This post has not been vetted or endorsed by BuzzFeed's editorial staff. BuzzFeed Community is a place where anyone can create a post or quiz. Try making your own!
With news of the live-action Little Mermaid film casting, some people have been a little upset...
...mostly because the new actress, Halle Bailey, doesn't look like the Disney cartoon.
But other people have pointed out why getting angry about this makes no sense.
The Little Mermaid was written by Hans Christian Anderson, a Dutch author who wrote a story about unrequited love.
But the original story was a lot more grim than the cartoon...
In the original fairytale, the little mermaid (who has no name) is forced to give up more than her voice.
The Sea Witch actually cuts out her tongue instead.
But that's not the end of the curse...
On land, the mermaid's every step is torture and feels like she's being pierced by shards of glass.
And the prince doesn't notice her at all, in fact, he's in love with someone else.
Finally, her sisters come to warn her what will happen to her if the curse isn't satisfied.
Either the prince has to die or she will.
They even give her a knife to kill him, so his blood will heal her feet.
If this sounds intense, it's only because we don't talk about what mermaids used to be famous for.
Lets just say you're not likely going to see many mermaids rescuing handsome young men...
But in a moment of self-sacrifice, she gives herself up to the ocean and turns into foam.
The original story doesn't get a 'happily ever after'...
For people who know the original tale, getting hung up on the race of the little mermaid hardly seems like the most shocking thing about the story.
And for those that say that because it's in Denmark, she should be white, well...
If Ariel was “supposed to be Danish” she would’ve been dodging icebergs and eating pickled herring, but alas, she was dancing to Calypso music with a Jamaican crab
Most of us are probably grateful we grew up with the Disney version, and not the original narrative...
All these white women are upset that they hired a Black actor to play The Little Mermaid because she is white in the original Disney movie. Well, in the original story written by Hans Christian Andersen, she dies at the end. Here’s a compromise: She gets to stay white...and die.
And that we can see Ariel pass on her legacy and see the story told in a different way.
...hopefully, one where she keeps all her appendages intact.
But does knowing all this mean people will stop complaining?
If there's anything we all know it's that
But at least we all have something to look forward to.
dream come true... 🧜🏽♀️🌊
Share This Article
