[ Source: BBC News ]
You wouldn’t think that the war in Gaza would have much impact on a Disney remake.
But the live-action Snow White, a revamped version of the 1937 animated classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, has become a flashpoint for social and political divisions, even before its global release next week.
There was some backlash to the casting of Rachel Zegler, of Colombian descent, as the heroine. More recently, there has been blowback both about Zegler’s pro-Palestinian comments and about pro-Israel comments by Israeli actress Gal Gadot, who plays Snow White’s stepmother, the Evil Queen. And there is an ongoing debate about whether there should have been dwarfs at all, live or CGI.
The film’s director, Marc Webb, said in Disney’s official production notes, “I think all good stories evolve over time. They become reflections of the world that we live in”.
He has likely got more than he bargained for, as reactions to Snow White inadvertently reflect the most polarised aspects of the world today.
Like political rhetoric in countries around the world, responses to the film’s production have been loud, irate and sometimes ugly.
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