Culture critic
Scrolling through Twitter, my ears tingled with the familiar tune. ‘Out of the sea, wish I could be… part of that world.’ It’s a song I’ve known for years, a classic from the original 1989 Disney film, The Little Mermaid. Only this time it was different. This time, it was 23-year-old Halle Bailey at the helm, auburn locs and impressive musical talent in tow, filling me with muted excitement. As I rewatched the trailer, then continued to go about my day, the short clip set the world on fire – thanks to the first ever Black Disney princess making her on-screen debut.
Quickly, my timeline was overrun with joy. Black parents sharing videos of their daughters’ reactions, full of infectious glee and giant smiles. ‘She looks like me!’ one cheery child exclaimed, while another simply stared in disbelief. Seeing dozens of uplifting moments of happiness prompted by a Black mermaid was heartwarming, of course. But it also begged the question: why did it take so long? And why are young Black girls shocked to see someone who looks like them, in a role like this?
Halle Bailey is the first Black Disney princess to star in a live-action movie made for the big screen. Before that came the animated movie The Princess And The Frog in 2009, with Anika Noni Rose voicing Tiana, while a 1997 TV film (which was co-produced by Whitney Houston) saw Brandy take on the role of Cinderella. For young Black girls, none of us will forget the moment we saw, and felt seen.
While representation isn’t everything, it’s undeniably formative. For every child growing up, to see someone like them become anything they want to be – a princess, a dreamer, a mermaid – is priceless. So often, Black girls aren’t afforded this – hardly ever do characters exist beyond the best friend or the victim. It’s no secret that the media we consume has an impact on our self-image and others’ perception of us, so a positive dose of main character syndrome is long overdue for Black girls. Which is exactly where Halle Bailey as a witty and talented Ariel comes in, serving as a necessary tonic for us to reimagine the world as it could be.
Sadly, that positive representation doesn’t solve what was happening elsewhere on the internet. It only took one tiny step outside of my own echo chamber to burst the happiness bubble. On the more unnerving side of social media, #NotMyAriel began to trend. Despite barely a handful of Black faces in Disney’s princess spaces, the trailer was still met with rage. Things first kicked off when Bailey’s casting was announced back in 2019 but, after the trailer release
