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ALPERN AT LARGE - I love Disney’s Snow White. I love the Disney’s Little Mermaid. There’s a reason why the former’s in trouble, while the latter did just fine at the box office.
The new Little Mermaid, played by Halle Bailey, was a delightful and more racially diverse movie than the darling animated film, but…so what? The main character had gorgeous red hair like the original movie, and Ms. Bailey was dedicated and very respectful to recreating the role (LINK: https://people.com/movies/the-little-mermaid-live-action-movie-everything-to-know/).
Dark-skinned mermaids…why not? Ariel remained noble, beautiful both within and without, and a true princess through and through. Disney did this remake right…although no offense to Ms. Bailey (or to anyone) when I suggest it’ll never be as good as the the original.
Enter the new remake of Snow White.
All sorts of politically correct mishmash, an idiotic lead actress who’s so obsessed with her self-importance she just about killed the movie even before it came out (I’m talking about YOU, Ms. Rachel Zegler), and a whole what-the-hell-are-you-thinking-about-these-weird-new-Dwarf-substitutes vibe that’s too much to swallow.
But let’s focus on Ms. Zegler—you’re NOT empowered, you’re NOT enlightened, and you’re NOT a princess!
Not off the screen, and if Disney is smart it’ll drop Zegler on the screen, to boot, for trashing Snow White with her most recent obnoxious comments (LINK: https://comicbookmovie.com/disney/disneys-divisive-snow-white-remake-hasnt-been-canceled-but-it-may-end-up-being-delayed-a205275#gs.4g8sf6).
The movie will be delayed, and perhaps rethought, and perhaps with a different lead actress who realizes she needs to be enough of a princess off the screen to be respected on the screen.
As of late, Disney keeps SCREWING UP with remakes meant to “prove a point or two…or something”.
Like men are all creeps, stalkers, and really not necessary for women and society to function well.
As in…Rachel Zegler quoted as stating Prince Charming is a stalker, and describes the romance of the original fairy tale as weird.
Allow the male author of this piece to suggest that BOTH male and female characters and heroes work well with respect to fairy tales, action movies, and superhero/comic features.
Rachel Zegler is much darker-skinned then Snow White…whatever! The fact that “Snow White:” was named as such for her white skin appears to be lost on the makers of this awful, ill-though “redo”.
Imagine a remake of “Roots”, with Kunta Kinte being white.
Imagine a remake of Mulan, with the eponymous lead character being black.
Imagine the original series of Kung Fu, with an Asian Shaolin monk traveling through the Old West played by a white man.
But WAIT! The latter DID happen, and that character was played by white actor David Carradine! It was a great series, but should have been played by Bruce Lee or another Asian character for authenticity.
So Disney really SCREWED things up by even casting Rachel Zegler for the role of Snow White…but when she opened her mouth it just killed the mood…
…and probably killed the chance for any hopes of getting this movie done right.
Cut with the political correctness, cut the with the manhating (which is NO better than woman-hating misogyny), and cut with the anti-white-skinned racism (which sucks as much as any other hateful bigotry).
Prince Charming was a hero, and Princess Snow White was a heroine, and the Dwarfs were both loving and courageous in the original movie (remember the axes they bore as they were defending her?).
Modifying the whole prince/princess thing was done right in “Frozen”, but sooner or later Disney has to realize how much damage it’s doing…
…not only to its brand but to the young people who want to watch people of both genders rise to the occasion and act regal and royal…
…which in part means to not publicly say the destructive and self-destructive statements that the self-obsessed court jester Rachel Zegler so needless had to vomit out of her foul-mouthed orifice.
(Kenneth S. Alpern, M.D, is a dermatologist who has served in clinics in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties, and is a proud husband and father. He was active for 20 years on the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC) as a Board Member focused on Planning and Transportation, and helped lead the grassroots efforts of the Expo Line as well as connecting LAX to MetroRail. His latest project is his fictional online book entitled The Unforgotten Tales of Middle-Earth, and can be reached at [email protected]. The views expressed in this article are solely those of Dr. Alpern.)
