Does Snow White have to be white? In response to what it calls "woke" Hollywood, The Daily Wire - a very conservative news outlet - is producing a new "Snow White" movie, and Snow White will be, well, white.
As an answer to Hollywood using non-white characters in roles it believes should be white - The Daily Wire wants to push the idea that Snow White must be white. But why must the character be white?
Co-founder of Daily Wire Jeremy Boreing said their adaptation of "Snow White" will establish that the media outlet intends to right what it believes are some of Disney's wrongs. Boreing even makes the comparison that Disney started out as a small studio with "big ideas and the courage to chase them. While Disney still uses Walt's name, they have all but abandoned his legacy."
When the original "Snow White" was produced, white characters in nearly every role were part of entertainment in America.. Countless movies and TV shows featured white characters appealing to the majority population of the United States. White men and women wore heavy make-up as they depicted Native Americans.
The more recent shift in Hollywood's approach to reflect more of America is honorable, and should not be interpreted as any threat to anyone. Yet it seems many white Americans feel threatened by the idea of a Black or non-white character being part of a classic fairy tale.
The story of Snow White is not a story dependent upon the character being white. The recent remake of "The Little Mermaid" with a Black actress playing the lead part stirred controversy because people remember the original with a White actress as the mermaid.
Why was that controversial? First of all - mermaids aren't real. It's a fairy tale and the remake with a black actress only makes the movie more relatable to a new segment of the population. And a black actress playing the Little Mermaid did not make the movie less appealing to a great portion of the white community. Mermaids are a fantasy - who's to say what color a mermaid should be?
As a media outlet with a conservative agenda, Daily Wire is pandering to an audience that feels threatened by equality and feels as if something about who they are is lost when a non-white person plays the part of a classic character originally played by a white actress.
Fortunately, enough of white America is not offended and supports non-whites in roles originally played by white actors. Especially in a fairy tale - why should it matter what color the main character is? And let's mention just a few white actors cast in the roles of non-white characters: Elizabeth Taylor in "Cleopatra" - Natalie Wood as a Puerto Rican in "West Side Story" - and Johnny Depp as Tonto in "The Lone Ranger."
It's important to call out as false the hysteria that's created for the purpose of advancing a political ideology.
