A Reel Opinion: Casting Controversy

In the past couple of weeks, the world of cinema has erupted in controversy over casting decisions from two separate film productions; controversy that has enraged fans, fueled debate, and perhaps even deepening the current racial divide in America. 

The first blow-up came earlier this month, when 19-year-old singer and actress Halle Bailey was cast in the role of Ariel for Disney’s upcoming live-action remake of their 1989 animated classic, THE LITTLE MERMAID. Bailey, who is half of the band Chloe X Halle and has toured with Beyonce, has been nominated for two Grammy’s, and has been a regular in the Freeform series GROWN-ISH. She can act and sing, which are two vital talents needed for the role, but her skin-color drew out the pitchforks from fans of the original film…as Ariel was originally drawn as white with red hair. Not all the backlash was racially motivated; most long-time fans of the original just want to see the Ariel they grew up with, which is a perfectly legit complaint. The hashtag #NotMyAriel was all over social media with fans saying that the casting move is not true to the character. But others out there couldn’t help but to play the race card. Bailey has had her defenders; with Freeform and original Ariel voice-actress Jodi Benson releasing statements in her support. 

The second firestorm came just this past weekend from the now-filming and untitled James Bond film (currently being referred to as Bond 25 until they pick a title). The Daily Mail reported that actress Lashana Lynch, who appeared in this year’s CAPTAIN MARVEL in a supporting role, will appear in the film as 007. It seems that the film will begin with James Bond (reprised by Daniel Craig), in retirement, and his 007 codename has been passed on to a new character…the one that will be played by Lynch. The report points out that Lynch is not expected to replace Craig in the franchise in the future, and the change-up is merely setup for the film’s events. The explanation makes sense, but that didn’t stop fans from breaking out the pitchforks and quickly going after Lynch’s skin color. 

Both controversies have acted as a snapshot of the current state of racial affairs in America. After all, this is a country where the President fires off racially insensitive tweets, which intentional or not, empowers the loudmouth racists out there; loudmouths who seem to be just waiting for casting decisions like this as an excuse for their uneducated tirades. If they would look deeper they would find that there is sound movie-logic at play here and not an agenda. In the case of 007, it makes perfect sense that the code-number would be passed on after a retirement; the MI6 isn’t like a football team that would retire your number. The fact that it would pass onto a black woman is irrelevant, because there’s no reason why it can’t. 

The case of Ariel is trickier, as no one really seems to know what they want from Disney’s live-action remakes. If the film is made exactly like the original then the effort becomes pointless. If they make changes so it can be its own thing, then fans go into rebellion mode. While it is true that we’re not getting the Ariel we were expecting in looks, the fact is we’re talking about a fictional character of a fantasy species, not to mention Ariel’s super-red hair doesn’t exist in nature in the first place. Art should never have restrictions, and character is more important than skin color. 

It would be easy to say that we should just wait and see how all this plays out when the movies are released, but what we see on the screen can calm things down. Actress Zendaya was in the gunsights when she was revealed to be Peter Parker’s crush MJ in the new SPIDER-MAN movies, as she did not resemble the MJ in the comics…who coincidently, also had super-red hair. But then she lit up the screen in this year’s Spidey film FAR FROM HOME, and even the most critical of her casting were silenced. The productions of Bond 25 and THE LITTLE MERMAID have definitely earned some attention, but now they have to come through and make their decisions work. 

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THE LITTLE MERMAID comes ashore in 2021. 

Bond 25 arrives April 8, 2020.