With the recent release of the live-action “Snow White,” and its box office failure, it’s important to discuss why these live-action remakes may not work. With only a 40% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 1.5/10 on IMDB, there seems to be some big issues with these remakes that do not go over well with audiences.
Growing up in the early 2000s, if I was watching TV, it was absolutely Disney Channel. As I’ve gotten older and broadened my perspectives on the world, it seems that Disney has not followed suit. From what I’ve seen in recent Disney Movies, the company seems to be taking the very easy route with diversity. Rather than making new, unique stories with diverse characters, it continues to create remake after remake of classic stories. I think it’s about time for Disney to bite the bullet and do the whole diversity thing for everyone, period.
Children need to see a variety of characters from different backgrounds and cultures. Do we really need another remake of “Cinderella” or “The Little Mermaid?” These stories have been told time and time again, and many of us already know the plots, whether or not we’ve actually seen the films.
Each time Disney attempts to retell these stories, but with a more diverse cast, it loses the opportunity to create a brand new narrative— representative of the diversified society we live in today. Disney is unfairly representing both Colombian culture and the German origins of the original fairytale by putting a Colombian woman into the role of Snow White. By cramming a diverse character into a story that has no relation to their background, Disney walks a fine line of forced diversity.
There’s so much potential for new stories based around these characters. Why is Disney forcing them into old and outdated ones? People come from all walks of life and different cultures with all kinds of experiences and perspectives. Why not highlight these unique stories instead?
Why not have a Disney movie where a young girl moves to a big city for college? The story could follow her through the struggles of being a first-generation college student. Or a show about a black nonbinary teen who discovers their magical powers while navigating high school? These examples could be used to inspire children and young adults from all walks of life, while still including the universal growing pains that anyone can identify with.
With these constant new releases with slight diversity-based changes, Disney risks falling into the trap of tokenism. Tokenism is a phenomenon where minority characters are present simply to fill a diversity requirement and don’t meaningfully contribute to the story or present cultural perspectives authentically. This is damaging because it does not offer any real representation.
Now, don’t get me wrong here, I appreciate Disney’s effort to introduce diversity in its films. We have gotten quite a few new movies that are unique and different from the ones already known. “Luca,” “Turning Red” and “Strange World” are fantastic examples of what new audiences are asking for.
New and innovative stories can allow for a more realistic depiction of the different stories that make up our society— allowing characters to be more multidimensional beyond their ethnicity or cultural background. By doing so, Disney can avoid the prevalent stereotypes in many of their films.
So many talented writers, directors, and actors of various backgrounds have important contributions to make in sharing their perspectives. In creating new stories, Disney has the potential to be an outlet for such voices to be carried out and celebrated.
Gillian Farinella can be reached at gefarinella@stthomas.edu.
