Underwater

 

There is a lot of opposition online to the new Disney trailer for a live-action remake of “The Little Mermaid.” Last I checked, it had over 1.5 million “down votes.”

My initial reaction is surprise. There is so little to the trailer; so there seems little to object to. Just a lot of underwater scenery, then a closeup of Ariel singing a few bars of a song, from a sitting position. No hint of action, character, or plot.

That may be the problem: there is so little here. Comments seem to emphasize this, ironically, by referring to the part they liked best, yet citing dialogue not in the trailer. The point is: there is nothing here.

Yes, Ariel in the clip is black. Who cares? What colour is a mermaid’s skin?

With the framing, Disney seems to offer no other reason to see the film but to see Ariel as black. That, however you cut it, is dull, an insult to the audience’s intelligence, and offensively racist.