Hello everyone and welcome to my channel! To keep the magic alive- please note that this video is NOT MADE FOR KIDS If you do watch it with a child, please let them watch it with supervision,or preview it before you show them!
I just wanted to add I’m not mad at anyone who has commented asking about those characters- I’m here to try to teach and help! Representation really is so important and I never want to take a role away from someone. Especially because I have infinitely more characters I can play (and I hope that changes!) I also want to add I was 17 when this happened (I’m now 24) and didn’t have the confidence I do now to tell this guy off. I regret just awkwardly leaving instead of talking more about why his idea was wrong.
@@keadeenmurphy4887 they’re so different! And I said to someone else in the comments that little kids dressing as certain characters is completely different too- as long as it’s done with respect!
@@Tayyyyyylor- nah, because now ANYONE can play Ariel and it’ll be accurate. Did you know the 2017 Broadway production of The Little Mermaid had Diana Huey, an Asian American woman, who played Ariel? Kids weren’t confused then & not be confused now.
I like how she said that it’s different with cosplay and when you’re actually trying to be a character. It really is like that! Because in cosplay you can cosplay a character no matter the race you or the character is but only if you’re going to do it respectfully ofc. And like she said in the video you want to have the right representation when you’re trying to be a character so she can’t dress up as characters that are different race from her.
@@teamawesomeness7137 obviously some humans messed up in the past and created segregation, racism, and started messed up things and wars. And because of that many people still get criticized for their race, ethnicity, etc. which is also why people need to respect others and not do cosplays that are offensive. There are such offensive and harmful ways you can dress up as characters that are a different race and that’s why if you’re gonna make a hobby out of cosplaying or dressing up and becoming characters, you need to do it respectfully and the right way or else it will be problematic.
@@derpie_kerpie its just a character theyre playing though. They dont portray anyone of that color only the fantasy character. I really dont see an issue with someone wanting to be lighter or darker aslong as theyre not using it to be racist.
@@FS.08 really? You have no actual argument you just wanna say a pitiful “shush”. I am not wrong, if people would stop being racist and let people cosplay (while being respectful) they should have every right.
Sorry you had to deal with that awkward conversation. I think some people are genuinely unaware of that kind of thing, in an innocent way. 😅 Nice of you to redirect to another company! That is probably the best way you could handle that situation. Perhaps one day, if you ever wanted to expand your business, you could bring on a girlfriend to play those roles ☺️
I think i will always stay a one woman business due to tax reasons and boring financial things… but I live collabing with other people/companies! Last year I played Lottie with a Tiana for another company and it was so much fun!
I'm glad you are respectful of black people. So many people think it's actually okay to do blackface. It's not okay. It's never okay to do blackface, even as cosplay, even as a Halloween costume.
@@ifodytv394 yes there is so much history behind it! I wish they taught it more in schools so people knew. I only learned it in college when I took a history of the American theatre course. So much of our theatre/dance is also taken from other cultures without credit.
It’s not okay to do “whiteface” either but black people do it and nobody calls it racist? I get it that blackface has a terrible backround to it but still.
Please note that the new Ariel is completely different and I’m thrilled that more people can see themselves in Ariel! Who else is excited for the new movie?!??🧜🏾♀️
@kryceksangel seeing as the live action is a remake, there shouldn't be any reason for her to stop being ariel- and in other aspects of life being a character that doesn't fit your race/skintone as long as you aren't doing makeup to look like said race or what not then it's generally fine (some characters could be up for question) but she is supposed to be the character, the kid thinks she really is xyz character- so she has to represent it accurately- and for people who cosplay, id say the issue that could occur is when you're not cosplaying a character but a race-
ur explanation at the end is spot on!! and good for u for standing up for whats right, even by politely refusing, bc blackface is soooo not okay 😩why did he even suggest that?!?
Exactly! It's the difference between acting as someone and pretending to actually be someone. The children don't believe the actresses because they know them, but they believe the depiction of the original story
@@ramudaamemura_ Definitely! Like it's very different to just dressing up for fun, but these kids need to see the character as theyre presented on-screen to make it believable
ofc ur not mad abt it! you just can’t do it bc of the difference but that’s ok! if they got mad at you about it they should really think about there characters 😂
@@brookecarolineb124 yes but it isn't a bad thing now since more people with different skin tones are getting princesses or other characters with their skin tone now! So soon it should be equal amounts of all!
