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Woke Disney Faces Backlash in China Over Little Mermaid

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Woke Disney Faces Backlash in China Over Little Mermaid

China the world’s second-largest economy has emerged as one of the most important venues for big-budget Hollywood films, but a racially charged response against Disney’s The Little Mermaid is just the most recent reminder of the price film studios can pay if they upset Chinese sensibilities.

Chinese state media and netizens have condemned the casting of Black actress Halle Bailey as Princess Ariel, echoing some Americans’ outrage that the Atlanta-born actress does not resemble the light-skinned character from the 1989 animated film or the 1837 fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen.

The Global Times, in China known for its nationalistic coverage, accused Disney of making “classic tales into’sacrificial lambs’ for wokeness” by casting non-white performers in classic tales in an op-ed last month.

“When the beautiful stories that have accompanied countless children’s childhoods become arenas for racial conflict, they lose their meaning and become devoid of romance and fantasy, replaced by arguments about skin colour,” said the tabloid, insisting that such casting controversies were driven by “lazy and irresponsible storytelling,” rather than racism.

The backlash, many of it explicitly racist, has also played out online among regular Chinese filmgoers.

Some commenters have attacked Bailey’s appearance and her Black face traits on social media platforms such as Sina Weibo.

Race portrayed in Hollywood films

Other Chinese internet reviewers were more enthusiastic, with one poster on the film site Mayoan noting that Bailey’s appearance made little difference to youngsters and that she successfully embodied Princess Ariel’s most important character characteristic – a brave spirit.

While China does not have the same racial history or politics as the United States, Chinese-born YouTuber Yao Zhang, who follows Chinese and Taiwanese news and culture from Canada, believes that consumers are nevertheless sensitive to how race is portrayed in Hollywood films.

According to Zhang, traditional Chinese beauty standards highlight pale complexion and large round eyes, and some viewers – as well as government officials – want to see Chinese values mirrored on the television.

“There is no correct way to look at [the film] in the United States,” Zhang told Al Jazeera. “However, in China, there is only one correct way to understand it.”

Zhang compared the backlash to the public’s reaction to supermodel Lu Yan, whose small eyes and high cheekbones were deemed unattractive in China but earned her renown in the West – despite some Chinese bloggers claiming Lu’s success was a Western ploy to make China look bad by elevating “ugly” women.

The Little Mermaid has performed poorly at the Chinese box office, collecting only $3.6 million in the ten days following its May 26 debut, according to Artisan Gateway, an international film consultant.

According to the advise, live-action remakes of Disney classics regularly gross between $40 million and $85 million in China.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 and Fast and Furious X, both released in May, have grossed approximately $80 million and $120 million, respectively, since their debuts.

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Little Mermaid latest Disney Flop in China

The failure of The Little Mermaid is only the latest illustration of how tough it has become for Hollywood to negotiate one of the world’s largest and most lucrative theatrical film markets, which used to have an insatiable demand for American pictures.

China is extremely competitive since Chinese censors only allow a few dozen foreign films into the country each year. As of May, just 39 foreign films had been released in 2023, including 18 Hollywood titles. Unlike in previous decades, Hollywood now faces competition from a strong domestic film sector that creates its own blockbusters.

Studios are also faced with the option of accepting alterations to fulfill Chinese censors’ demands or risk being blackballed from the market.

Sony notoriously revised the 2012 remake of Red Dawn in post-production to incorporate a North Korean invasion of the United States rather than a Chinese invasion, costing the company millions of dollars.

In 2016, a screenwriter for the Marvel action film Doctor Strange indicated that the character the Ancient One’s origins had been changed from Tibetan to European in order to avoid upsetting China.

Spiderman: No Way Home, one of the highest-grossing pictures of all time, was denied a 2021 release in China as Marvel refused to edit the film’s “patriotic” ending filmed at New York’s Statue of Liberty, according to the news site Puck, costing the studio an estimated $170 million to $340 million in missed sales.

Angering Chinese filmgoers can have a knock-on impact on other films or stars, perhaps dampening Hollywood’s zest for defying Chinese censors.

Anti woke china

Push back from China

According to Chris Fenton, a former Hollywood executive and author of Feeding the Dragon: Inside the Trillion Dollar Dilemma Facing Hollywood, the NBA, and American Business, Disney’s 1998 animated film Mulan was famously delayed in China due to the studio’s backing of another film, Kundun, about the Dalai Lama.

“They blackball everyone involved in a particular film, including the studio involved,” Fenton explained to Al Jazeera.

