On July 13, 2019, Halle Bailey
was announced as Ariel in the
live-action retelling of “The Little
Mermaid”. For many, this was
cause for celebration. Black Twit-
ter met the announcement with a
sea of unbridled support. Fans of
the alternative sister duo, Chloe
x Halle, rejoiced. For we know,
Halle has a voice that a certain sea
witch couldn’t help but be envious
of. Wide-eyed Black girls uttering
“Mommy, she looks just like me”
starred in an adorable array of
viral clips.
Unfortunately, not all of the
reception was positive. Angry
groups of dissenters have taken to
critiquing every aspect of the cast-
ing from complaints surrounding
the brightness of Halle’s hair to
her darker skin tone. My personal
favorite baseless critique is that
“scientifically” a Black mermaid
wouldn’t make any sense. Alleg-
edly, mermaids would have no
access to sunlight and couldn’t
develop melanin … Analyzing the
scientific realism of a being that’s
half human, half fish, and capable
of breathing underwater is a job
that not even Bill Nye is qualified
for. Everyone has appointed them-
selves a jaded film critic and made
a 23-year-old Black woman their
sole target. Recently, the film’s
second trailer garnered over three
million dislikes on YouTube in
the span of a few weeks. A #Not-
MyAriel campaign also surfaced
on Twitter. Under this hashtag,
you can find Halle being the tar-
get of racial slurs and countless
insults regarding her physical
appearance. Some users are even
going as far as to edit white skin
and blue eyes onto images of Halle
as Ariel. While all critiques aren’t
this drastic, a common complaint
circulating has to do with Holly-
wood making a habit of “Black-
washing” white characters.
Those who oppose a “Black
Ariel” claim that the white char-
acters they grew up with are being
erased. A small, but vocal, pond of
gingers are even upset that their
redhead representation has been
stolen, coining this phenomenon:
“gingercide.”
Be astronomically for real.
The idea that representation is
being taken from white audiences
is ridiculous. If white people are
seeking to see themselves in the
form of a Disney Princess, they
still have an array of porcelain
sopranos to choose from. Look
no further than Snow White, Cin-
derella or modern figures such as
Rapunzel and Anna (oh look red-
heads, you got another one!). Bet-
ter yet, if you want your original
white and fiery-haired Ariel, she
is available to you at any point in
time via Disney+ for only $7.99 per
month.
Another common complaint
is that whitewashing is never
acceptable in the reverse. “Why
can’t white actors play charac-
ters of color?” Well, they already
have … There is large historical
precedent in support of white-
washing. White creatives have
cast white performers in “racially
diverse” roles and perpetrated
harm through caricatures of eth-
nic experiences for over a century.
Minstrel shows were the first
uniquely American live theater
productions. In the early 19th
century, white actors donning
black face, exaggerated red lips
and coarse wigs performed stage
plays riddled with various rac-
ist stereotypes. Decades later,
actor Mickey Rooney played Mr.
Yunioshi in “Breakfast at Tif-
fany’s”. Mr. Yunioshi is an Asian
man with artificial slanted eyes
and an exaggerated accent. Mick-
ey Rooney is a blue-eyed white
man. More modern examples
of this American staple include
Gerard Butler (a white man) play-
ing an Egyptian deity in “Gods of
Egypt”, and Scarlett Johansson
(a white woman) cosplaying as
Asian for “Ghost in the Shell’s”
two-hour run-time.
Whitewashing is a cancer that
has pervaded performance arts
for years. Not only does this rob
minorities of the chance to see
themselves on screen, it steals
agency from performers of Color,
bars them from telling their own
stories and refuses them access
to an inequitable film industry.
If anything, with casting choices
like Halle Bailey, Hollywood is
only beginning to make up for
lost time. These shifts in casting
are only a small step in healing
decade-old wounds and adding
diversity to projects created in
less progressive eras. Whitewash-
ing has the exact opposite impact
and only works to strip away the
representation
marginalized
demographics have had to fight
tooth and nail for.
Whitewashing also tends to
interfere with the believability
of narratives. Typically, the eth-
nicities of characters of Color are
essential to their storylines. The
Louisiana Bayou backdrop, cen-
tral voodoo elements, and soulful
blues music in “The Princess and
the Frog” don’t work with a white
protagonist. A white man being
the king of Wakanda, an uncolo-
nized African nation, wouldn’t
make sense in any context. Con-
trarily, “The Little Mermaid” is a
relatively untethered coming-of-
age story, focusing on a fictional
creature with zero mention of
race. There is no vocal demo-
graphic of mermaids that will be
audibly offended if they are “inac-
curately” represented. Ariel is a
blank slate. Rebelling against your
parents or wanting to explore
the world are not uniquely white
experiences. If white children
and white gingers could see them-
selves in a mermaid, they should
have no problem relating to a
black woman.
