By: NATHANIEL ROBINSON
As society becomes more accepting of different lifestyles and ideas, the media we consume is obviously going to follow that trend. Creative people are becoming more comfortable with who they are, and we now live in a time where said creative people feel safe enough to express themselves through movies, TV shows, social media, etc. Even Black people, who’ve struggled and still struggle to fight for equality and fair treatment have come a long way from their first “representations” in media (representation in quotations because it was always caricatures played by white people, which was incredibly offensive). So why do so many people have an issue with the upcoming of these important people and their stories?
A less recent example of this could be after the trailer for the live-action “The Little Mermaid” was released. Despite resonating with both white and black Disney fans alike, there were plenty of people who were quick to complain about Ariel’s race. In this movie, she’s to be played by a black actress, and for some reason, there are people who have an issue with that. Complaining that “this isn’t the Ariel we know” or “why does everything have to be so political now.” What if we stopped immediately tying anything involving race to politics? Ariel being black allows for so many other black people to finally achieve a deeper connection with a character they may already love. Black lead representation in movies is already uncommon, especially so in Disney movies, so what’s the harm in giving this character a different race for the sake of relatability to a smaller audience. If it’s really an issue to someone, the original movie is there for them to enjoy. I don’t believe Ariel being black is going to have much of an effect on the story, but even if it did, that’d be even better. Black influence in already established stories allows for even BETTER connections from black audiences and allows them to resonate with the stories possibly even better than the original.
A more recent example of minority representation that somehow has controversy surrounding it is a gay couple featured in HBO’s new hit show, The Last Of Us. Bill and Frank are also featured in the original video game that the show is based on, but their relationship wasn’t explored nearly as much as it is in the adaptation. The story told in that single episode is very powerful and emotional, so naturally, the internet is going to lose it. However, with every great thing to be said about the two men’s screentime, there were a couple negatives too. Of course, you had the usual homophobic comment to be made but there were also a couple comments made that were clearly homophobic but used “logic” to hide behind. Things like, “the couple detracted from the greater story” or “there were more important things to focus on.” This wouldn’t be a bad criticism in other circumstances, but considering that this isn’t the only episode to focus on side characters but IS the only episode to be hit with this “criticism” from certain “critics” on sites like Twitter is a bit more than suspicious. The fact that we get to explore an underrepresented type of relationship like this one is such a beautiful thing, and I’m glad to see so many more directors and writers comfortable enough to portray them. Representation of queer relationships matters so much to me and others in the film and TV community, so hopefully, a show like TLOU will inspire others.