For far too long, the stories of minorities have been ignored, nor did they get the chance to see a character on the big screen that looks like them. Fortunately, the recent years saw the film industry put a stronger emphasis on representation. Within the past decade, we received Black Panther, the first superhero of color on the big screen for most people, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the first Asian superhero blockbuster, and the remake of The Little Mermaid, a classic Disney princess now being portrayed by a woman of color. Though these films were meant to be a joyous landmark for representation in film, they have been marred by vocal pushback that stem from (subconsciously) racist sentiments.

Though it can be argued that films centered around the stories of minorities have been around for a while now, it is no question that minorities playing a more universal role is still a notion that the general public hasn’t accepted yet. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to think of a reason why other than ingrained racism, which is the case for the majority of detractors. In the face of a clear wrong, the only thing to do is to stand up against it and hold fast. Characters formerly played by white actors now being played by people of color is a form of protest, one that has begun to bring about much needed change in the film industry. Though it might be jarring for some people, big splashes are necessary to create far-reaching ripple effects.

Halle Bailey has been the center of a heated debate since her casting was announced. A lot of the vocal critics of the casting hide behind the excuse of them wanting Disney to remain consistent with their adaptation of The Little Mermaid, which was originally penned by Hans Christian Andersen. However, it doesn’t take a lot of empathy to understand that a renowned Disney princess being played by a person of color holds significantly more weight than being consistent about the skin color of a fictional creature. It doesn’t matter if they do end up playing characters that were originally created differently; the goal is not to religiously follow the original story, it is to normalize seeing minorities in such roles. The criticisms of the casting are even more ridiculous after considering the fact that the skin color of the character plays no role in the story at all, and that a likely reason why Ariel was depicted as such in the first place was that the general American public still had a racist subconscious at the time of the original animation’s release.

Another common sentiment is that it would be better if a new story centered around a person of color was created instead of retroactively adopting characters. More films about the story of minorities are certainly appreciated, but they fail to accomplish the goal of normalizing seeing minorities play universal characters on the big screen. Only allowing minorities to play characters if their skin color matches the reality of the character and then letting white actors play everyone else just further reinforces the inequality that has been evident on the screen for years.

Filmmaking, like all other forms of art, must appeal to the senses and emotions. Without an understanding of what moves people, a film will struggle to be successful. Sometimes, the story by itself is enough to resonate with the audience, especially if they can relate it to an experience that is close to them. However, when a story is centered around universal values, it’s less likely that any particular individual will form a strong connection to the story. In cases like that, who portrays the character essentially determines who the story reaches. Is it too much to ask that we all get stories that reflect us?