@@Laufeyson_Loki no one had a problem when Brandy played Cinderella in the Rogers and Hammerstein classic, but maybe they were less overtly racist in the late 90s? I fully agree that there should be more black and poc princesses, bit for some reason all of them are portrayed in a specific culture with very specific cultural characteristics as part of their main plot and personality. Many of the existing Disney princesses have no actual cultural baggage, and lived in places where people of colour also lived at the time the original stories were written or collected. For example, France (where the Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and at least one version of Cinderella were written/set) was known to be a haven for black people during the second rise of anti-black racism in Europe. During the transatlantic slave trade, people would escape to Paris where there was no extradition for "escaped slaves". Alexander Dumas, writer of the 3 Musketeers and the Count of Monte Cristo, and his father a General under Napoleon were both black. There were black people in Europe during the Middle Ages. There were black people in Shakespearian England, he wrote a whole play about one. The Moorish Empire reigned in Spain for 500 years, a Muslim empire operating with freedom of religion and education for both genders, ran universities, translated Latin, Greek, and Arabic texts that European Christians had tried to burn or keep out of Christian Europe, and in doing so kicked off the entire Renaissance. Those Italian scholars? Actually just attended Moorish universities in Spain and brought the knowledge back. Generations of Spanish Moors grew up in Europe having never stepped foot in Africa or the Middle East. Thousands upon thousands converted to Christianity over the centuries and moved freely throughout Europe. And those are just the Moors, not all the other merchants and scholars and diplomats living all throughout Christiandom prior and concurrent to the first rise of anti-black racism in Europe. Previously, Christian Europeans liked any other Christians regardless of race and hated other pale Europeans if they didn't worship the same God or worshipped their God in a different way. Black Christians were their brothers and white Pagans were their enemies, period. So portraying certain Disney princesses based on what they could have been instead of how a cartoonist chose to interpret them in animated from several decades ago is not technically inaccurate, and doesn't actually hurt anyone. But a white person choosing to portray character to whom race is crucial to their identity or who's racial identity is drastically underrepresented**is** actually harmful to the mental health and well-being of the children who grow up watching them. There are numerous studies showing how representation affects childrens self-image throughout their lives. I don't know Dc McStuffins details, but she was literally the first Disney character my baby niece ever got that looked like her at all. For years before Tiana, girls were trying to get her upgraded to princess status so we could have a princess of our own. Then the one we got? Her villians are "racism" and "other black people". And her prince is a generic dark skinned prince from a non-African, non-specified, light-brown people inhabited, rich island country who speaks fluent English with a slightly French accent. The other black people in the movie (who don't die) are on screen for about 2 seconds just to give her some background and insult her for working hard. We're already fighting for scraps here. You had over 30 years of exclusively white princesses, you can learn to share. Or you honestly don't deserve them. It's not like I didn't see little white girls dressed up as Jasmine, Pocahontas, and Mulan my whole life, all the while being told I can't dress up as Barbie or Belle or whoever because I'm black. Let us have this for once.
@@pvp6077 bro you gave me a whole speech like… no still that doesn’t change my mind or my argument that it doesn’t really matter if it’s culture or not the original design was white just leave it as it is? And isn’t it racist to try so hard to make the characters that are white black? Seems to me they’re trying so hard to be inclusive at this point and not giving these actors based of their skill just in their skin colour is that not racism? and yet I’m saying yeah sure have black characters but why change original race their is no reason that whole explanation u gave didn’t really have a point u just explain the whole race thing to me that has nothing to do with what I’m saying and they should go off the actual design because that’s how they were interpreted otherwise the characters are not really the characters if they’re not what they look like are they? And every live action remakes are black? And black people are not oppressed now like u guys have the same rights as everyone else treated the same even better I suppose so don’t talk to me about how there is no representation for black people because there is soo much now that there is no race other then black people on television more or less.
I think I would just handle the situation as best as I could but also have the parents/other adults take control in that moment. I’d be happy to help in anyway I could (distracting the kids, talking to someone who needs it, getting things, calling the right people etc) and while it might not be “in character” I think any princess/superhero I play would do their best to help!
because black face is something that has been used for years to mock black people in disgusting ways? also, ariel's skin colour has nothing to do with her character the way it does with snow white or tiana, and also, she's a fictional mermaid, i think you'll live with her being black.
But that’s different. Halle Bailey IS black. In this video, she was talking about black face, which is where a white person used makeup to look like a black person in order to mock them.
I can still relate to a character no matter what color they are. And you can still capture the character is you aren't the same color, color isn't what makes them who they are.