The beauty of an adaptation is
the opportunity to retell a clas-
sic story with a modern audience
in mind. On paper, Black Ariel
just makes sense. For starters,
the original film’s soundtrack
has
very
obvious
Caribbean
influences. The musical number,
“Under the Sea” was composed
with a blend of calypso Trinida-
dian music and reggae sonics.
“Kiss the Girl” even goes as far
as sampling Harry Belafonte’s
song “Jamaica Farewell.” The
story itself also becomes more
nuanced with the addition of a
Black protagonist. Ariel feels like
an outsider in her world and longs
to be part of a larger society that
refuses to accept people like her —
this clearly parallels the reality of
many Black Americans navigating
this country. There is always an
underlying feeling of discomfort
or invalidity associated with hold-
ing marginalized identities. It is
difficult to truly feel a part of a
world that was built through your
oppression. Narratively, a Black
woman begging to be seen in a
land that ignores her existence
is infinitely more powerful than
a girl who merely wants to travel
and trade her fins for legs. A Black
child getting her voice stolen by a
villainess white woman also takes
on a deeper meaning with this
reimagining. It’s no secret that
Black music, style and aesthetics
are frequently colonized by white
people, and appropriated for their
benefit. Am I reading too deeply
into a story containing a magical
belting octopus and a six-packed
sea god? Possibly, but I’m not
claiming these were intentional
choices, just that they’re interest-
ing to analyze and have the poten-
tial to bring new life into an old
project.
There is no better fit for bring-
ing Ariel to life than Halle Bailey,
the exceptionally talented singer,
actress and Black woman. Halle
Bailey does not deserve internet
trolls and heated controversy.
Halle Bailey deserves a relentless
wave of “thank you”s. Thank you
for ushering a lead Black heroine
into the living rooms of count-
less Black children. Thank you for
acting as a symbol for youth that
are constantly forced to question
their beauty and value. Thank
you for letting the Black kids with
starter locs or plaits reaching
down their backs know that they
too can be royalty. Thank you to
#OurAriel for telling every Black
girl in America that she can be
anything she wants to be, even a
princess and a mermaid.
Michigan in Color
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
In defense of “Black Ariel”
JAMES SCARBOROUGH
MiC Columnist
Design by Haylee Bohn
Wednesday, April 19, 2023 — 9
What she knows
Content warning: mentions of
violence and sexual themes.
I don’t believe in fickle things
like gold
or fate
But my mother taught me how to
listen
when the universe hums a soft
siren song
How strange is it
I found you
and time seemed to stop
the same day I lost my favorite
watch
I liked dancing alone
But you never gave me a choice
Calloused fingers yanked me into
your waltz
so fast I lost count
One, two, three
One, two, three
We floated delicately around each
other
breaths bated
not quite touching
I twirled on my toes
it was dizzying
A thousand jittery butterflies
enveloped me in their sweet
embrace
I cursed when the clouds darkened
You didn’t mind much (you wel-
comed the cool wind)
I minded too much (I missed the
way the sun made your hair glow)
The real tragedy
was when the sky unleashed her
pouring wrath
Do you remember how quickly
we tumbled down that yellow cob-
blestone street?
My right foot slipped on wet stone
You grabbed my hand without
looking
as if your instincts were wired to
catch me
when I inevitably fall before you
I flicked damp hair off your cheek
Your palm found home on the nape
of my neck
and when our lips met
you laughed into my mouth
It was funny
How the rain stopped soon after
Almost as if its only purpose
was to urge your hand to grab
mine
My touch was static
charged volts with violent desires
I drew back
to contain the sparks
You cried out
and placed my hand on your heart
You thought the electricity
would bring you back to life
But you never blinked
when I failed to thread the needle
every stitch incomplete
The water spills past the dam, still
Did you want me to drown?
When our legs were entangled
and my curls splayed across your
pillowcase
my battle scars disguised them-
selves
as marks of your affection
Purple and blue and yellow
On my neck
chest
stomach
in between my thighs
I didn’t know
I was a masochist
I would bite your skin
aching to show you
I, too, could play your games
The white handkerchief taunted
me
I used it
to wipe the blood
trickling down my chin
I would let myself burn
if that’s what you wanted
Rub me into your wounds
My ashes could be your salve
But if we were so vicious
together
Why does the wind scream in my
ears
and push my body backward
so I stumble into your arms
once again?
