Tuesday, December 07, 2021
There's a new Belle in town — and she's shattering all kinds of princess beauty standards
www.msnbc.com: If you ask a young child to describe the heroine from “Beauty and the Beast,” they might reference the slim, fair-skinned Disney princess in the memorable blue-and-white dress from the animated movie or the petite Emma Watson from its live-action remake.
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2 comments:
First of all, an iconic princess played by a black queer plus sized woman should be applauded in it of itself. Secondly, I think one of life's greatest joys is when we can take preconceived ideas of what has always been considered "the norm" and spin it on it's head. I love the idea of a black woman playing Belle. Casting can always tell a different story with who is playing who, but it's more important that people can find themselves in the mainstream media, and it doesn't get more mainstream than a Disney adaptation. It's like when Halle Bailey was cast as Ariel from The Little Mermaid. People were up in arms about how a black girl couldn't play who they always saw on their VHS tapes, but there are kids who will finally be able to imagine themselves getting a happily ever after or finding their Partner Charming.
I grew up going to visit the Olney Theatre Center. My family went to see The Nutcracker there many times, and I have fond memories of their productions. It is really, genuinely lovely to see this beautiful woman, Jade Jones, playing Belle. Our image of a princess is tainted by Eurocentric beauty standards, the remnants of colonialism, and a misogyny centric social culture that lauds thin women. Jade Jones tears down every single one of those ideas, and WOW is she stunning while doing it. I feign to even predict the amount of impact this woman will have, because I am not sure I can even do so accurately. Imagine the number of Black children who have not had the opportunity to connect and see themselves in characters in their entertainment, and now comes along a Black, queer, curvy Belle. Imagine the number of young women struggling with body image who will feel seen in seeing a different vision of beauty and courage in the spotlight. Imagine the number of queer people who have NEVER gotten to see someone like them as royalty, or had someone like Jade Jones to look up to. This kind of casting is what makes theatre create change, and I hope other theatres take this lead to continue casting what we WISH to see as beauty, and not just what we are TOLD is beauty.
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