Yes you can totally relate to them! But if I walk in for a child’s birthday party claiming to be Doc Mcstuffins- the kids aren’t going to believe me. My job is to portray these characters exactly the way they look and act on the screen
I’m glad you differentiated between cosplay vs character acting, because there is a huge difference. One is where you are trying to actually pretend to be the character and are in fact, that character to those kids. The other is more adult dress up where people KNOW your not that character and therefore there’s a lot of wiggle room in how you want to portray that character (hence why your race doesn’t matter when your cosplaying) (Edit: being said using makeup to change your skin tone is still iffy. It’s better to just do your best interpretation of the character as you are, because while it’s fun to be that character it’s also ok to recognize that the character isn’t you and part of the fun of cosplay is showing off yourself as that character ❤)
A local Princess Party company got backlash for using brown face on multiple occasions with a white guy as Maui as the most notorious. Instead of realizing how problematic they were being, they doubled down and accused their detractors for being “triggered snowflakes.” I’m thankful that you don’t do this. It’s so important for kids to see true representation, not a white person in makeup
This is so refreshing I know a lot of party princesses who get spray tans to play Mirabel, Jasmine and Moana and it's just so disrespectful. Glad to see that there is still some hope in humanity 🙏
Ya and it’s not even like it comes down to cultural appropriation ur pretending to be a Disney character and how confused is a 7 year old gonna be if ur not the same color as the movie- or imagine a black girl wanting u to come and liking that character bc they look alike and u don’t have that- people just need to think sometimes
This reminds me of a story I vaguely remember being told in Kindergarten, where this lady would do blackface back in the civil war (?) To free slaves, but then she got caught once and was set free because when she went before the judge the coffee stain had worn off and the scouts were imprisoned instead for "wrongful action" or smth like that
As a black person I can confirm this true I may have white skin but I still can dress up as a black person like for school I have a presentation on Michael jordan but I. Still gonna dress up as him
It’s interesting because the cosplay community seems to take the stance you can cosplay anyone of any ethnicity as long as you’re not doing -face of the character
Yep! It’s different here tho because she’s actually pretending to be that character for kids and it would be confusing for them if she was white when the character isn’t.
Yeah, I don't think anyone would care the other way around. I've seen plenty of 'snow whites' who aren't white and it's no big deal. It's definitely the - face that makes it different.
That's the bit another thread is deliberately trying to not understand. The cosplay, disney bounding side is most often focused on the style of the character not their literal ethnicity. More then often when they do that it's in bad faith or so poorly done it would seem to imply insult.
I wanted to be a character from a book for Halloween one year. I got a wife and made some realistic cuts on my face. The only thing that I didn’t know was black face. She was a beautiful princess that had to overthrow the queen, her step mom, and make her step cousin, the rightful heir, the new queen. She was kind and powerful and a little weird. First appearing in book 4 she didn’t get as much time as everyone else for the readers to fall in love.
As a black woman, and a mom, thank you for this. I appreciate you sharing with other people why it would not be appropriate for you to pretend to be POC characters for parties. The children will notice if the character no longer has brown skin, if the character no longer looks like them or their family members, and it matters so much for POC children who already have fewer examples of representation in the media.
Anyone can cosplay whoever they want (regardless of skin color, minus any skin color changes ofc), but thank you for the point you made at the end!! When youre actually portraying a character, representation absolutely matters!! Especially to impressionable little kids!! Thank you for what you do❤
I think it’s totally different with kids too. Like I would never look down upon a little kid who wanted to dress as a certain character as long as they’re not doing anything disrespectful! It’s just so different when I’m claiming to actually be that person and the kids think i am the person
@@brookecarolineb124 i totally get it and its super weird how the dad even implied that you should do black face as if it was a normal thing 😥 but your costumes and videos are awesome and you are great 😁🙌
The first thought that went to my brain though is The Little mermaid the new one she doesn't properly represent the real Little mermaid but I'm not complaining her voice is stunning. I'm just saying
I love how nice she is she does not want to be rude to black people cause she knows they should both be respectfully treated and talking about the problem I love that about her
Great attitude! Also, you do such a great Charlotte from Princess and the Frog I’m sure you’ve gotten the chance to work with a Black actress playing Tiana
Love that you added that part about cosplay at the end, some people hate on cosplayers because they aren’t the race of the character they’re portraying but that’s not important for cosplay (as long as you’re being respectful that is)
You can COSPLAY as a character that’s any color no matter what color you are. But when you’re an actress trynna fool some children, you do have to be mindful. Kids are gonna ask why Elsa is black or why Tiana is white.
What will you do when the live action of the little mermaid comes out? Cuase then the newer generation of children might have only grown up with the live action and not seen the animated version.
I don't care if a black person paints themselves white, and I wouldn't have a problem painting myself as Tiana. We used to do it in highschool with our Hispanic, black and white friends. No one was offended. I wish we could be free to dress as whoever we admire. But it is a PC thing right now and if you're not comfortable with it definitely shouldn't do it.