“Sometimes the blacklisting is only temporary, as with Sony following Red Dawn or Disney following Kundun.” Sometimes it’s nearly permanent, as with [Dalai Lama supporter] Richard Gere or possibly Brad Pitt – though we never know for sure if actors are banned or not. There is only evidence that the films in which they are involved are never approved.”

Hollywood’s recent push back against the trend will only be effective as long as the dollars and cents stack up, because China is simply too large a market to ignore, according to Fenton.

“Money drives doing the right thing or doing the wrong thing, mostly, but the good news is that doing the right thing can be more profitable now,” he said.

Geoff Thomas is a seasoned staff writer at VORNews, a reputable online publication. With his sharp writing skills and deep understanding of SEO, he consistently delivers high-quality, engaging content that resonates with readers. Thomas' articles are well-researched, informative, and written in a clear, concise style that keeps audiences hooked. His ability to craft compelling narratives while seamlessly incorporating relevant keywords has made him a valuable asset to the VORNews team.

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Inside The Met Gala: A Fairytale Forest, Woodland Creatures, And Some Starstruck First-Timers

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NEW YORK  — James Corden casually held his arms up as if he owned the Metropolitan Museum of Art while strolling through the hallways heading to cocktails. Joking around with Jeff Bezos and his partner Lauren Sánchez, who happened to be strolling behind him, he remarked, pointing to the priceless artwork on the walls. “Let me know if you want me to talk you through any of this.”

Corden, like many celebs, regularly attends the Met Gala; it was all in good humor.

And then there are the novices. No matter how well-known they are in their industry, these guests frequently express awe at the concentration of notoriety around them and some nervousness akin to a child attending a new school.

Consider Stray Kids. The eight members of the K-pop group showed up for their first gala together, each wearing a distinct combination of red, navy, and white that designer Tommy Hilfiger had created. After climbing the magnificent internal staircase to enter the museum, they went to the receiving queue and proceeded to the drink area, where they claimed to have gradually begun to unwind.

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Inside The Met Gala: A Fairytale Forest, Woodland Creatures, And Some Starstruck First-Timers

“At first, we were anxious,” band member Bang Chan admitted. Felix, the bandmate, said, “We had no idea who we would meet or what to expect.” However, they were getting along well and had previously had conversations with Steven Yeun, Chris Hemsworth, and Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons.

The star of “The Bear,” Ayo Edebiri, was also present. She had won numerous honors this year and was attending her first gala. After welcoming hosts Jennifer Lopez, Bad Bunny, Hemsworth, and Anna Wintour at the top of the staircase, she appeared to be nearly out of breath.

She exclaimed, “I’m really, really, really excited to be here.” “This is yet another truly lovely thing that I will make an effort to keep in mind.”

The accompanying exhibit for the event was titled “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” but it wasn’t really about our beloved Princess Aurora. Instead, the goal was to draw attention to and shed light on delicate clothing items from the museum’s collection that were being “awakened” to the public. Nevertheless, the museum fully embraced the fantasy atmosphere.

Guests passed a massive centerpiece that stood 32 feet tall and symbolized a “whimsical tree” as they entered the Great Hall. Over a forest-like undergrowth with twisted branches that resembled the vegetation Sleeping Beauty’s prince had to cut through to give her a genuine love kiss, enormous green fabric flowers began to blossom. Following that, guests were treated to a live string orchestra and a scene that included actors dressed as forest animals playing in tights and tunics.

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AP News – VOR News Image

Inside The Met Gala: A Fairytale Forest, Woodland Creatures, And Some Starstruck First-Timers

When asked if they would rather see the exhibit or go to the cocktails, most guests opted for the latter. However, a few people attended the event, which was a multi-sensory fashion experience that included touch, smell, sound, and sight. Lena Waithe was “just blown away by the work that I’m seeing” after spending some alone time reviewing the clothing.

Like many others, the actor/producer continued, she finds fashion lighthearted and enjoyable. She remarked, “But then I come here and am reminded that it’s an art form.” She also brought up a comment made by Meryl Streep, who played a role akin to Wintour, to Anne Hathaway in “The Devil Wears Prada,” regarding how our wardrobe choices are predetermined. Waithe stated, “I think we need to be reminded of that, that people who are long gone influence our style.”

After spending the evening away from childcare, late-night host Meyers, who was at the event with his wife, commented that it was a pleasant respite. He also playfully questioned why his children, who are 2, 6, and 8 years old, weren’t invited. Meyers joked, “I think it’s very rude that Vogue didn’t invite them.” This place is kid-friendly. Additionally, they excel at keeping their hands off objects.

