Buckle up boys and girls. This is gonna be a little long cause I GOT OPINIONS.
First- my over arching opinion on the live action slew that Disney is on is this: I really think Disney should focus more on original content rather than trying to suck the nostalgia out of all of their existing properties. That being said- I have enjoyed some of their life action films (Aladdin, Cinderella, and the Maleficent films). This isn’t a rant about whether the films are necessary or even good. It’s about people’s stupid reactions to these two films.
Little Mermaid: When Disney announced that Halle Bailey was cast, I was ASTOUNDED at the huge backlash that I saw on Instagram (as well as being proud of the people that called people out for being racist.) I follow a few fan cast accounts and I kept seeing their comments on how Disney “was ruining the Little Mermaid” and how “the casting was the joke.” I even had a friend of mine on FB claim that Disney was discriminating against redheads with that casting, and even suggested that POC are stealing roles meant for redheads (using Zendaya as MJ as an example). Never mind that we haven’t seen Halle’s performance as Ariel. Never mind that the only defining characteristic of Ariel relevant to the story is her voice (and Halle is a professional singer). People have a problem with the fact that Ariel is no longer white. If you need Ariel to be white to enjoy her character, then you never really cared about the character at all. Because nothing in the story is defined by skin tone. So, people just need to grow up, realize that being racist stopped being cool a loooooong time ago, and get excited because we have Alan Menken and Lin Manuel Miranda working together on a Disney movie.
Mulan: Part 1- Hong Kong: What’s happening in Hong Kong is a tragedy. It’s horrific. And I was deeply saddened by Yifei’s comments on it. To add some context to this, the actress posted on the Chinese equivalent of twitter “I support the Hong Kong Police; you can beat me up now” which is what a reporter said after he was taken hostage and zip tied to a luggage cart by protesters. Many Chinese celebrities also posted this, so it’s unclear whether she voluntarily said this or if she was coerced by the Chinese government.
Either way, going to/supporting the movie Mulan does not affect in any way the protests in Hong Kong. The movie was already filled when she made those comments. The movie doesn’t reflect her views, Disney doesn’t reflect her views. To boycott an entire film that thousands of people worked on because of a post by one person is like when one child acts out, but the entire class gets in trouble in elementary school. (Pardon the really poor analogy). Mulan is one of the few, if one of the only American made films with an entire Asian cast. That’s pretty incredible.
I personally don’t understand how boycotting this particular movie will help improve conditions in Hong Kong, but it’s ultimately everyone’s choice. I hope that China and Hong Kong will come to a conclusion that ultimately brings freedom without a lot of bloodshed on either side.
Part 2- WhERe’S MuShU?: I really people would research movies beyond their gut reactions after seeing the first trailer. They have said from the beginning that this would me a more mature take on the Mulan legend, rather than a live action recreation of the animated movie. Could you see them singing in a serious martial arts movie? Or have a funny tiny dragon sidekick? I’ve seen multiple comments on social media along the lines of “if there’s no Mushu, I’m not watching it.” Umm... is the movie about Mulan or Mushu? As for the people claiming about no musical numbers, it’s been confirmed that they will be instrumental numbers part of the score in the film, and sung during the credits. So kind of like Cinderella. It really annoys me when people bitch about the live action movies being a shot for shot remake of the original (Lion King, Beauty and the Beast) and then turn around and bitch and complain when they change things.
So, in summary, people need to chill when it comes to Disney movies. Including me. That’s why I’m going to go look at Baby Yoda memes. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
Submitted December 06, 2019 at 05:11AM by NeoInZion492 https://ift.tt/33SH37i