Don't Blink

I am a thirteen year recovering addict. My drug of choice: The Little Mermaid. My younger sisters and I, then ages five, three and one, would beg my mom to watch the underwater princess at least once a day for an entire month. And when "Under the Sea" came on we went off, like 'when you're at a function and the bass drops' went off. We put our heart into putting on a show, and it became an integral part of our childhood.

But I'm a little rusty with the lyrics, adlibs and some of the notes, and while I was watching the "Under the Sea" video today I was paying more attention to the screen than I would if I was focusing on my tone. So, when Sebastian sang "the Blackfish she sings" and a black faced fish danced across the screen singing a mocking imitation of a soul music riff I had both eyes glued to the screen. And I still couldn't believe what I saw. So I rewound the video. And sure enough thirty minutes and fifty seconds (30:50) this image on the left appears for about two seconds.

Now in the midst of jamming to "Under the Sea" you may miss this image, if you are uncomfortable accepting that this was a part of your childhood you may ignore it, but if you see this and you choose to dismiss it as animation or the creative liberties of Disney then you are part of the problem. It is easy to decide to Band Aid history, to decide what happened decades ago in The Walt Disney studio, or even what happened earlier this week to Terrence Crutcher, doesn't concern you. But I ask myself now if I will show this movie to my children, not that they will notice the Blackfish, but because I see it, and I know they will see the injustice that continues to be born out of stereotypes and the denial of racism today.

This image is not blatantly racist because it claims she is a "Blackfish". It is not racist because Flounder does not remotely resemble a flounder. It is racists because she imitates what clearly resembles a black soul singer's vocal rift. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2TVAwmbv8o It is because she is wearing one of the sequined gowns that a black jazz singer would wear in the 20th century. Here Ella Fitzgerald is pictured in a similar gown.

The Blackfish character that appears for only two seconds is racist because she shows clear similarities the historical and humiliating practice of black face entertaining. With her painted, dark color and the exaggerated red lips.

 

It would be very easy to pretend as if I missed that scene, as if I continued like The Little Mermaid could never be wrong and the Walt Disney Company could never do wrong. But in light of this weeks events and the climate of this nation, I will take a lot of care not only seeing, but speaking. I will purposefully hold my eyes open, and I will urge others to see too.