Aimee Walker
The Little Mermaid being Black makes scientific sense, a marine biologist has said.
Karen Osborn, curator of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, is an expert in fish skin, scales and surfaces that help sea creatures survive.
If mermaids were real it is likely they would swim in the deep ocean far away from human eyes.
Osborn told BuzzFeed that ultra-black fish have a ‘really good camouflage’ deep underwater which is ‘advantageous for both predators and prey’.
She explained: “So if you absorb all the light that hits you and the background behind you is black, then you blend in really well.
Watch this little girl’s wholesome reaction to the new Little Mermaid trailer…
“But if you reflect back some of that light, then whoever is making that light and searching for prey will see you.”
Osborn went on to explain that the deeper you get into the sea, animals that are ‘pigmented or deep red’ become ‘effectively black’.
However, the expert said that if mermaids were actually real, they would most likely be transparent, as this would make them ‘the most suited to the most types of habitats in the shallower water’.
“But that makes for difficult movie shooting. I don’t think they’ll find any transparent actresses,” she joked.
She concluded that if they can’t be transparent, hunting prey and avoiding predators in the deep sea is best done when black.
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Since the release of The Little Mermaid trailer, people have been taking to social media and debating Halle Bailey’s casting.
However, the majority of Disney fans have defended the star’s role, with one retweeting the BuzzFeed article and writing: “Can’t argue with science.”
Another added: “I don’t know why people are mad that the Little Mermaid is Black, trying to make scientific reasons as to why she shouldn’t be is stupid. I don’t CARE about the scientific reasons, I eat up anything mermaid-related, and if Halle Bailey is my new little mermaid then she’s my little mermaid.”
While a third said: “I think it’s the obsessiveness that a fictional fairytale character can’t be Black. People literally coming up with scientific theories as to why the little mermaid has to be white, but Shrek can be green.”
Related Article: Little Mermaid Star Halle Bailey Says Playing Ariel ‘Changed Her Life’
When the trailer dropped over the weekend, Bailey took to social media and thanked her fans for their overwhelming support.
The actress tweeted: “Guys.. today has been so overwhelming and incredible I’m so happy you’re getting to see a peek of everything thank you for the love…”
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