The poor box office performance of The Little Mermaid in mainland China sparked controversy: Don’t accuse Chinese audiences

The live-action film "The Little Mermaid" has been controversial since its release, and its box office has been in trouble in Europe and Asia. The film was released in mainland China for 7 days, and the total box office of the theater exceeded 23 million yuan (RMB), which is not an ideal result.

However, some foreign media and even some domestic influencers have started to accuse Chinese audiences. For example, the Chinese version of the poster features ocean blue, which they say is racial discrimination against skin color. The poor pre-sale results are regarded as aesthetic degradation and aesthetic bullying. The low scores from netizens are slandered as not being inclusive and having degenerate ideas.

Not to mention that these "labels" are completely untenable, the double standards alone are self-contradictory. Americans themselves have complaints about the casting, so why should China be more tolerant? The box office in Europe, Japan and South Korea is even worse than that in China, so why doesn't anyone say that there is something wrong with their aesthetics? This is more like a commercial advertisement, using the name of political correctness to put unsuitable actors in unsuitable roles, hyping up the popularity and attracting public opinion.

There are many reasons why "The Little Mermaid" failed. Apart from changing the skin color of the heroine, the story and the core are not new; apart from relying on black and red to create popularity, the picture, music, and technology are stagnant; even the nostalgia card of the classic IP was played ineffectively by the film producers. The "messengers of justice" turned a blind eye to these problems and instead used American political correctness to educate Chinese audiences to "improve their aesthetics", which is really ridiculous.

It is not the audience who should reflect, but those "politically correct" ones who are kneeling.