THE LITTLE MERMAID, MAJOR REPRESENTATION

Words by Lesego Ntsime | Images: Getty

representation

/ˌrɛprɪz(ɛ)nˈteɪʃn/

The depiction of someone or something in a work of art.

On the 26th of May 2023, little children all over the world (and those of us with enduring inner children who wouldn’t dare let age prohibit us from witnessing this historic and auspicious moment) will gather in movie theatres to feast our eyes on director Rob Marshall’s The Little Mermaid starring Halle Bailey, Melissa Mccarthy and Jonah Hauer-King. The 2 hour, 15 minute-long film promises to deliver a visual banquet and sonic sensations, with a soundtrack produced by the 1989 original film soundtrack producer, composer Alan Menken alongside Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Disney’s first princess of colour was introduced to the world in 1992s Aladdin: an enchanting Middle Eastern tale depicting the story of princess Jasmine. Subsequent animated films starring other princesses of colour include Pochahontas (1995) and Mulan (1998). Bailey is only the second princess of colour to lead a cast in a live-action Disney film after musician and actress Brandy in Robert Iscove’s 1997 Cinderella. Other animation universes that have recently given leading POC characters some well-deserved screen time include the MCU with its Black Panther franchise, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings film as well as Disney’s own subsidiary company, Pixar, which boasts films such as Coco, Luca and Soul to name a few. 

The reality is that late Millenials and Gen Zs comprise the first group of children of colour to witness animated characters who ‘look’ like them and represent their realities take shape on the big screen. Representation in film, particularly where children are concerned, confronts the distorted perception that maintains that one is worthy of recognition and celebration by virtue of likeness and proximity to Eurocentric standards, features and narratives. Although efforts continue to grow in narrowing the gap between films centering POC and Western characters, society’s reluctance to shift this paradigm is palpable in the diverse online discourse on the importance of representation. 

Image sourced from: https://www.instagram.com/disneylittlemermaid/

One grave and dangerous ramification of a lack of representation in media is socio-cultural erasure. The media, film in particular, is a domain where stories come alive. Here, one has an opportunity to fraternise with fiction, twist fate and more importantly, dream - an act so valuable in the becoming of children. The conversation around representation has been diminished to the matter of race. Albeit, race is a contributing factor to minimum representation; the fundamental issue lies in permission. Permission to dream. Children whose birthright to dream is confiscated become adults who are prevented from being able to (as Zozibini Tunzi expressed ever-so-graciously on the night she was crowned Miss Universe 2019) TAKE UP SPACE.

In Representation in film, Mary Ellen Dowd ponders: Representation is a key aspect of individual empowerment in a society that so highly values media as a forecaster of culture. It becomes increasingly more difficult for an individual or group of individuals to find value in their differences when they are constantly ignored or, worse, alienated for those differences by popular media.

For children of colour, representation creates the space for possibility in a world that argues otherwise. For people who will, more often than not, inherit the effects of centuries of discrimination and subjugation, possibility is a venerable weapon. For, within possibility lies hope - an ingredient vital to the reimagination and reshaping of one’s outlook on life. 

In an interview done by Variety, Bailey shares bits of a conversation between herself and her grandparents regarding the much-anticipated movie: “It was an inspiring and beautiful thing to hear their words of encouragement telling me, ‘You don’t understand what this is doing for us, for our community, for all the little Black and brown girls who are going to see themselves in you.”

Only 32 Oscars have been awarded to actors of colour. In March 2023 Everything Everywhere All at Once actress Michelle Yeoh won Best Actress for her stellar performance in the A24 film, making her only the second actress of colour to take home the award after Halle Berry (for context: the Academy is 95 years old). This year marks the 100th anniversary of Disney - a world devoted to the dreams of young children everywhere. However, what value lies in these fictional anecdotes if a significant number of children are excluded in the narratives they portray? If umbrella bodies, so callously and treacherously, decide who gets to dream?

Ariel’s character is a display of strength, will, curiosity and, most importantly, the power of dreaming. There is no place our dreams cannot take us but the starting point will always remain the here and now. We all deserve to feel like we’re part of THIS world.

The Little Mermaid will be released in movie theatres on May 26, 2023.