There has been a growing stink regarding the live remake of The Little Mermaid: seem the main character will be a BLACK actress! Unfathomable! I find that ironic in that the main character was never really of white origin other than the author, Hans Christian Andersen, being a Dane.
Sadly, it has now been “americanized” , with all the racist connotations that implies. The Anglo population has claimed ownership of Ariels skin color, sliding over the fact Ariel was a denizen of the sea. What does the skin matter when it is the story that is paramount. It’s the sadness and the suffering to be what you are not that should be of import! Does it matter that the actress is black if the story, the myth and the lessons it holds are changed? I think not! Culture adds to a story and can enhance it as well.
This brings me to Netflix remakes of The Archies comics and Sabrina the Teenage Witch comic books. In sort of the same vein but slightly different, Riverdale takes a dark turn in the life of Archie and friends!
The characters were well chosen, Betty and Veronica are spot-on as is Archie. Jughead, on the other hand, not quite so. Oh, his looks and even the hat are quite passable, but that’s where the similarities end.
Jughead is not that happy-go-lucky fella we had come to love and admire. He is not the endlessly hungry burger eating machine as well as a registered girl hater, although that last sounds a little harsh! He’s a kid from the wrong side of the tracks, whose father is an outlaw biker and he may well be headed in taking his place in the bike gang! Luckily, his friendships with Betty(whom he dates), Veronica and Archie keep him from completely going to that dark side.
The whole of Riverdale seems to brood in a murky, miasmic environment ready to explode in the intrigues of a small town caught in webs of mystery. Even Josie and the Pussycats put in an appearance. Fun times…
As for Sabrina, the show delves into the dark side of being a witch in a mortal world creating a rich, interesting culture of darkness and shadows in little Glendale.
How did a “good” witch come to be in Glendale? The casting is also excellent! The storytelling is fluid and changing and some fun surprises! Where the TV series of Sabrina and Archie comics were lighthearted, sunny and fun, these two remakes are dark and brooding in mystery. Not the comic book material you may have read.
What great work to spin a new side to these three worlds! Wonderful and fun! Ironically, where Sabrina and Archie’s world was light and happiness, the Little Mermaid was not!
Disney changed the cutting of Ariel’s tongue to the less malevolent r loss of her beautiful voice, nor does Disney describe the anguish of Ariel walking on perpetually aching feet on dry land for the love of an undeserving manling! These horrific pieces of the story we ignorantly skip over to focus on the color of Ariel’s skin in this remake. How sad!
MER…
A playground, more than seven,
An ocean.
Upon a time, a place of
Deep devotion.
We’ve lost our way, myths forgotten..
Where once we ruled,
Now besotten..
With vices.
Atlantis born. Atlantis bred,
Your prayers to us a watershed.
Entwined in soul,
..Betrothed in spirit,
We were one!
Yet those days are past!
Still we wait..for Oanne’s sake
We hesitate… to show ourselves.
We have learned to abide,
To hide..
Refractive in our environs,
Your eyes deceive,
What you thought you saw,
You can’t believe.
Once we were the siren..
Calling upon men.
Humans all but forgot us
Looked to their own ken..but,
Yet one more song,
Sighs on whispering sea,
Not too long,
Still, ’tis a bridge to me…
Listen…