Meyers claimed that meeting “a lot of people that I’m a fan of, or have interviewed on the show,” was his favorite part of the evening. Regarding style, however, he prefers to play things safe, saying that “nobody wants a guy like me taking a big swing.” I remain in my lane.

Because Wintour is such a theater enthusiast, a sizable Broadway contingent typically exists at the Met Gala. Jonathan Groff, who was nominated for a Tony Award for “Merrily We Roll Along,” laughed and joked at this gala with fellow “Glee” alum and “Funny Girl” actor Lea Michele. Michele is expecting her second child and looks stunning in baby blue Rodarte. Groff reminisced about other Met Gala appearances, such as one in which he performed the television series “Hair” and another in which Beyoncé appeared and sang her song “Lemonade,” which had just been released a week prior. That was epic, he recalled.

Her clothing scraped the floor with an equally unique sound as Sánchez and Bezos walked through the display. “You won’t be lost,” Bezos said in jest. Sánchez claimed that when she initially tried on the striking design by Oscar de la Renta’s Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim, she had started crying. The flowing skirt was intended to mimic Tiffany’s glass with pearl and mirror appliques.

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AP News – VOR News Image

Inside The Met Gala: A Fairytale Forest, Woodland Creatures, And Some Starstruck First-Timers

Sánchez said, “Use my dress if you need a mirror.” She continued by saying that she believed the outfit represented life, in which everything is somewhat shattered, and what you do with the parts determines the outcome. She also mentioned trying the dress on for Bezos, crying as she said. “He told me I had never looked so beautiful,” she remarked.

Interesting fact: according to Sánchez, Garcia had informed her he needed to get a part from Amazon in order to mend the outfit.

How do you obtain meals for hundreds of chit-chatting celebs around the museum? The organizers have made several attempts. It was a group of buglers one year. In a different year, Jon Batiste led a band snapping across the audience with his melodica. David Byrne did the honors last year. A massive choir with dancers accompanying them performed original song “Future of Us” on Monday. “To dinner!” was yelled by the performers as a bell sounded. The throng then moved slowly to the Temple of Dendur, where tables with “enchanted candelabras entwined with flower arrangements” maintained the fairytale theme.

SOURCE – (AP)

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Ethan Hawke And Maya Hawke Have A Running Joke About ‘Wildcat,’ Their Flannery O’Connor Movie

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Ethan Hawke and his daughter, Maya Hawke, have a running joke about their Flannery O’Connor film.

“Wildcat,” directed by Ethan and starring Maya as O’Connor, was created with genuine authenticity. It’s a deeply creative look at the Southern Catholic novelist and short story writer behind “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” weaving in and out of her imagination and actual life.

Lupus claimed O’Connor’s life in 1964, when she was 39. She won the National Book Award posthumously in 1972. Though she is well-known for her language and sharp social satire, she has recently faced criticism for racism in her private correspondence and her depiction of race in her work. It was a difficult but potentially rewarding region. However, the Hawkes can’t help but giggle as they imagine pitching to a major studio or streamer.

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Ethan Hawke And Maya Hawke Have A Running Joke About ‘Wildcat,’ Their Flannery O’Connor Movie

Here’s how things could go:

Maya: “We want to make a film about an unfortunate-looking woman with lupus.” She struggles with her beliefs and does not have any lovers.

Ethan: “She’s a really brilliant writer but she’s completely unsuccessful.”

Maya: “Also, her minor success has recently been utterly disregarded, and people are mostly concerned in deleting her from the canon these days. “What do you think?”

Jonathan: “Sounds like the makings of a commercial, hit movie!”

If it isn’t clear, “Wildcat” (in select theaters Friday) was produced independently. To flesh out the cast, both Hawkes relied largely on friends with whom they had previously collaborated. The large ensemble includes Laura Linney, Liam Neeson, Steve Zahn, and Vincent D’Onofrio, to mention a few.

Maya had the concept for a movie about the day she decided to devote her life to acting. Despite having two successful actresses as parents, including mother Uma Thurman, she had hesitated due to her passion of reading. She was concerned that if she attended Juilliard, she would be forced to choose a decision. So, in a little act of defiance, Maya decided to audition not with a monologue from the theatrical canon, but with one she had revised from O’Connor’s “Prayer Journal” with her father during his breaks while filming “The Magnificent Seven.”

“If I showed them that I was really interested in literature, and if then they still wanted me, then it would probably be a place that would still allow me to explore language and writing and poetry the way that I wanted,” Maya said. “What a rebel.”

