The new “Lilo & Stitch” live-action casting may not seem as controversial as some people make it out to be. As you can see in the casting, Disney tried to find actors and actresses that seem to have similar features as the characters they’re being cast as. However, that’s not the main issue for this casting, it’s the fact that they’re casting actors that make their characters appear to have lighter skin color.

Disney is really good at hiding the “mistakes” they’ve made in the past, but truthfully it’s easy for people to dig back up. Disney has had many incidents that circle back to racism, colorism and other offensive things, such as the way characters were stereotypically acting, the way their skin looks and the background they came from. Disney has had many movies in the late 1980s to the early 2000s that were disrespectful or offensive towards people of color, for example the movie “The Princess and the Frog.” Disney received a lot of backlash because Tiana was their first African-American princess. Many watchers question why the time frame was taking place in the 1920s. Watchers also feel as though it’s wrong to watch an African-American family struggle to make ends meet. 

The main concern for the casting of the new “Lilo & Stitch” is the colorism. They’re making the characters lighter because in society, people believe the lighter a person is, the “cleaner” they are. I’ve heard a saying that “those who appear to have tan or dark skin worked in the fields, but those who have pale or white skin lived in the houses.” It’s really racist saying something like this in today’s world. A lot of students face colorism and others say words that are colorist to their peers, which is sickening.

Disney is making originally dark skinned characters appear lighter through their choice of actors, making it seem like being dark is bad and being pale is better. Many people on social media seem to hate on dark skinned models, actors and influencers. It seems like internalized racism because even those of their own race make such remarks. Regardless of background or race, color shouldn’t matter since you’re in the same race at the end of the day. 

In a lot of Hollywood films, colorist casting exists and it’s really hurtful for today’s society. Especially with kids growing up to watch dark skin be referred to as disgusting and inhumane. In a lot of movies and shows made by white producers and directors, they try their hardest to seem diverse so they throw in a light skinned black person to seem more ‘diverse’. To me, it’s really harsh to watch shows and movies do this and no one ever says anything about it.

For those who don’t know how colorism works, European colonists created division between enslaved Africans and furthered the idea that being as close to white as possible was the ideal image. Many ethnic families have internalized colorism because of what was passed down to them from their parents and generations back. 

It’s a really sad world we live in — there’s hate everywhere. Besides race, skin is skin, hate comments and thoughts should be turned to admiration and love. In today’s society, everybody sees color strictly and will always try to discriminate. No matter what we all come in different shades.