The other day, Karen G Clemenson came home for lunch and she mentioned that she heard Disney’s Live Action Snow White was very good, but some people were upset because Snow White was Latina. I have seen the previews and saw she was very light-skinned and thought we should check on that.
The actor playing Snow White, Rachel Zegler, is of Colombian descent. She has also played Maria in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story and Juliet in a Broadway version of Romeo and Juliet. But the main reason she got this role is because Zegler can sing and she has always been a devoted Disney fan, even knowing some of the shows on the Disney channel and she was easy to coach into the sound Disney wanted for this role.
“Snow White chooses kindness and still makes change. Power takes many forms. I hope we’ll see a new dawn of kindness and acceptance in the next couple of years. And people don’t see the need to use hate to cause further division.” Rachel Zegler
Karen said people wanted Disney to stay with the original story of Snow being white. I can understand that for some people. Even my sister, Jamie Holloway, reminded me of the Snow White story’s original German roots, but it isn’t an issue for me. I am excited to see the movie when we can stream it. I have enjoyed most classic Disney movies as a child, but I have never really appreciated cartoons. As Disney has recreated their stories with real life characters and backgrounds, I have loved these stories so much more. I never understood Beauty and The Beast until it was in true life character format.
I believe that my neurodivergent brain doesn’t comprehend cartoons. Even as a child I got headaches from the bright colors and loud sounds in cartoons. I chose to do dishes and laundry over watching cartoons. But when the same story is shown to me in live action formats, I can enjoy and understand them. So more than one version is important because seeing stories from different perspectives shows us new layers. Also, new versions of stories do not remove the power and beauty of the previous versions. We can always go back to the older versions and enjoy them and remember how we felt when we were children and how it made us feel. We can still share the old versions with our next generation. We have room for old and new versions.
I told Karen that I had heard that Disney wasn’t going out of their way to include DEI practices in their endeavors. I don’t know if this is true, but their parks and stories happen all over the world and money is inclusive. Back when Shakespeare was making plays women were not allowed to act and your skin color didn’t matter, they chose the best actor for the role. In my favorite Shakespeare movie, Much Ado About Nothing, Keanu Reeves and Denzel Washington are brothers. Why can’t Snow White be played by a Colombian and her stepmother be played by Gal Gadot, from Israel?
My favorite Disney “princess” is Mulan. I am not Chinese. I don’t want to present myself as male or fight in war. But I am a woman and I can understand wanting to protect my family and also going against the chosen path for me. With a little bit of imagination and respect, we can relate to anyone we want to, even if they are very different from us.
I have not made time to see the live action version of Little Mermaid. But it has occurred to me that I only see white skinned mermaids at the store. This bothers me. Both mermaids should be available for people to choose from. When the live action version came out, I was so happy to see videos of brown-skinned girls that were overjoyed to see a mermaid that was like them. I have to say, I have been looking at white people and art all my life, and I get much more excitement to see art that includes people of color. It’s time to actually be fair.
I think we are stronger and healthier when we make room for young people to grow up in a world that shows them we want them. I think it is wonderful that Disney hired a woman that was talented and able to fill the role and didn’t worry about if she was German or not. It is ok to make more room at the table. I look forward to seeing videos of Latina girls that are excited to have a Disney princess that looks like them.
The only character that Disney hasn’t tried to portray, until now, is a christian. I hear this is in the works and I must say, this one scares me. There are so many versions of christianity and some of them are less beautiful than others.
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Read More:
- Rachel Zegler Is Snow White by Patricia Alfonso Tortolani for Allure Magazine, March 18, 2025
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My name is Summer. That is how you can call me. I hope that I am a blessing to you. I am not perfect. I will fall again. But I am forgiven. For anyone reading this that isn’t a Christian, unapologetically, I am a Jesus Follower, but I believe there is room for lots of beliefs and religions in the world. It is not my intent to offend people with different beliefs than I have and I would be open to open-minded conversations with no goals of changing anyone’s mind, but sharing information. If you are interested in becoming a Jesus Follower…Do you know Jesus? Do want the Holy Spirit to fill you and give you understanding and salvation? Ask Him. Want someone to pray with you? Contact me.
If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this: Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world. I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me. I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.
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