If anyone told me growing up that some of the most popular Black characters today would be Ariel from “The Little Mermaid,” Queen Charlotte, and Annabeth Chase from “Percy Jackson,” I wouldn’t believe you. Color-blind casting has the power to amplify Black voices, providing escapism and diversifying our image outside the usual stories of racism, struggle, and poverty.
Color-blind casting is the practice of casting without considering the actor’s ethnicity, skin color, body shape, sex or gender. One of the most successful examples of this was the 2015 Broadway musical “Hamilton”. “Hamilton” was a hip-hop musical where the founding fathers of America were all played by people of color. The choice to have Hamilton played by a Hispanic man brought new meaning to the story of an immigrant (Alexander Hamilton was born on an island in the West Indies) who worked his way from the bottom. Instead of rewriting history, the musical makes U.S. history something that people of color can relate to, as they’re often made to feel less American than their white counterparts.
Since “Hamilton”, there’s been an upswing in movies and television shows opting to make the past color-blind. The series “Bridgerton” on Netflix, produced by Shonda Rhimes, shows Black and Brown people being wealthy nobles in regency England. In this fantasy world, a Black woman is the Queen of England, a Black man is a Duke, girls of color are the “diamonds of the season” and interracial marriages happen without characters batting an eye. “Bridgerton” cements its place in the culture by catering to audiences (Black girls like myself) who grew up living out fantasy stories through white people, who could live carefree in modern day and fantasy.
Another form of color-blind casting in recent years has been the recasting of popular characters with actors of different races. Some changes went under the radar, such as Samuel L. Jackson portraying Nick Fury in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Jason Mamoa as DC’s “Aquaman.” Other changes stirred controversy, like Halle Bailey as Ariel in “The Little Mermaid,” Anna Diop as Starfire in “Titans,” and Leah Jeffries as Annabeth in the Disney+ series “Percy Jackson and the Olympians.” People against these casting choices argue that the original characters need to be preserved as the original race, arguing that these people were white for a reason.
In reality, Ariel and Annabeth’s whiteness had nothing to do with their storylines. There’s also no reason why mythical and non-human characters need to be specific in the first place.
There are many straw man arguments against color-blind casting. “Hamilton critics” argue that it’s dangerous to hide the fact that the founding Fathers were white, especially since many of them owned slaves. This critique minimizes people’s intelligence, assuming that most people never went to school or seen a photo of George Washington before. History textbooks have no problem obscuring the number of slaves each Founding Father owned and painting them as heroes during the American Revolution. So if they must be heroes, why can’t they be Black and Brown heroes in one depiction?
It’s no secret that people of color face underrepresentation in film, TV, and theatre compared to white people. Black moviegoers have expressed their frustration with films centering around Black pain and slavery. Of course, that’s not to say these films aren’t important in educating others on history. But in 2024, we know slavery was evil, police brutality was tragic, and Black people remain systematically oppressed. It would be a relief if, for once, we could move through the world without race impacting our experiences. Color blindness is a means of escapism that people of color rarely get in life. Generation Alpha deserves more than Princess Tiana from 2009 to see themselves as princesses. What is the harm in giving them Ariel too?
Color-blind casting is not perfect. Though it has given people of color more visibility in the media, I’ve noticed colorism and intrinsic biases find their way into stories through the veil of being color-blind. In “Bridgerton,” three of the four main Black characters in season one are light-skinned. This sends the implicit message that even in a race-blind world, light-skinned people are generally more agreeable to see in regency England than darker-skinned Blacks.
Next, Marina Thompson, played by Ruby Barker, is the most popular debutante, until we discover she’s pregnant and unmarried. This storyline sees her shut inside for most of the season until she resigns herself to a loveless marriage to cover a scandal. As I watched Marina’s story play out, the only thought I had was, “Why are Black women still baby mamas in Regency England?”
While films and TV can be color-blind, the world is not. I take these stories as fun, light-hearted depictions, knowing the reality of history. People criticize Black recast as unoriginal since Black writers can create new princesses and superheroes. Of course, they do, but why not have extra?
White people don’t have representation problems, so changing the race of some of their characters does no harm that Blackface and racial caricatures have done for people of color for decades.
In 2024, I’m glad to see young Black girls not having to wear someone else’s skin to experience fantasy. While there are great original Black and Brown stories, it’s fine to enjoy the illusion of color blindness with perspective.