Ethan had also read O’Connor early on, at the suggestion of his mother, who encouraged him to read female authors in addition to Faulkner and Hemingway. They were both drawn to this prickly woman who wrote about faith without preaching, as well as about race and white Christian hypocrisy, in a way that few others had. She was also talented, self-deprecating, and suffering with the sickness that killed her father. At 24, she received her diagnosis and returned to Milledgeville, Georgia, to live with her mother (portrayed by Linney).

Ethan has little interest in biopics, particularly “in the age of Wikipedia.” However, upon deciding to direct and co-write the film, he was inspired by films such as Martin Scorsese’s “Raging Bull” and Jane Campion’s “An Angel At My Table.” They were about real people, Jake LaMotta and Janet Frame, but they did not require any prior knowledge of boxing or literature. They were only films about individuals.

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Ethan Hawke And Maya Hawke Have A Running Joke About ‘Wildcat,’ Their Flannery O’Connor Movie

“(‘Wildcat’) is a kind of treatise on imagination, reality and faith and how those three things intersect with each other,” he remarked. “I’m not attempting to teach a college course on Flannery. We used her life experience as a starting point for a conversation.

Before delving too deeply into the process, they addressed themselves difficult questions about filming a film about someone who has made racist remarks.

“It begged the question: Do we want to make a film about someone who said some hurtful words at some point? What would it say about us if we did? And how do you become a decent anti-racist? Ethan said. “One of the things I realized was that you can’t create a story about America, past or present, without mentioning America’s wounds, crimes, and sins. One academic put it beautifully: Flannery O’Connor is a racist in rehabilitation, much like our society.

Maya pondered if depiction was always a celebration or if it could be an observation. She hopes it’s the latter, which she describes as a politeness that is frequently provided to films about complicated guys but may be less so when it comes to female characters.

Something remarked by novelist James McBride when Ethan was writing on “The Good Lord Bird” remained with him as well.

“He used to say how important it was that you don’t paint racists with horns on their head because people don’t have horns and racism is real,” Ethan added.

After much research and deliberation, they decided not to back down from the topic or defend her.

“I’m interested in this woman, and I’m interested in all the truths of her life,” he added.

“Wildcat” also served as inspiration for Maya’s upcoming album, “Chaos Angel” (due out May 31). The title and title track are based on a scene she shared with Philip Ettinger in which O’Connor discusses wrestling with her guardian angel.

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Ethan Hawke And Maya Hawke Have A Running Joke About ‘Wildcat,’ Their Flannery O’Connor Movie

“That idea really hit me in my gut,” Maya remarked. “We resist our better selves… As soon as we finished shooting the film, I went to make this album.”

Maya is now 25, the same age her father was when he finished “Before Sunrise” and was performing on stage in Chicago in Sam Shepard’s “Buried Child.” They are close and like-minded, frequently finishing one other’s words. However, Hawke admits that he is little envious of Maya’s musical abilities.

“There’s a part of me that has joked my whole life that all I really am is a failed musician,” he remarked. “All art strives to be music. It’s the simplest emotional connection we may form with one another. So, to see her thrive in this art form? I’m a little jealous of her for that.”

SOURCE – (AP)

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Wordle Answer Today: Check Today’s Wordle #1052 Hints For May 6

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Wordle Answer Today Check Today’s Wordle #1052 Hints For May 6

Are you still able to guess the wordle answer today? We have the Wordle solution for today, 6th May, whether you are starting your day or unwinding after a busy one.

You have six attempts to figure out the five-letter word of the day. The fewer guesses you make, the better your performance. You will lose your winning streak if you cannot guess the word.

Finding Wordle Answer Today is important to maintain your Snapchat streak. Instead of taking a risky last guess, why not take advantage of a few hints or get the definitive answer if all else fails?

You can find the daily Wordle Answer Today on CTN News if you have not yet guessed.

How did Wordle get started?

As a gift from engineer Josh Wardle to his partner, Wordle quickly became a global phenomenon, played daily by thousands of people worldwide.

In addition, fans created alternate versions of Wordle, including battle royale Squabble, the music identification game Heardle, and variations such as Dordle and Quordle, which require guessing multiple words simultaneously.

Eventually, Wordle became so popular that the New York Times purchased it, and TikTok creators live-streamed themselves playing the game.

Is Wordle becoming more difficult?

While Wordle seems to be getting harder, it isn’t more challenging than when it first began.

Here is a hint for today’s Wordle:

Hair removal on the body.

Does Wordle Answer Today have a double letter?

There are no duplicate letters.

Today’s Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with…

The wordle for today begins with the letter S.

The Wordle answer today is…

We will reveal the Wordle Answer today shortly, so place your final guess now.

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Check Today’s Wordle #1052 Hints For May 6

Here is the solution to Wordle #1052…

The Wordle answer today is SHAVE”

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