Boycott requirements following political positions • Criticism against AI-generated dwarves
New “Snow White” has been debated and since it became known that Rachel Zegler, who has Colombian and Polish origin, would play Snow White, she has been subjected to racism and hatred. Among other things, people have said that “Snow White should have skin white as snow”. At the same time, the choice of Zegler has been hailed to contribute to increased diversity and representation.
– I think it is quite typical that it will be this type of discussion. Disney is such a large company and has such great power when it comes to the entertainment industry. They sit on these incredible iconic fairy tales so it is clear that people will react, says Fanna Ndow Norrby, podders and cultural journalist, in after five.
Actress Halle Bailey was also subjected to hatred and racism when she was given the role of Ariel in “Little Mermaid” in 2022. At the same time, clips showed how little girls showed up when they could for the first time recognize themselves in a Disney figure viral.
– It was a black actor, then it became exactly the same discussion. It’s all about nostalgia dividing us into two camps. Where one is that everything should be as it has always been and the other camp is a bit more so that we can see a new version, and the other is still there, says Fanna Ndow Norrby.
Boycott requirements after political positions
There should also be tense atmosphere between Rachel Zegler and the other protagonist Gal Gadot, who plays the evil queen. The reason is their various political ideologies – Zegler has expressed support for Palestine and condemned the war in Gaza. Galdot, which is Israel, has done military service in IDF and expressed support for Israel.
This has also led to calls for boycott of the film in social media. Disney itself has chosen to have a low -key premiere and ported media from attending the controversies.
– I absolutely think that it is a crisis management strategy that you as a communicator may understand. It is clear that they want focus on the film and not that these actresses should stand and talk Israel-Palestine. Disney is not interested in, says Fanna Ndow Norrby.
At the same time, she thinks that as a journalist you want to hear them talk about what it is like to launch this movie in these times. Amelie Eiding, voice actor for Snow White in the Swedish version, believes that it is sad that you do not focus on the film and the music, which ends up in the cloud of the controversies.
– But of course, as you say, that’s the world we live in as well. It is, as I said, so much nostalgia linked to Snow White as a character, that you have your preconceived opinions about what it should look like and what it should be like. But I think it’s a fantastic new interpretation with fantastic new music, says Amelie Eiding.
Great criticism of the dwarfs being ai-generated
The choice to keep the classic “seven dwarves” has also been questioned. Short -grown actor Peter Dinklage, known from Game of Thrones, has previously said that it reinforces stereotypes about short -grown. In the new movie, the Dwarfs have been replaced with computer -generated figures, which in turn has been criticized for taking jobs from short -growing actors.
In the new film, Snow White is also portrayed as a strong and independent woman – who is not waiting for the prince’s rescue. Critics believe it is for “Woke” and removes the original charm. Others believe that it reasoned better with the present. Rachel Zegler has defended the changes, which has aroused additional support – and protests – from Snow White.
Disney has also become part of the cultural war going on in the United States, among other things by being one of the companies that have chosen to follow Donald Trump’s call to scrap diversity and inclusion work.
– It is very boring, I think, that such an important question is that you hear from it in such a large organization. But it should also be said that it has aroused a lot of internal criticism. Everyone absolutely does not agree that this is the way Disney should go, says Fanna Ndow Norrby.