A black-skinned “Little Mermaid”, or how the far right is (still) trying to impose an online debate

once upon a time in a world where culture is becoming more and more political. At the heart of the ruthless realm of social networks, The little Mermaid will not escape it. Since the announcement of an adaptation by Disney and until its theatrical release this Wednesday, a debate has flooded the web: Ariel is now interpreted by a black actress, Halle Bailey.

The news could have stopped there and why not cause some celebration for, for example, these little black girls who are Disney fans who will finally be able to identify with a heroine. But swayed above the kingdom a heavy specter, that of racism. For supporters of the far right, The little Mermaid is ultimately only blessed bread to once again alert the web to “the dangerousness of wokism”.

“A cultural battle”

This is what Achraf Ben Brahim – author of Why the far right dominates the web published by L’aube – calls it “the cultural war”. “It’s a fight that is not recent, it’s a cultural fight. It is not illogical that it is carried out on social networks since today the far right no longer tows, the far right no longer sticks posters. The space of expression that they have conquered as a priority is digital”. Added to this is the fact that the extreme right struggles to emerge victorious from the ballot box and thus must find new ways to exist and continue to create indignation, with some success.

And for good reason, the semblance of controversy over the reinterpretation of Andersen’s 1837 tale ends up becoming a trend on social networks for months. “They are very organized and manage to elevate a subject. But also, they manage to bring together all the trends. Whether you are reactive or identity, it always makes you react. Here it is not the great white man’s replacement or defense that is invoked. It is rather the fight against wokism”, analyzes Achraf Ben Brahim. The debate invoked ultimately lies less in the authenticity of Andersen’s work than in the defense of the “white race”.

smoky theories

In the United States, the mechanism remains the same. It may even be worse. From the announcement of the interpretation of Ariel by Hailee Bieber, the hashtag #NotMyAriel resurfaced constantly on social networks. Far-right influencers even tried to demonstrate that it was impossible for a mermaid to be black. Under water, it would not be exposed to the sun and would therefore lack melatonin. A lackluster demonstration that above all seems to forget that the sirens are above all fantastic works. On Twitter, Internet users even tried using artificial intelligence (AI) to whiten Ariel’s skin.

For Achraf Ben Brahim, this umpteenth controversy shows above all a certain failure of our society “to consider in a clear and peaceful way the question of plurality”. Take the example of Omar Sy. Why when the black actor played a delinquent role in Untouchable or undocumented migrant in Sambathat questioned less than when the latter took over the role of Arsène Lupin in the Netflix series?

A story without end

Above all, it seems that this debate also touches on symbolic works, those of our childhood in the case of Andersen. But it’s not the only one. When the series comes out House of Dragons, the presence of a black family – House Velaryon – in the casting had also disturbed many Internet users. The actor playing Corlys, Steve Toussaint, reacted to these racist remarks in the columns from the Guardian. “Oh, I understand. When we were criminals pirates and slaves in the other series, you agreed. But since this character is the richest in the series and he is noble, you have a problem with that”.

Last fall, the release of the series The Rings of Power on Amazon had also been accused of betraying Tolkien’s work by including racialized actors in the cast.

What if Andersen agreed?

As for The little Mermaid, as soon as the film was released on Wednesday, there was obviously no shortage of critics. On Allociné, for example, comments criticize the cast. “How to appreciate a film at its fair value when it aims to promote an ideology (wokisme)”, wonders a surfer. “Vanessa’s actress [l’alter-ego d’Ursula sur terre], obviously white eh, would have been perfect in the role of Ariel”, imagines a second. It turns out that most of these accounts were created very recently just for the purpose of attacking the film’s choices.

Finally, it would be good to remember that the author of this tale, Hans Christan Andersen, is considered above all as a very modern author for his time. If the author is indeed Danish, it has never been specified where the story took place. Only this indication remains at the beginning of the tale: “Far in the sea, the water is blue […]but so deep that it would be useless to drop anchor there”.


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