What does mother earth know
that I don’t?
DHEEKSHA KRISHNAN
MiC Columnist
Michigan in Color host bi-annual Art Expo
This past weekend, over 100
community members on and off
campus had the opportunity to
attend Michigan in Color’s sec-
ond exhibit of static and perfor-
mance art –– a tradition that is
becoming a highlight for artists
and art lovers on campus. While
named differently than last se-
mester’s “Open MiC Night,”
this year’s show –– donned the
“MiC Arts Expo” –– once again
brought artists of Color together
in a space meant for anyone and
everyone to enjoy.
As attendees started gather-
ing in the event space at Cahoots
Cafe, they were given the oppor-
tunity to see stunning static art
including tapestries, prints, fash-
ion pieces and MiC’s very own
Black Hair Series. After days of
gloomy weather, the sun radiated
through the skylights and the
excitement of spring reverber-
ated through the audience. The
seats filled up quickly and within
minutes of the show starting the
room was filled to the brim.
As everyone started to settle
in, School of Information soph-
omore and MiC photographer
Akash Dewan and former MiC
Managing Editor Eliya Imtiaz
opened up the show. Imtiaz said
she was grateful for having this
space again, as she and Dewan
had the original idea of founding
Open MiC Night in the fall.
The show started off with a
classical Indian music perfor-
mance by Sikander Choudhary,
an LSA freshman and queer Desi
musician trained in Hindustani
classical music. The opening per-
formance was followed by vari-
ous other musical performances,
each one carrying its own cul-
tural and unique purpose. After
a series of vocal performances,
“Karis Clark and Co.” refreshed
the audience with a fusion of im-
prov, comedy and rap.
As
the
intermission
came
around, the audience was once
again given the opportunity to
view the static art and grab cof-
fee from the cafe. Art and Design
sophomore Sonia Xiang, one of
the static artists, expressed being
grateful for a space to talk about
her own art while also hearing
from other artists.
“I really enjoyed the event and
liked that I could have conver-
sations and meet so many new
people in this space,” Xiang said.
Among the three pieces, Xiang
displayed a fashion garment on a
mannequin titled “Interwoven,
2023”. In the description of the
piece, Xiang wrote, “This is an
ongoing piece that I created in an
exploration of collection, memo-
ry and identity by taking objects
and scraps that were once im-
portant in my past and using it to
create something unrecognizably
new from foundations of past
memories.” Static artists accom-
panied their pieces with vivid de-
scriptions of their goals as artists
and often discussed how their
identities were at the forefront of
their art..
After the intermission, the
show resumed with Pluot, a Jap-
anese rock band from Ann Arbor.
Band singer Echo Bennett, an
Engineering sophomore, intro-
duced the band and remarked on
how their band has a reputation
for “blowing things up.” Their
performance was an exciting
change of pace for the audience
and an enjoyable musical experi-
ence. In an interview with band
leader and guitarist Takahito
Mori, an LSA junior, Mori said
he was appreciative of the oppor-
tunity to play in a more intimate
setting.
“This wasn’t our usual thing
since we’re usually somewhere
where we make a bunch of noise
but it felt very supportive and the
cheers were really great. I could
tell that everyone was here just
to enjoy art and for no other pur-
pose,” Mori said.
Toward the end of the show
Business junior Roman Rhone,
who performed last semester,
came for another performance
on the steel drums. At the end of
his performance, Rhone said he
was surprised that so many peo-
ple came out to support the arts,
which was followed by audience
laughter.
“This turnout is really great —
I’m surprised these many people
enjoy art,” Rhone said.
The show ended with Dewan
giving his final remarks speaking
about his own experience.
“Being in creator spheres I
long for communities like this,
for rooms packed full of people
that appreciate art and artists of
Color,” Dewan said. “It genuinely
feels like a safe space, while that
word is thrown around a lot this
is the first time I have actually
felt it.”
The MiC Art Expo is a distinc-
tive campus event for artists of
Color to have a space of appre-
ciation and for the public to see
a dynamic gathering of students
and Ann Arbor residents. We
were thrilled to continue provid-
ing a space that we created last
semester and we hope to keep
doing so every semester moving
forward. We would like to thank
all the artists, attendees and per-
formers that took the time to be
in this space and we look forward
to seeing you again!
Renee Thomas/MiC
Nolan Lopez/MiC
SHANIA BAWEJA
MiC Assistant Editor
Akash Dewan/MiC