig, and C. Ability to sing, which I can't speak for this lady in particular but that's not a trait exclusive to white women.

I'm not crying about this, because there's absolutely nothing to complain about.

[Deleted]

white girl. Asian woman is .. a .. white women.

I'm not crying about this, because there's absolutely nothing to complain about.

She is white.

[Dispraise]

She is white.

What's that you say? You wanted to be added to my ignore list?

Well, I'd be happy to oblige.

[Deleted]

Well.. To be fair, if you've got a thing for redheads, I can see how this can be disappointing news.

[Drutt]

Don't give a crap, personally. Talent is talent.

The news article is more than a bit biased, though. When parts traditionally associated with non-white performers are cast with white performers, purists complain about that too. See: Doctor Strange, Ghost in the Shell...

Implying the objections are automatically made by racists is disingenuous. Some people simply prefer a consistent appearance to characters and there is really nothing wrong with that.

[Deleted]

What's that you say? You wanted to be added to my ignore list?

Well, I'd be happy to oblige.

LOL, looks like Trump isn't even the least intelligent person on Earth after all....

[GreenJesus]

Darn. I was hoping for a hot redhead to only be wearing clam shells on her nipples.

[Malacrass]

Yeah call me shallow, but Arielle didn't strike me as asian either. The acting can be bad, the setting can be bad, but the actors better fucking look like the source. Or at least resemble them slightly.

That said, this only goes for movies and series, this is a braodway show(?), so the voice has to matter above all else I guess.

[Deleted]

Son Goku and Major from Ghost in the Shell are asian.

Son Goku is an alien.

[elaina]

Bothers me less that it is a theatrical performance. I thought this was referring to the upcoming live action movie. And it would bother me only because I prefer adaptations (as opposed to a reimagined story) to be faithful to the original works (yes I know the Disney versions are not faithful to the original literature, but this is Disney remaking itself).

Ultimately the production company's decision though. For instance if they really want us to "experience" Will Smith Genie then I guess we all will have to live with it. :-|

[Stardrift]

If the role calls for someone of a specific race, or if it's based off an actual person, then criticizing a miscasting is perfectly valid. Casting a white guy to play MLK Jr. would be worthy of criticism. Casting a black guy to play Abraham Lincoln would be worthy of criticism.

Nothing about Ariel's character says she has to be portrayed by a white girl. Her most iconic traits are A. Mermaid, which is a fictional creature, B. Redhead, and an Asian woman is certainly capable of dying her hair or wearing a wig, and C. Ability to sing, which I can't speak for this lady in particular but that's not a trait exclusive to white women.

I'm not crying about this, because there's absolutely nothing to complain about.

Trust me, I could not care even if I wanted to. What I am pointing out here is the hypocrisy and the double standards. Need I bring up the controversy surrounding Doctor Strange and the woman that played the Ancient One?

Now I'm not saying you were losing your shit over that. But certainly others defending the actor who's portraying Ariel did. The hypocrisy these people display is ridiculous. It would appear there's more who attack "white washing" than those who attack a character wrongfully portrayed by a "person of colour". The inconsistency is hilarious. Rather odd, don't you think?

[Clone]

It's a stage play so I don't really care.