Why is multiculturalism and multicultural marketing important? That seemed to be a question that we sought to answer in this week’s lesson. I started thinking about the different ways I could answer that question, and I wanted to find an article this week for this post that would be the perfect example of the answer, and I did! Simply put, multicultural groups need to be represented in the media, for a variety of reasons. I want to talk about a few of those reasons with my post this week. With that being said, the article I read this week was about the 2023 remake of The Little Mermaid, and how Disney recast Ariel as a black woman, hiring Halle Bailey to portray the princess.

The CNN article talks about how young black girls everywhere are inspired by this choice, and were so excited to see the movie. There were multiple quotes of young girls saying how important it was to them that they saw someone on the big screen that looked like them. It allowed them to believe that they too could accomplish their dreams and be whatever they wanted to be. The article also goes on to talk about the racist backlash this casting decision has faced. Critics saying it doesn’t make sense to cast a black woman to play someone who lives under the sea, or that Ariel was a Danish folktale so she should’ve remained white. All of this is strictly excuses because these people did not like the change. The article talks about how as a fairy tale, it shouldn’t matter what race Ariel is; all that matters is that her story is one that is universal regardless of race.

This inclusion of Bailey is so important and relevant to the idea of multicultural marketing. Representation matters. Just hearing the comments from young black girls is enough to convince me that there is a dire need for multicultural marketing and representation in more than just our pop culture. We tend to respond well to seeing people that look like us in the media when it comes to our actions and purchase choices. Seeing how influenced young black girls were by this one movie and its casting choice proves how powerful representation in the media is, especially for underrepresented populations. These groups need to be seen and heard, and we need to do a better job of incorporating that strategy into our mainstream marketing across the board.