In 2023, the internet was flooded with videos of Black children’s joy while watching Halle Bailey, a Black actress, play Ariel in Disney’s live-action remake of “The Little Mermaid.” The choice to cast a Black actress as Ariel was a result of Disney’s efforts to increase representation in their movies.

However, despite these wholesome videos, changing the Little Mermaid’s race and other similar choices by entertainment companies are far from enough to promote diversity. True representation comes from characters who fully resonate with people’s culture and origins, not just their appearance, and who give children the opportunity to celebrate themselves inside and out.

Along with the call for more racial inclusivity in media, there is a growing demand for mainstream media to be more diverse in its content. Large entertainment studios like Disney often prioritize rebooting and remaking existing stories with casts featuring actors of color, rather than creating new characters and stories. Many of these remakes featuring actors of color are received far less positively than the originals. In the case of remakes such as “The Little Mermaid” and “Lord of the Rings,” much of the public’s negative response focused on the “inaccuracy” of an actor’s racial background in relation to their character.

However, recent backlash over casting in a TV show adaption of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” revealed deeper prejudice, particularly when it came to the roles of Grover and Annabeth, both of whom were white in the novels. There was significant public outcry when a Black actress was cast as Annabeth, a character known for her intelligence, strength, and beauty; however, there was little to no backlash when an Indian actor was cast as Grover, a silly and nerdy character for the same adaptation. The difference in these reactions to casting choices that on the surface seem very similar is due to pre-established norms of what types of roles actors of color play; it’s easier for audiences to accept actors of color in undignified roles like Grover than admirable roles like Annabeth.

Moreover, in the western film industry, darker-skinned actors are consistently the victims of negative stereotypes, being cast as criminals, villains, or individuals of lower social status, while lighter-skinned characters are often portrayed in more positive and desirable roles, such as heroes, love interests, or successful executives.

These prejudices aren’t confined to just the film industry; PHS’s theater productions have also played into stereotypes in the past. Specifically, PHS Spectacle Theatre’s production of “Anything Goes” in 2019 featured Chinese characters, the only non-white characters in the show, who were based on outdated stereotypes and the subject of many racist jokes. In addition to the fact that “Anything Goes,” and the majority of PHS productions, are centered around white characters, the production showed that even administrators and the director saw no issue with the racist caricatures that appeared in the show.

These instances are part of a larger problem of prejudice in casting and how people of color are portrayed in the media. To counteract this issue, actors should be given roles regardless of the status or personality of the character, so that audiences see that actors of color and white actors are equally well suited for all types of roles, from villains to heroes.

While a color-blind approach to casting is helpful for promoting inclusivity and representation, it’s even more important to create new, authentic roles for actors from underrepresented cultures. This approach ensures that actors of color have opportunities to portray characters whose experiences resonate with their own identities, rather than being confined to roles originally written for white actors. For example, the movie “Black Panther” features a cast of talented African-American actors and depicts many African cultural traditions. From the language and music to the costumes and set design, this film brought African culture to the forefront and gave young African and African-American children role models to look up to. This movie demonstrated true progress towards diversity by creating an original story that represents African and African-American culture, rather than pasting African-American actors into a white roles. New stories allow actors to portray their identities through their roles and provide viewers with accurate and comprehensive representation — not just racially, but also culturally.

At PHS, play productions and drama classes should all have opportunities for students to showcase their culture. While PHS Spectacle Theatre’s productions feature student actors of many different ethnicities, new stories from different cultural backgrounds should also be encouraged in our productions. By expanding our play selections, PHS can take concrete steps to introduce performances centered around different cultures, rather than continuing to mainly produce plays and musicals that are centered around originally white characters. To truly bring diversity into theater performances at PHS and media worldwide, there needs to be more roles with cultural representation and more authentic and contrasting narratives.