On the heels of Halle Bailey being cast as Ariel (a historically white character), Disney is just beginning as artists H.E.R. and Yara Shahidi have both been cast as race-swapped re-imagined characters. As stated before, this is a ploy to satisfy the "illusion of inclusion" and earn the Black dollars while monetizing the shift towards "diversity" in representation. However, this is problematic as having Black actors play historically white characters only reinforces the legacy of the white characters.
I'm happy that these actresses get the opportunity to advance their careers, but these opportunities aren't indicators of "progress" in as much as it's the monetization of the market's desire for "representation". True representation is having original Black characters developed around our culture, language, attire, etc. Simply having a Black actor in a role already established as a white character, is lazy and the lowest hanging fruit with minimum effort. It's a way of not gambling on taking the time to groom new characters that honor Black experiences. Independence from the shadows of white legacies is important, it allows Black characters to just exist without comparisons to a white predecessor.
So changing the race without considering context, looks like a Black woman falling in love with a beast(beastality) and a Black woman who's literally a "magical negro".
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Tokenism: Exploitation of Race-Swapping
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On the heels of Halle Bailey being cast as Ariel (a historically white character), Disney is just beginning as artists H.E.R. and Yara Shahidi have both been cast as race-swapped re-imagined characters. As stated before, this is a ploy to satisfy the "illusion of inclusion" and earn the Black dollars while monetizing the shift towards "diversity" in representation. However, this is problematic as having Black actors play historically white characters only reinforces the legacy of the white characters.
I'm happy that these actresses get the opportunity to advance their careers, but these opportunities aren't indicators of "progress" in as much as it's the monetization of the market's desire for "representation". True representation is having original Black characters developed around our culture, language, attire, etc. Simply having a Black actor in a role already established as a white character, is lazy and the lowest hanging fruit with minimum effort. It's a way of not gambling on taking the time to groom new characters that honor Black experiences. Independence from the shadows of white legacies is important, it allows Black characters to just exist without comparisons to a white predecessor.
So changing the race without considering context, looks like a Black woman falling in love with a beast(beastality) and a Black woman who's literally a "magical negro".
Sources:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/deadline.com/2022/07/h-e-r-cast-belle-beauty-and-the-beast-hybrid-live-action-animation-special-1235073135/amp/
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.extratv.com/2022/07/27/yara-shahidi-talks-tinkerbell-and-incredible-world-of-peter-pan-and-wendy-exclusive/