What being outraged over ‘Snow White’ says about you
In the wake of the reports that Disney was set to lose 100 million US$ with the latest live-action Snow White (2025, directed by Marc Webb), some were more enthusiastic than others. Those who were more vocal in their schadenfreude are those who disdain the “woke” direction of Disney films as of late.
You may have encountered these people whining about a Black Ariel in The Little Mermaid (2023, directed by Rob Marshall). They think this is pandering to the inclusive politics of liberal Hollywood. They accuse wokeness as a means of shoving an agenda down their conservative throats.
It was initially a Black mermaid; now, they are angry over a Latina portraying Snow White. They claim that in the original, her name reflected her pale skin. This was recast as her name for being born on a snowy day in the live-action.
But that is just the tip of their grievance. At the time leading up to the movie’s production, Rachel Zegler spoke adamantly against the coy, fragile portrayal of the 1937 Snow White. She spoke of updating Snow White, who is assertive and progressive. A non-weak Snow White is a bridge too far for those against wokeness. It all has the markings of white supremacist misogyny when they idealize beauty as quiet, submissive, and white. Zegler even pushed more buttons for being anti-Zionist, calling for a ceasefire in Palestine. Again, she was pilloried for this.
All this anger targeting young women who speak their minds is a correction against wokeness. You can see this in the latest US elections, when young people who were usually assigned to progressive politics have slipshodly voted for Trump. There is a rise in the demand for “traditional wives.”
Then you see this disturbing trend of people like Andrew Tate calling for the death of wokeness and a return to traditional alpha male values. It is no surprise that Tate and his brother are accused of sex trafficking of minors and assault.
“Woke” is an African American vernacular for being aware that the system has been set for you to fail or to go through difficulty in a framework of white supremacy. Woke then entered academia, wherein there are calls for restorative justice or being mindful of intersectionality (that is, identity politics are markers of your privileges and limitations; case in point, African American women with “natural hair” are seen as less than adequate; ergo, there is a need for straight hair as weaves or extensions to be considered desirable).
There is a massive blowback from conservatives who think wokeness, which includes diversity, equality, and inclusion, is a tenet of the decline of their dominant identity. They favor the old ways. After all, that is why they are called “conservatives”; they want to conserve their ways. To welcome those who are not like them would mean the end of their dominance. Wokeness means to wake up. Conservatives do not want to wake up from their dreamland where they rule.
They think wokeness is destroying their culture. They want to return to what makes their cultures and stories great again: a white Little Mermaid and a weak Snow White. They claim this is to stick to the “original.”
I hope they do not think Disney products are the “original.” Do they know how the original Snow White and Little Mermaid ended? That is one thing about wokeness; it requires empathy and deep thinking, and many critics of wokeness are not precisely known for their broad thinking.
You may reach Chong Ardivilla at [email protected] or chonggo.bsky.social