The Little Mermaid: a fairytale of protest to societal constraints since 1837.
few thoughts, no spoiler.
First of all, we know how many celebrates the live-action, reimagined, and the high-profile cast of The Little Mermaid 2023. But, we are also aware on how it has always been a subject of scrutiny and reviews by many because of the countless elements we can name such as if it lives up to our expectation of a live-action, if the lyrics were worth a change, if it is worth the tremendous conversation and insurmountable obstacles when it comes to the conversation of skin color and culture? Does it really push a feminist propaganda, and why is its poster in China hide the mermaid’s dark skin on a deep tint of blue? Is it all about the “woke vs. racist” The Little Mermaid?
It is undeniable that we are in a state of the culture wars, especially when its trailer was released. Its official teaser trailer had received more than a million and a half dislikes and #NotMyAriel hashtag as soon as it was aired. These people really made it sure to show how they detested the reimagined The Little Mermaid. Then, some went beyond whitening the brown-skinned, dark-skinned Arielle through the aid of AI. Of course, they eventually paid the price and got banned through various social platforms. Despite that, actors and creators have been supporting each one. The press have published their own takeaways and opinion on it much as how they did when we had Emma Watson as Belle and H.E.R as Belle of Beauty and the Beast.
The diverse merfolk in Disney; Gabriella rocks under the sea!
Halle Bailey’s — controversial — portrayal of the Black Ariel is not the first diverse mermaid of Disney. I am not saying Disney always do it the right way but upon some research and rewatching, we have the forgotten mermaid, Gabriela, in the animated The Little Mermaid. Gabriela is a racially diverse and deaf mermaid. I believe she is portrayed as a Latina mermaid according to many Disney fandom sites. Gabriela was said to be based on a two year old girl who loved the original film, but was sadly taken away in this world by the fangs of leukemia. In the animated series, Gabriela serves as a memory of the girl and a representation of diversity and inclusivity as she rocks American Sign Language (ASL) under the sea.
The video below, an episode title “Wish Upon a Starfish, includes a snippet of Ariel’s first encounter with Gabriela and her octopus friend, Ollie the interpreter.
We may have forgot yet truly, Gabriela represents diversity and most of all the representation of the deaf community in Disney’s adaptation of the fairty tale. In original fairytale by Hans Christian Anderson from 1837 and Disney’s 1989 adaptation, Ariel represents the desire of everyone (especially the 15 year- olds) to feel belonged as “part of your world”. She symbolizes a female figure who discovers and enters the world of men when a father figure is absent and don’t reprimand their daughters. Most of us sees her as one who disobeys King Triton on her quest for true love, but along that quest is her desire to have a Human soul. (I have written a short list below about this). If scholars of literature study and acknowledge these common tropes and representations in our (children) literature, we can all learn from them as a public audience so that we can also embrace the beauty and the ugly things without being woke vs. racist fanatics engaging in a culture war.
Apparently, at some point of our lives, we are familiar on the story line of The Little Mermaid. It is not real. It is a fantasy that is not tied to facts or realities of life. (Although, it could have been of course…because children’s literature and fairytales are written by adults and not children). But yes, it is a myth, a fairy tale. So, really the worst thing about what’s going on right now is the culture wars that require us to articulate our own opinions. Caucasian-White-skinned Ariel as she is in the original Hans Anderson fairy-tale has mesmerized and inspired different generations. It has encouraged and inspired numerous local and international film adaptations. If we have diversity representation in The Little Mermaid long before Halle Bailey, and if we are pridefully expressing our distaste of Halle Bailey as our dark-skinned mermaid. Then, we are truly forgetful people trying to push forward our own personal and political agendas.
As we seek to find people and fictional characters that will represent us, may we always remember that at the end of the day, Fairytales exist to teach us moral lessons in life.
Lastly, as I promised, this is not a spoiler post. My opinions and appreciation on The Little Mermaid in general has evolved throughout the years. I again will not express my opinion on how I feel about the live-action 2023 adaptation. I am not an expert on that in anyway and there are already plenty of different articles written out there. However, for my personal record my experienced and interaction with The Litter Mermaid has been constantly evolving.
Here’s the list of how I approached it, and how I guess it looks like for different age groups/ communities as it was to me.
- For the toddlers & kids: it’s all about being a mermaid and having that Tail! Having that voice and perform! Having that fun and having your animated friends such as Sebastian and Flounder.
We all had fun like Ariel.
2. For the teenagers: it’s about finding that “Perfect love; THE one”, and trying to survive in this dystopian world against all odds, any controlling parents, and any authoritarian boundaries hindering them to chase their dreams. It’s a protest to societal constraints that were placed upon them.
We all love like Ariel.
3. For the Young Adults & Adults: it’s the skepticism and the squirm we make on how quickly she fell in love, but also the admiration on how she is the one who saves the prince from drowning. Badass. Like any of us, she didn’t read contracts and agreements too. Not at all. She’s just like us. Lol. She’s 15, determined and stubborn, and she leaves her family for what she wants — what others may call bravery and/ or stupidity depending on which lens you uses. On the other hand, we as adults are also paying attention to the fact that she’s just not in love, she longs for a HUMAN soul. She’s willing to give up her immortality in exchange of her mortality with a human soul. Ariel is curious of after life despite the fact that merfolk lives for centuries. We are all like Ariel.
4. For the English majors: Hans Andersen’s story, The Little Mermaid, is clearly a story of Bildungsroman, which means coming of an age where the protagonist, Arielle, developed morally and psychologically. We can look into it on many ways how HUMAN behavior were represented in this fairy tale. But, I guess the points I stated above 1–3 pretty much explains what happens to Arielle & how much our Age and Experiences affect us differently on how we relate with the story (that is now a film, and a live-action).
Then, here’s another take on it as I look to it as a literature:
5. Representation:
a. Arielle is a representation of disability. When we look closer to it, her story is a story of a disabled woman or a woman with disability that chases her seemingly impossible dream despite all the endless obstacles on her way. I mean literally, she has NO legs, goes MUTE, and sings about her desires of wanting to walk and dance. No one knows sign language, even Ariel and the prince, so they couldn’t communicate — except of course with their feelings and experiences. As I mentioned earlier, Gabriela communicates through ASL and with Ollie, her interpreter. Although, Ariel is a mermaid and couldn’t sign in ASL, if you may, she is a representation for the community of people with disability. She may have become invisible and silenced for some time in the story, but she is hugely visible, known, and remembered for her talent and her ability to sing beautiful songs rather than what she is uncapable of. Ariel is visible. She is seen for who she truly is.
Representation 2023:
a. Ariel will continually be a representation of inclusivity and protests to societal constraints.
b. Arielle will always be a “moral” lesson and a mythological escape from realities, especially those who are young.
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